Gary Lewis's "Big Blue"

Story: A gentleman on FTE had invested significant money in this 1985 F250 4wd XLT Lariat Explorer Regular Cab Long Bed, having hired other people to work on it but had run into several problems and wanted out.  Looking through the list of parts he'd accumulated I realized that he had some that I badly needed for Dad's truck and contacted him about buying them.  However, he wasn't willing to part things out so we came to an agreement and I acquired Big Blue, extra parts and all.

I've opted to turn Big Blue into a truck for "overlanding", meaning going on forest trails and camping hopefully with my son.  And, to take on 4WD trails, like around Ouray, CO.  So, with that in mind I’ve made the following changes, with more to come.

Engine: 460 built by Scott Johnston, aka The Mad Porter, with his cam, F3 EFI heads, EFI lower plenum, Edelbrock 750, L&L long tube headers, and large after-market oil cooler.  Estimated 360 to 370 HP.

Driveline: Fully rebuilt 1995 D60 straight front axle with OX locker, rebuilt BW1345 transfer case with double-cardan front driveshaft, rebuilt ZF5 transmission, and a Sterling 10.25" rear axle with the long-pinion upgrade and a Detroit Trutrac ensuring the tires stay in sync.  And a Trick Flow cover on the Sterling locks the bearings in place as well as provides extra cooling and a drain plug for the lube.

Electrical: A 130A 3G alternator feeds power to two Odyssey batteries through a Cole Hersee Smart Isolator.  From there power goes through a '95 F-Series power distribution box with fuses that replace the fuse links and relays for the heater, headlights, etc.  The ammeter has been replaced by a Rocketman voltmeter to monitor the 1150 CCA starting battery, and an Autometer gauge monitors the 850 CCA auxiliary battery.  A true voltage regulator powers the gauges and HiPo Parts' LEDs light them brightly.
And, speaking of brightly, the headlights shine that way due to the relays housed in the PDB.  Plus Hella E-Code headlights will replace the original halogen units and Hella rectangular fog lights ensure I can see both in fog as well as into the ditches. To control a lot of that a series of six rocker switches have been placed above the radio in a medium-duty radio bezel.  They control the OX locker, fog lights, aux power to a 3KW inverter & DC/USB charging ports, air compressor, Cole Hersee Smart Isolator, and backup lights.
Suspension: Sky's Offroad Designs reverse shackle kit up front with 1995 Superduty springs replaces the TTB’s, and Bilstein shocks are used all around.

Steering: All new ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.  New Saginaw power steering pump.  And a Borgeson lower steering shaft replaced the rag joint original unit.

HVAC: 1990 system with the FS-10 compressor and the under-hood HVAC box insulated
Brakes: The Hydroboost system powered by the Saginaw pump, coupled with the '95 F450 master cylinder, provides dramatic results when the whoa pedal is depressed, and the larger '95 rotors as well as removal of the rear brake proportioning valve make sure that the stops are quick and sure.

Exhaust: The previously-mentioned L&L headers have a Jet-Hot ceramic coating and lead to 2 1/2" true duals with an X-pipe which flows into twin 24" Magnaflow mufflers with turnouts ahead of each rear tire.

Fuel system: All new with 1990's fuel delivery modules moving the fuel to a return-style Holley fuel pressure regulator and then a dead-head FPR after that to step the pressure down to 5 psi for the 750 CFM Edelbrock carb.  (That was done to make the move to EFI, which will come later, a lot easier.)  And an Innovate MTX-L Plus wide band AFR meter monitors the air/fuel ratio.

Compressed Air: On the trails it is much better to “air down” to maybe 15 psi than to run the 35 psi that I normally keep in the tires.  That not only greatly enhances the ride but also protects the tires and increases traction.  But at the end of the trail you need to “air up” so you can safely go on the highway, so a 4 CFM air compressor with a 4 gallon tank provides the ability to do that quickly.

Other: Warn winch front bumper, Smittybilt 12K lb winch, and a front-mounted receiver. Noico sound deadening and insulation used under the carpet.  New weatherstripping, glass runs, and scrapers.