Salan's 1980 Something

[salans7]

- deleted -

[Rembrant]

The frame does look good in your truck! Well done.

I'm in almost the exact same boat with a 1985 F150 4x4 project. Frame is not as nice as yours, but it is repairable and worth fixing. The cab was junk. I've already peeled the whole body off of it like yours, and I bought a replacement "southern" cab that while not perfect, it is very fixable.

In any case, keep us posted on the progress please. I'll be watching closely since I'll be working my way through some of the same things over the next while.

[Gary Lewis]

Shaun - You are going with an upside-down M? A Wheezer?

Yeah, that makes sense, or cents, as there's lots more aftermarket support for the little W's than the M's. And yours was set up for that with the engine stands.

As for the tranny, with 4:10's I think you'll really be disappointed in anything w/o an OD. Granted Big Blue has a 460, but it also has 3.55's, so torque is probably roughly the same. And 65 MPH on the highway is 2500 RPM. Way too high.

But a ZF is expensive as they frequently need to be rebuilt, and that's costly. Still, they are really nice to have.

Anyway, I'm following.

[salans7]

Shaun - You are going with an upside-down M? A Wheezer?

Yeah, that makes sense, or cents, as there's lots more aftermarket support for the little W's than the M's. And yours was set up for that with the engine stands.

As for the tranny, with 4:10's I think you'll really be disappointed in anything w/o an OD. Granted Big Blue has a 460, but it also has 3.55's, so torque is probably roughly the same. And 65 MPH on the highway is 2500 RPM. Way too high.

But a ZF is expensive as they frequently need to be rebuilt, and that's costly. Still, they are really nice to have.

Anyway, I'm following.

I will definitely try to update when I make some decent progress. Sounds like you have quite a project too Rembrandt!

Gary, I learned with the 1980 that anything with a designation of "335" is a hastle to find parts for, and as you mentioned, the wheezer will go in without having to source another set of perches.

I'm looking to throw on a 4" lift, either through springs or through a shackle reversal. I've still got plenty of research before it gets to that point however. Tires and wheels will be 35's on 16x10 chrome "bullet hole" wheels. So that will definitely play a huge role in my gear ratios front and rear.

I agree, a 1.00 to 1 4th gear ratio isn't the best for highway driving, but I only plan for this truck to be my occasional cruiser and work horse, so it won't be the end of the world for me. My little Ranger is running 35's and 4.88's with an OD ratio of 0.79 and it runs right around 2400 rpms at 65. That little 3.0 V6 needs all of the help it can get. Haha.

 

[grumpin]

I will definitely try to update when I make some decent progress. Sounds like you have quite a project too Rembrandt!

Gary, I learned with the 1980 that anything with a designation of "335" is a hastle to find parts for, and as you mentioned, the wheezer will go in without having to source another set of perches.

I'm looking to throw on a 4" lift, either through springs or through a shackle reversal. I've still got plenty of research before it gets to that point however. Tires and wheels will be 35's on 16x10 chrome "bullet hole" wheels. So that will definitely play a huge role in my gear ratios front and rear.

I agree, a 1.00 to 1 4th gear ratio isn't the best for highway driving, but I only plan for this truck to be my occasional cruiser and work horse, so it won't be the end of the world for me. My little Ranger is running 35's and 4.88's with an OD ratio of 0.79 and it runs right around 2400 rpms at 65. That little 3.0 V6 needs all of the help it can get. Haha.

I had a 351W in a 1978 van, and have one in my Bronco. I really like them, the 92 is real nice.

[Gary Lewis]

I will definitely try to update when I make some decent progress. Sounds like you have quite a project too Rembrandt!

Gary, I learned with the 1980 that anything with a designation of "335" is a hastle to find parts for, and as you mentioned, the wheezer will go in without having to source another set of perches.

I'm looking to throw on a 4" lift, either through springs or through a shackle reversal. I've still got plenty of research before it gets to that point however. Tires and wheels will be 35's on 16x10 chrome "bullet hole" wheels. So that will definitely play a huge role in my gear ratios front and rear.

I agree, a 1.00 to 1 4th gear ratio isn't the best for highway driving, but I only plan for this truck to be my occasional cruiser and work horse, so it won't be the end of the world for me. My little Ranger is running 35's and 4.88's with an OD ratio of 0.79 and it runs right around 2400 rpms at 65. That little 3.0 V6 needs all of the help it can get. Haha.

Shaun - The 335 Series engines aren't cheap to build. But Tim Meyer has the parts, so it can be done. However, the easy and less expensive way out is with the Windsor, so it is a good choice.

And 35's will help with the overall gear ratio. So if you aren't cruising very much a 1:1 top gear will work fine - especially if you stay with the Wheezer's 3 1/2" stroke.

[salans7]

Shaun - The 335 Series engines aren't cheap to build. But Tim Meyer has the parts, so it can be done. However, the easy and less expensive way out is with the Windsor, so it is a good choice.

And 35's will help with the overall gear ratio. So if you aren't cruising very much a 1:1 top gear will work fine - especially if you stay with the Wheezer's 3 1/2" stroke.

That's definitely the plan. The most I'll do to the engine is a little port matching, and some bolt ons.

Although I want this truck to resemble a 1980, I'm going to try hard and avoid heading down the same rabbit hole I did with my last truck, attempting to make EVERYTHING period correct. I saved a lot of parts from the 86 that I hope to re-use when the time comes.

[FuzzFace2]

That's definitely the plan. The most I'll do to the engine is a little port matching, and some bolt ons.

Although I want this truck to resemble a 1980, I'm going to try hard and avoid heading down the same rabbit hole I did with my last truck, attempting to make EVERYTHING period correct. I saved a lot of parts from the 86 that I hope to re-use when the time comes.

So where is the rust that cant be fixed? The picture of the cab that I can see does not look that bad.

I think mine was a lot worst than that.

And that was just the left side had to do the same on the other side also.

I got to ask you guys doing the cab swaps how you going to deal with the VIN being different than the frame VIN?

You have paper work on the frame & cab to show the DMV that you own both?

Dave ----

[salans7]

So where is the rust that cant be fixed? The picture of the cab that I can see does not look that bad.

I think mine was a lot worst than that.

And that was just the left side had to do the same on the other side also.

I got to ask you guys doing the cab swaps how you going to deal with the VIN being different than the frame VIN?

You have paper work on the frame & cab to show the DMV that you own both?

Dave ----

Good question.

For the rust, both rockers were swiss cheese, from the front a-pillar all the way down to the cab corner interior panels. The bottom of the firewall is gone, as are quite a few spots in the cowl box. The reinforcement panel for the brake booster is hanging on for dear life, and behind that is all gone. The roof has a base ball sized hole from a CB antenna that was mounted there at one time, but when it was removed, it was never properly sealed, so the interior roof panel is rusted out in multiple places. The cab corners are gone, both inner and outer. For salt belt standards, this cab wasn't really bad, but for Florida standards, it was terrible.

As for the VIN, Florida is very lax on vin checks due to the lack of inspections. However, the proper procedure is to take both the frame vin and the cab vin to the DMV along with the truck, and they will assign the truck a new vin and a new title that covers both. Of course, this makes it a rebuilt title vehicle, and therefore it will not have a clear title, even if both previous titles were clear.

 

[Rembrant]

I got to ask you guys doing the cab swaps how you going to deal with the VIN being different than the frame VIN?

You have paper work on the frame & cab to show the DMV that you own both?

Dave ----

Dave,

Cab swaps are not a big deal where I live. You would just swap the VIN from the old cab to the new cab and nobody would even notice. Even if they did notice, I don't think they'd care. There is a process that you're supposed to go through here for modifications like tubbing a body/frame to fit giant pro-street tires, etc but for everyday body swap parts and panels, swapping a cab here would be as simple as swapping a bed.

We have inspections here, but only for safety related items, and these days RUST.

It is possible for somebody at an inspection station to get really fussy and fail something, but I've not heard of it personally. Ya know, I see trucks on the road that have had solid axle swaps in the front, and I know they haven't been through the engineering modification approval at the DMV.