Jakes Wacky LS Swapped, Straight Axled, Coilovered, Airbagged '87 F250 Build

[frozenmoustache]

Not very often does a plan of mine actually come to fruition. I'll often start a build, decide it's either impractical, to much work, or just lose interest all together. It's something I've struggled with for years.

Back in 2017 I bought this one owner 1987 F250. Dan (the previous owner) had used it to travel down to Florida every winter since new with his slide in camper. It was after a hospital check-up and a heart murmer that he was refused travel insurance and could no longer drive across the border. I paid his asking price of $2500 for the carb'd 351W, C6 equipped truck.



Fast forward to the summer of last year when the original transmission became equipped with 4 neutral gears I decided that I was going to do something different.



Arguably I have a difficult time deciding what I wanted to do. It was going to be LS powered, as efficient and reliable as possible, and most importantly serviceable. I purchased a 1999 GMC Sierra for parts with the push button 4x4 because I thought it would be cool to retrofit it. But decided that the cool factor wasn't enough for a weaker unit. I also wanted decent mileage and towing so I picked up a Nv4500 with a matching NP271 case (could be a 241, I can't remember). Then in a strike of brilliance I decided that a 5.3 wasn't enough, so I bought a wrecked '04 Yukon Denali for $1000 and yanked out the 6L.


So where does that leave me?
Well the plan (currently) is LQ4, NV4500, NP271, 2006 Superduty Dana 60 with coil springs, Sterling 10.5 full float leaf sprung (maybe airbags), and a boxed frame. Rear will have traction bars, front will be 4 linked.

I am having a hard time finding a bellhousing for the NV4500 used, and that's the only thing preventing me from mocking up the engine and transmission for all the mounts.

My workspace is a garage attached to my family's barn. I'm fortunate that it keeps me out of the elements, but I have limited power. I'm able to have lights on, and use a grinder - provided I don't lean on it too much. But that's the most power I have at my disposal.

Until I bought




More or less all of the fabrication will be done with this Ranger, whether it be the welding itself or just as a power supply.

First order of business? Clean-up.

 

[VroomSIX]

What do you plan to use for motor mounts, custom fab some? Also, I know the strength of the LS motor as a platform, but why did you ultimately choose to use a GM drivetrain? This looks like it’s gonna be an awesome build! Love me some OBS goodness

 

[frozenmoustache]

What do you plan to use for motor mounts, custom fab some? Also, I know the strength of the LS motor as a platform, but why did you ultimately choose to use a GM drivetrain? This looks like it’s gonna be an awesome build! Love me some OBS goodness

I'm going to fabricate my own mounts. The only issue I can see right now is there are large holes stamped into the crossmember of the OBS trucks and they're pretty much exactly where I would want to put my mounts. I figure I'll just make a patch and fill the hole.

TMR Customs https://www.tmrcustoms.com/ca/
Is about 30 minutes from me and they sell poly bushings that I will use for the engine and transmission mounts. As well as most of the other hardware I'll need for the suspension work.

 

[frozenmoustache]

Oh boy am I lazy.

Getting overwhelmed with the complexity of the build (thinking too much), and realizing how much money it was going to cost me, the entire project came to a halt shortly after the first post.

But that's not the right way to go about things. If you have a dream, big or small, you should do everything you can to obtain it. Right?

So with that being said, some progress has been made. With the help of a friend, the rear portion of the frame was completely cut off. This was done in order to make boxing the frame easier. While the original frame did have a notch in it to allow "clearance" for the axle, with the bumpstop installed, the actually height difference ended up being around 1/2". So making the frame completely flat wouldn't affect the amount of articulation the rear axle will have. The other issue faced will being the crossmembers of the bed itself, as they are different heights. This can easily be remedied with spacers, and notches to crossmembers however they need to be modified.

The liner in my welder decided to stop allowing wire to come through, so this is about as far as I got today. Tomorrow (if I can find a new liner) I will able to finish the welding.

 

[borison]

A GM powered F250?! Truly, the apocalypse is upon us. I’m a GM guy originally and this doesn’t feel right. Can it even be done? I’m sure the host will reject the donor. Good luck, I’ll keep an eye on it.

 

[MTVR]

FWIW, the forged steel TIB (Twin I-Beam) 2WD front end is MUCH stronger than the sheetmetal TTB (Twin Traction Beam) 4WD front end. I was an ASE-certified and Ford factory-trained technician back when these things were new, and alignment was one of my areas of specialty. The TTB trucks would get knocked out of alignment just hitting potholes on paved roads, with stock wheels and tires. Oversized tires and wheels that offset the tires further out just make it worse. Yet TIB trucks held alignment very well.

 

[zoomad75]

Wow. That should piss off people pretty quickly. I'm a GM guy for sure but I think it's pretty cool. You wouldn't be able to swap in a Ford 5.0 Coyote engine for the price of the 6.0L Chevy. Besides hot rod guys had been swapping in small block Chevy engines into Ford hot rods since 1955. Not much different here.

Besides it's your truck, you build it the way you want.

If you really want to freak people out, just tell them it's a new 7.3 Ford pushrod engine since it looks like a clone of the GM small block anyway.

 

[frozenmoustache]

A GM powered F250?! Truly, the apocalypse is upon us. I’m a GM guy originally and this doesn’t feel right. Can it even be done? I’m sure the host will reject the donor. Good luck, I’ll keep an eye on it.

the host isn't getting much say in the matter. I figure an oversized shoe horn and some WD-40 should help it along.

FWIW, the forged steel TIB (Twin I-Beam) 2WD front end is MUCH stronger than the sheetmetal TTB (Twin Traction Beam) 4WD front end. I was an ASE-certified and Ford factory-trained technician back when these things were new, and alignment was one of my areas of specialty. The TTB trucks would get knocked out of alignment just hitting potholes on paved roads, with stock wheels and tires. Oversized tires and wheels that offset the tires further out just make it worse. Yet TIB trucks held alignment very well.

Were the frames themselves very different? It's all getting boxed and reinforced regardless. The TTB is also getting swapped for a modern Dana 60.

Wow. That should piss off people pretty quickly. I'm a GM guy for sure but I think it's pretty cool. You wouldn't be able to swap in a Ford 5.0 Coyote engine for the price of the 6.0L Chevy. Besides hot rod guys had been swapping in small block Chevy engines into Ford hot rods since 1955. Not much different here.

Besides it's your truck, you build it the way you want.

If you really want to freak people out, just tell them it's a new 7.3 Ford pushrod engine since it looks like a clone of the GM small block anyway.

A little bit of the motivation behind this is to annoy some purists. I also wanted more modern technology, with budget in mind. And you're exactly right in that I couldn't get a Coyote 5.0 for this kind of money.

 

[MTVR]

Were the frames themselves very different?

I don't remember.

It's all getting boxed and reinforced regardless.

Why?

The TTB is also getting swapped for a modern Dana 60.

That will certainly be stronger than the TTB, but it won't be as strong as a TIB front end, you'll lose ground clearance, it will ride rougher because of the increased unsprung weight, and you'll probably end up with much less suspension travel.

 

[frozenmoustache]

Why?

The frames of these OBS style Fords are known for their large amount of flex. I'm building the chassis to ensure that the only flex is in the tire or the suspension.

That will certainly be stronger than the TTB, but it won't be as strong as a TIB front end, you'll lose ground clearance, it will ride rougher because of the increased unsprung weight, and you'll probably end up with much less suspension travel.

The truck needs to be 4x4, and I already have the Dana 60. Going to an I-beam front would be fine if it was going to be just a prerunner or only see that kind of landscape. But the fact is that I live in Ontario, and most of the offroading that this truck will see will be fire roads and the trails that the Canadian Shield can offer me. Plenty of rockcrawlers have sufficient articulation running axles, so I'm not worried about suspension travel being a concern.

 

[frozenmoustache]

Still having some issues running MIG. I've replaced my liner, but I think the fact that I'm powering the welder with the generator means that I'm not getting consistent enough voltage to produce the quality of welds I'm looking for. This entire truck may end up being TIG welded.

I did pull the carpet out to see what the floors were like inside the cab. I know the outside will require a little bit of work, but it now looks like the inside will need a few areas touched up before everything is put back together.

Also with me, my brother, who's working on getting some SMAW tickets. While I was taking a break from vacuuming rust, I snapped this of him burnin' some rod.

 

[MTVR]

Did you say chassis flex? Did you say rock-crawler?

 

[frozenmoustache]

So a bit has been done, but not much. It's hard to say, I've spent countless hours working on this thing but it doesn't really show. Especially when you think about all of the forthcoming work. It definitely takes a bit of a toll on the ol' psyche.

Managed to finish welding the back half to the original frame. (For now, there are some more plates going in, but they have to wait). Also "relocated" the cab to allow me to work on the rest of the frame while leaving adequate floor space.

 

[Regcabguy]

Regarding Baja,the controls are in place for another month as you've heard by now. 6,200+ vehicles have been turned back at El Sauzal south of Rosarito Beach since the ****************** took hold. Good time to continue dialing what ever rig you have.

 

[frozenmoustache]

Regarding Baja,the controls are in place for another month as you've heard by now. 6,200+ vehicles have been turned back at El Sauzal south of Rosarito Beach since the ****************** took hold. Good time to continue dialing what ever rig you have.

Thanks for letting me know! I didn't really have the plans to go this year because of the pandemic, so I hadn't looked into it too much. I appreciate the info though.