1986 Ford F250 2WD Project

Hey all-

I'm new to this forum and thought I'd reach out for some help and advice.

So this truck came to me and my son as a challenge about 3 months ago: 'get it running and pay 500 bucks, don't get it running and get it for free.' The truck dictated the 'don't get it running and get it for free' option....

The truck was a Michigan farm truck (likely story) with only 75000 miles on it. The exterior condition would say 175000 miles, but after dis-assembly of the engine and driveline, I think it really only has 75k on it. The engine was extremely clean and sludge-free on all internals.

It sat in the owners driveway for 11 years. Someone tried to get it running by the evidence of new parts, but I don't think that effort was successful.

We flat-bedded it to my house and began soaking the cylinders in miracle oil for 30+ days. I would periodically put a wrench on the crank to see if it would budge. No-go. Finally, after having a serious discussion about scrapping it with my son, his optimism insisted that we go deep.

We pulled the engine and transmission and proceeded to do a forensic break down of the 351W bagging and documenting everything. Once the heads came off, the tale of #6 cylinder was clear. Water or mouse urine corroded and froze the cylinder effectively fusing the piston to the cylinder wall. We were able to get it all dis-assembled and the block is currently at the machine shop getting a spa, cylinder boring, and honing.

Under the truck it is crusty and rusty suffering from a bad case of lot-rot from sitting for so long. It does roll freely but the brake pedal is frozen. The 4 speed transmission shifts thru the gears and seems pretty sound, assuming the low miles.

The goal for this truck is to make it a reliable work truck for my son and add some cool-factors in the process, primarily a stout 351W power plant with the classic flowmaster sound, a rehabbed driveline, reliable braking, repairing the typical Ford cab rot (floor, cab corners, and door sills), and rehab the interior.

Any input regarding parts, suppliers, frame rehab chemical treatment is appreciated. I am especially interested in information about emission system delete and the tuning required. There is a strong possibility that the 351 will get an upper end massage with intake/carb/ignition and headers. I know this will spark comments about replacing heads too, but there is a limit to the budget.

If there is a reasonably priced cylinder head option, I'd consider that too. There seems to be lots of options for the 302. Not really sure if they can be shared with the 351. Lastly, any mild cam recommendations would help as well.

Looking forward to the responses and recommendations.

I'm along for the ride.  

For body panels, Jim/Ardwrkntrk put me onto Tabco years ago and my paint/body man was thrilled with their products.

On emissions deletion, you might want to see this thread, although it is just getting started.

There's been quite a bit of discussion on here about chemicals to treat rust, but I'll leave that to those that have done it.

Sounds like a great project to me! I dont know as much about the 351, but I recently did something similar to my 300 where I removed the factory intake, exhaust, ignition, carburetor, and pretty much everything else other than the water pump and the power steering pump. in order to remove the computer, the factory ignition, or the factory carb you have to do all 3. they work together.

Here are some ideas for your 351 based on my experience - I would consider using the ford "duraspark II" Ignition system. It is pretty much the latest and greatest thing ford developed before going to computer controlled ignition that ties the carburetor and the ignition system to a computer. there are lots of writeups on the swap, including a bunch of pictures in my bronco build thread. Its inexpensive by comparison to something like an msd setup, all the plugs should already be in you trucks harness so its literally plug and play, and the parts can be bought at pretty much any parts store. On the carb, I selected a 70s motorcraft 2bbl which really woke my 300 up and doesnt require a computer. I got it for about $50 shipped on ebay. your 351 will probably breathe a lot better than my 300 though, so you may want a 4bbl/larger carb. but I think the old 2100/2150 motorcraft carbs should get an honorable mention atleast for being reliable, simple carbs that are almost certainly ideal in practical road driving conditions for an old truck.

Im sure that an upgrade to the exhaust system with higher flowing headers or manifolds and new pipes out the back would help as much as anything, but that is solidly outside of my range of knowledge.

I know certain 302 heads have smaller diameter bolt holes than certain 351 heads. If I remember correctly, the heads are similar and can often interchange once the bolt hole diameter issue is addressed. but yet again, thats outside my range of knowledge.

Good luck with your truck!

I don't have any recommendations really, but will be following.   I'll add help if I can.   Good luck.  Where are the PHOTOS???   It's awesome to watch a project develop.  

I did rehab on my interior quite a bit - I might can help there.   To me, that's more important for a driver truck because that's where you spend your time and needs to feel good.  Mine looked/felt like a serial killer's dump site (to me) when I got it.   If you aren't big on factory correct, you can rehab on the cheap.  Carpet dash cover, headliner refurb kit, vinyl paint in a spray can for the door panels if yours are not rotted through.  

Good luck with it.