Boingk

Hi mate, best bet would be to go through the whole engine. I've been down this path and the best bang for the buck was having a set of 200ci pistons for a 1966 Mustang in the block. Cheap casties, but they bumped the compression right up to 11:1 or so with the alloyhead motor. That let me run the entry level Crow mechanical flat tappet camshaft for a more aggressive ramp rate, it had about 232@50 and 570 lift from memory, so equivalent to about a 250@50 hydraulic or so. To run that cam I needed rockers, springs, retainers and pushrods. The pistons gave me the compression I needed for it to not be a dog off the line. Along with a 3" single exhaust, long oval straight-through truck muffler and turndown at the diff it had extractors, intake, ADL2 ignition through a Blaster solid state coil and Holley Brawler carb on an Aussiespeed intake. The thing went like the clappers with a four speed manual behind it in my XF ute, about the same as a modern BA-BF XR6 (non-turbo) which isn't bad for an old pushrod job. I think if you're not putting money into a new block with a bit of machining for some basic cast pistons and new bearings you'll probably be disappointed. If you aren't running new pistons, I'd be looking more at the 14550SS as a maximum which has the following: Performance cam heaps of bottom end & mid range, Street /Stock speedway :: 2200 - 5200rpm :: 141550S :: 290 295 duration :: 219 224 @50 :: .510"in .510"ex :: 106 lobesep That would give you a good streetable engine without opening her right up. You'll still probably need springs and pushrods, though, or you'll just end up with a mess when the stock pushrods bend - assuming they havent already on the stock motor! They are a very long pushrod compared to most basic automotive engines, especially V8's, and aren't terribly durable once you get over about 4500rpm. TLDR? So, intake and reasonable carby - I'd highly recommend a 4412 (Holley 500cfm two barrel) on the stock manifold or a slightly improved unit. Easily and widely available and beats the pants off the tiny little 350 which is too small IMO. I wouldn't spend $800 on the Aussiespeed manifold as its better spent elsewhere at this level. Throw a basic HEI style dizzy on or get a timing box and run it from the TFI style (EFI) dizzy so you can set your ignition curve properly. Get extractors and sort the exhaust. Now decide on the camshaft (note above) and install the supporting mods. That's about it. It won't be a world beater but it'll sure have a lot more get up and go than the current 100hp lump in there, and feel/sound a lot more aggressive on the road. The 3.55 rear end will get old quick, though, as you'll pull significant revs on the highway. I would leave it til dead last and see how you go with the stock 2.92 unit. Cheers - boingk EDIT: Saw you had a 650 mech-sec. Perfect but I'd be wary of using the back barrels too much. I ran a 650 on my solid cam job and it was way too much carb for it.

Evening all. I picked this up today. Let me know if the pics don't work. She's an early dentside F250 4x4, commonly called the 'Highboy' option. She has a 351C and manual trans, lots of rust in the floors and a fairly clean engine compartment.

Cheers mate I'll do that, legend! The Mictrona is indeed a tacho / clock thing. The tacho works a treat but the clock has issues. Very handy little gadget, seems reasonably accurate and just adds to the oldschool feel of it. Now I just need an under-dash UHF and I'm set. - boingk

Thanks for the feedback guys. Yeah, 17/100 blew me away for such a big unit too! I reckon if it had sane tyres (ie not 35" muddies) then it might even squeak in 15/100 but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Hearing you all on the no pics. I think Google has changed the way they allow hosting again. This has bit me a few times, I'm usually able to resolve it in a few days. For now, here's a link to the album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gPNsJ6vdbku1EgdH9 Cheers - boingk

Did the photos work in that post? I'll try again.

Okay, so this was an epic trip. I left home on the 19th, carrying a few boxes of things plus the boot of spare parts for old mate - seat, vinyl, steering column, roof racks, etc. The Val shot its water pump spigot about 100km out of town. I found out after slowing down for a truck in front - all of a sudden it felt like it'd thrown a rod. The good news was the fan didn't gouge the radiator, but the bad news was I had to take it off and let the pump wobble under 80kmh. It lasted a few hundred kay until I was just about to hit the SA border checkpoint. I fit a bit of rope to the pulleys, stretched and retightened and tensioned again, and showed up at the checkpoint with rust-coloured water on the fender, a run-on from the poor thing being hot and then steam rising as the overflow bubbled due to no airflow allowing the contents to boil. So, I limped off to get a belt and found two good blokes in Paringa who lent me a hand. I paid for the belt, fit it, and was off again. I made it to the seller just out of Waikeri as the sun went down. We had a chat about the personalities of our vehicles, exchanged receipts and I was out of there. I camped the night behind a servo and in the morning made a 100km leg to see how she went - 'not terrible' was about it... she used about 40L/100km. Not impressed at all, I changed to the Holley Brawler 650 in a servo carpark and was on my way. First fillup was 20L/100km and after that it dropped to 17 on the open road, cruising along about 2600rpm @ 100kmh courtesy of the big 35" tyres. End result? I'm pretty bloody happy. 17/100 is magic for one of these bricks on 35's. I'll see how she goes with my nice closed chamber heads but honestly I'm considering leaving her as is. Very good bang-for-the buck in terms of fuel usage! That carb swap basically paid for itself. Cheers - boingk

I've done a stack of research into this. Bloke near me has one in a 78 model F100, the thing is a mess but the 300/6 engine is complete. The best 'parts book' build would be a 240 head on a 300 block, headers and dual exhaust for as long as possible before the merge into a single 3". The States even got cast dual exhaust manifold for ehavy duty applications, no idea if any made it here. Go a moderate manifold or even port the stocker for a Holley 500. Jam an HEI dizzy on there if you can, otherwise just upgrade the stocker to electronic if not fitted already and use a solid state coil for a nice fat spark. Camshaft we're looking at something like a Howards 280996-10 with 500 lift and 220@50 which is plenty without stressing the stock valvetrain - see here: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-280996-10/make/ford Anything more you'll probably want custom pistons or a very shaved deck to help with compression. The head flows about as well as an alloy Xflow, so poorly for such a big lump of an engine. Apparently you can up it with some mild work to about 200CFM intake, stock is about 185 or so... hence the Holley 500 which would be about perfect for a 250hp engine. Unless you chop a pair of LS1 heads up... then you need three Holleys: Have a read. This guy is a legend, made the setup himself and just figured out where to chop. The pair of heads is centred on the #2 and #5 cylinders, and because of the size and shape of the chambers it doesn't matter that the others are a bit off-center on the bores. Amazing. https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=4014

I've got both lying around so thats no a bad idea actually. Today I gave the Val a good once over, she's got fresh brake fluid, oil and filters, refurbed Holley 500, new themostat and gasket plus a coolant flush and fill. I've done some crazy trips in this old rig but its time to move it on. She'll do well with the new owner and I'll (hopefully) not have too many issues with the Effy. Fingers crossed, not long now.

Knew I was forgetting something. Legend! Now I just need to figure out where I put them haha.

Yeah fuses always go with me, but good catch on the putty stuff. I'll grab some of that for sure. Old mate says its a new radiator but you never know. That's pretty much my daily list, most sits in the boot in a milk crate haha. I'm definitely taking jerries as the good ole Effy will be somewhat less than frugal on 35s and I don't want to run out on the longer stretches back home. Good idea on the torch though, I rely too much on my phone at the moment and a proper torch will be useful, especially as I'll be camping overnight in the thing. Ah, and you guys heard of Trangias? Best cookstove ever. Swedish, weatherproof, self-contained, light, not too dear and last bloody forever. They're quick to use, too, the amount of times I've outdone some you-beaut pressurised mountain stove is crazy. Usually I'm done eating by the time they've finished cooking. Keep the ideas coming. Can never be too prepared for a road trip... and this will be about a 6 hour each way trip into the middle of butt-fahrk-nowhere South Australia. - boingk

Okay, deal is put together and I have my border pass COVID whatevers all sorted to leave in less than a week's time in the Val, rockin' along on an unrego permit to the final destination. On the way back in the truck I'm going to go look at a Honda Grom - those mini-bike looking things you've probably seen tootling around the last few years. I'd love to get back on 2 wheels again and figure this will be a good, cheap way to do it that will sell on easily after if I tire of it. The breakdown bucket so far is a 12v fuel pump, 10g wire, entire new carby, 10L water, coolant concentrate, 5L oil, Z9 oil filter, spark plugs, timing light and hand tools. That should sort out whatever the last owner hasn't, although the truck is regoed so can't be too horrid. Fingers crossed!

This is where things get weird. I have a Chrysler wagon (because I'm just sick like that - sick!) and have been offered an even trade for a '77 F100 XLT - Clevo, 4WD, tub rear and already regoed and running on 35" tyres. Hot damn. This might happen. May still do up the F250, but either way the engine is going in the new truck if I get it.

Dart or Arrow is my bet. It's a 4.235 stroke and 4.18 bore for 465ci or 7,620cc. Good Lord. Check the video at 5:10 for the specs - they do a card on screen. And 14.2:1 compression? Far out. Honestly I would consider a larger combo at that point. There are plenty of 500+ cube engines that will do over 1000hp without having such extreme specs, although the fact this thing is essentially a "smallblock" does have a few merits. - boingk

Okay so I ended up with 30-thou ring end gaps due to pre-gapped rings but what the hell, thats way better than the 120+ I had to start with, and with 11:1, worked heads, camshaft and possible nitrous use thats probably not a bad place to be. The whole shortblock is together and torqued to spec with new bearings and oil pump, the sump/timing set/water pump go on next and then I'll chuck it back in the truck before I put heads on it.

Yep, it liked the starter but it most certainly ran. Probably why it sounded badass - absolutely zero compression. I imagine it would've topped out about 70kmh with those ring end gaps haha. If I have 20 thou gaps this time around I'll be happy, should be about right. Yup, generous piston to bore clearance but honestly I'm more worried about getting this thing on the road as soon as I can. My next lot of leave is in April (I generally keep working over the holiday period) and I'd love it on the road before then. I'm using a very basic dial-bore gauge I got from ebay for about $40. It's consistent at least, although was a prick to set up. The micrometer is a metal bodied digital unit from repco and works fairly well.

The sump and valley are post-cleaning session. They were caked in a 1/4 inch of black buildup. The bores were pretty good, though, as are all the bearings and lifter bores. Sludge from age and lack of oil changes, coupled with only the occasional fire-up is my guess.

Getting somewhere. There was so much freakin' sludge in this thing. Luckily a small stainless brush, an old chisel, a few cans of degreaser and a whole lotta elbow grease got it sorted. The block is clean enough and the bores measure up well at 4.001" to 4.002", but the stock rings are shot and a few of them cracked in half on removing the pistons. I measured two end gaps and they were both about 1/8" hahaha. The pistons themselves don't look as bad as I thought though. They measure 3.996 to 3.998 across the thrust faces so I'll probably reuse them. They don't show any signs of damage beyond some mild pitting - with that and the broken rings I'm thinking detonation. The sump cleaned up well, too, after pouring about a pint of sludge out of it. The stuff had the consistency of cold porridge. Lovely. On the upside it looks like a good strong pan with true sealing surfaces, and even the dent in the lower section beat out just fine.

By the look of the thermostat it probably hasnt run in over a decade until I got it. This thing is crusty. I can't see evidence of it being on gas, I'd say its just been plunked in there, beers were had, things were smoked and then the project got abandoned right around the time Port Arthur was happening. Lots of cleaning ahead for sure. The timing set that came out was actually pretty tight, the picture doesn't do it justice. In all honestly I'm tempted to clean it up and see if it can be reused, or at least kept as a spare. In the meantime, the block is out of the truck. Hazzah!

Cover whire wheeled, camshaft and timing set out. This thing definitely had love in the distant past - the camshaft is a Crane grind (230@50 / 530 lift) and all the cam bearings are mint. The head gaskets came off dead flat and looking like they're out of a packet. The more I strip stuff off this the better it gets. Figners crossed for the crank and rods. Ah yeah, I got the heads back as well. Hot tanked, acid bathed, hardened seats all round with a mild throat cut plus a valve job, new seals & mild performance springs. Nice.

Checked the recipt, they are indeed Dynamic. Heh, at least they were cheap! The timing cover is pretty good. It's an average of about 15% humidity and bugger all rainfall out here so things don't deteriorate like they do on the coast. A quick wire-wheel and a coat of paint, she'll be good as new. - boingk

Yeah probably. I did remember he said they weren't made in China though, so hey who knows. I'll find that receipt haha. Meantime, the latest efforts are focussed on the engine. I got her torn down well, next step is removing her for the bearing, ring and hone job she surely needs. She's dirty inside but is sporting a double row timing chain so there's been some love there at some point. A big plus is that nothing on this engine seems seized, apart from that one rocker retaining bolt. I'm pretty happy with how its going at this point. - boingk

Not sure mate, but if there's one thing I've learnt is to not trust anything anymore - lots of parts interchange and anyone could have done so in the past. Jack a rear wheel up so it can turn freely. With the handbrake off and the wheel chocked, put the car in neutral and turn that wheel one full turn. Have someone look underneath at the tailshaft and record how many turns it does. It helps if you put a mark on it first. The number of turns is your diff ratio, eg 3 turns will be a 2.92 or 3.08, 2.7 turns a 2.72, 3 and a quarter a 3.23 and so on. - boingk

Don't think there would be any issue there. You'll probably lose about 15hp on top vs a similar spec 289 but whos counting? Only other thing would be keeping compression up with available heads.

Just pick up an AU block if you can. I got two for $300 the pair. One was trashed, the other has been done up and traded for Suzuki 1250 Bandit.

Hi mate, no lift kit. These things are pretty tall stright from factory. By the mid 70's Ford was the only manufacturer making 4x4 pickups without a dedicated chassis for them - its just a factory lifted 2wd basically. No idea mate. I will find the receipt and let you know if you want. Also I went and got the nice chrome bumper old mate promised me. Very happy to have this, they're starting to become hard to find and bring decent money.