'71 F250 12 valve conversion

[brobrad]

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This pic shows the freshly installed Ford Blue coated engine parts. The color really livens up the appearance of the engine.

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I'm pretty sure this is one of the shortest driveshafts I have ever seen. The 1350 Hyoke was a couple inches shorter than I liked for spline engagement into the transmission, so I decided I would try to make a super short 1410 shaft from the donor pickup's salvaged driveshaft. It is pretty much the perfect length. The only downfall is that I will have to pull the transfercase to change ujoints. After thinking about it some more, I would convert to a married 205 if I found a cheap overdrive unit (GV) to go behind the transmission. Maybe someday. I think this will work fine.

I love the Ford Blue Powder coating. I plan to do something very similar with my build. I am doing a 69 F350 Crew cab, but I'm using an 04 SD FX4 chassis for mine. I would like to see more pics of the core intergration. I haven't decided what radiator/intercooler to use because I'm not sure what will fit the best. I pm'd my # and email address for more pics if you're having trouble posting them up.

 

[Fordpickupman]

The midget driveshaft doesn't vibrate a bit. I've put about 1,000 miles on it with out any problems.

I got the 60# valvesprings installed, that wasn't too bad other than #6 is tight to the firewall and laying on the top of the engine is not comfy at all.

I also did the waste gate mod on the turbo since I had it off to install the thermocouple for the pyro.

The Dana 80 is also bolted in waiting for me to build another driveshaft and finish the brakes.

 

[Fordpickupman]

I've been driving it daily for over a month, I love it. I'm getting close to 20 miles per gallon, that alone makes all the effort worth while. But the power is the most fun.
I'm still tinkering with the pump to get it running as good as possible. It seems to run out of fuel about the time it really starts pulling hard if I mash the pedal. I need an OFV for it, this one has the ball pressed in the top instead of the bolt. Hopefully the lift pump isn't weak.
I'm running a 100 plate in the middle. I think I may move it towards the firewall and loosen the Starwheel to maybe lessen the smoke show and quicken the spool on the bottom end.

The 5" exhaust sounds great.

I need to change the wiring to the voltage regulator to stop the annoying surging.

Replaced the fan bearing and now the idler is squeaking.
cheapnskbearings.com

The torque convert slips a bunch until I lock it. How much is normal?

I love the truck now.

 

[JR]

If the TC is shuddering under acceleration it won't be long for the scrap bin. Then a quality single disc convertor and a valve body will be in the works

 

[Fordpickupman]

It doesn't shudder at all even if I'm beating on it. It just seems that the RPMs drop a bunch when I lock it. Is that normal? I don't have a tach in it yet, so I don't have any numbers to quantify the drop. it is like grabbing another gear though. Like its a 5 spd instead of a 4 spd.

I have a bunch of research to do before I build a transmission for it. There is a ton of info out there.

 

[JR]

It is definitely normal to see a drop in rpm when the transmision locks up, especially with a loose convertor. Are you manually locking the TC or are you letting it lock on its own? Be careful if you have a lock up switch you do not want to allow the trans to shift while locked or you will be eating your input shaft and flex plate in short order.

 

[Fordpickupman]

I lock it manually, but only from 3rd to OD. As far as I know it won't lock in 2nd.

 

[Fordpickupman]

I've been driving it daily for a few months now and I absolutely love it. I'm getting 2x the mileage that the tired old 390 used to get.

I did the AFC mods and put in the TST spring kit. The smoke is 1/3 what it used to be. I also set the preboost screw with just a touch of preload on the spring. When I tore into it, someone had previously cranked it all the way in. No wonder it smoked so bad at take off. I set the AFC to be fully open at 25 psi as that is the max boost I've seen on my gauge.

I'll be installing 215 injectors in the next week or two. I'm curious to see what difference they will make on this ol 160 engine.

 

[Wayne M.]

PICTURES! WE NEED PICTURES!!!Oo.

 

[Grizzly]

I had one like it with the 390, 4 speed. Bought it new. It was the sorriest vehicle I ever owned. Can you post pictures of it.

 

[brobrad]

Hey man, hows it going. You and i had conversed a while back about the core support setup. You sent me some additional pics, but i can't find them. If you don't mind read your PM and/or post some up on here. Update us on your build as well.

 

[brobrad]

transmission controller

BTW, i have designed an automatic controller that will make OD and LU work at your custom set points. There's an infinite number of points at which you can set it. You can also kick out LU for towing if it becomes necessary. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[Fordpickupman]

I got the 215 (5x.10?) injectors installed a couple months ago. Night and day difference in performance, ofcourse the original 160 injectors were pretty worn out. I've gotten as good as 22 miles per gallon, and as poor as 14 (therapy sessions, lol).

I usually post from my phone, and for whatever reason the forum program won't let me post pics from my phone.

My bride and I just finished building a 12 valve for her pickup, we had the rotating assembly balanced and put a Colt Big Stick in it. Balancing is worth the money, it runs so smooth compared to a stock engine. It was a fun family project, she is very mechanical for a woman (EIT Mechanical Engineer).

 

[Fordpickupman]

As far as the transmission controller, I'm running a 47RH, for two reasons: it is what was attached to the engine I swapped, and it doesn't require electronics to operate. I want this pickup to be computer free. However, I will keep it in mind for future swaps (I'm addicted now, it was a fun project).

I don't really have any pics to update this thread at this time, but fall is upon us and the project list is long for things to finish up and fix on this pickup.

I want to build a hybrid turbo or swap on a HE351VGT at some point, the long term goal is twins. The transmission will have to be built first though, lol.

 

[brobrad]

As far as the transmission controller, I'm running a 47RH, for two reasons: it is what was attached to the engine I swapped, and it doesn't require electronics to operate. I want this pickup to be computer free. However, I will keep it in mind for future swaps (I'm addicted now, it was a fun project).

I don't really have any pics to update this thread at this time, but fall is upon us and the project list is long for things to finish up and fix on this pickup.

I want to build a hybrid turbo or swap on a HE351VGT at some point, the long term goal is twins. The transmission will have to be built first though, lol.

How are you operating the OD and LU. If you don't have toggles operating them, then the stock ecm must be in place to make it shift into overdrive and lockup. Those two functions are electronic.

 

[Fordpickupman]

I'm using switches on the dash to control lockup and OD. I like having the control.
However, they are cumbersome to push when playing around. I need to find a switch I can mount on the column that won't look cheesy but will be easier to reach and find when Hot Roddin around.
Here in another month I will have time to finish some stuff up on the ol girl. This includes narrowing the swapped in Dana 80 to the factory Dana 60 width.

 

[brobrad]

Cool. There's always that "next" thing we want to accomplish in our build.

 

[Fordpickupman]

A long overdue update.....I ended up researching how to rebuild the 47rh and beefed it up to take the increased power and horseplay I was throwing at it. Power Driven Diesel put together a complete kit for me. It works great.






I up graded to 5x.012" injectors (also from Power Driven) upped the timing to 20* and replaced the tired Wh1c with a ported/polished He351cw. Those things really woke it up, it feels like an entirely different engine. After I blew the headgasket (abusive 50psi bursts) I ported the head, did a 3 angle valve job, and lapped the valves for a fresh seal. This helped quite a bit to lower backpressure (lower EGTs and lower boost at 65mph) and it spools better. Keep in mind this is just a daily driver hotrod and is not set up for towing. It would probably work fine for light towing, however I never tow with it. I have a '96 Cummins dually for that. Oh, yeah, I also installed hydroboost brakes out of a SuperDuty too. That was an awesome upgrade, well worth the effort.