A little backstory.

I got a killer deal on an 84 F150 several months ago. It's an extended cab, long box, 4x4. Not in too bad of shape. It's got a non-running 300 straight six in it. I bought this truck with plans for a 351 windsor swap, sas, lift and tires, and a nice, jet black paint job.

Things change.

As of this afternoon, I took delivery of a 76 F100 2 wheel drive. I bought it for 1 dollar. Why'd I break the bank for this truck? It's got a 390 with 112,000 original miles and a recently rebuilt top end. Don't get too many better deals than that...

This truck is an eyesore though. Old work truck, rusted out, and two flat tires. OH. And the 2000lb. service box on the back has sagged the springs so much over the course of twenty years, that there is no rear suspension. At all. I have no plans for this thing. Except the motor. She'll be right at home in my F150.

My questions are: What am I getting myself into? What snags will I see along the way? Motor mounts will have to be fabbed I imagine.

I'm going to put headers on it, but since Ford didn't make 390's in TTB years, should I use 4x4 or 4x2 headers? It's gonna get a 4 speed (going from auto to 4 speed as well, yay), so there will be linkage to deal with too.

This is the first time I've ever taken on a project of this magnitude, so, any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

Do you plan on using the Bronco tranny? Is it 4 spd or auto? Either way you will need to get the correct round pattern bellhousing for an FE motor. If you have an auto you will need a 352/360/390 flexplate.

If it were mine, I'd try to sell the 76 for enough money to pick up a later model 351 or something. Those 390's weren't anything to get all excited about.

I plan on buying a 4 speed for the swap. The truck is an auto right now.

I've driven the truck that has the 390, and it seemed to have plenty of power. Enough to make me happy anyway. Besides, I got the good running, trouble free 390 for a dollar. Where the best 351 I can find, the guy wants 400 bucks for it, and I have to pull it from the car its in. Doesn't idle or run nearly as nicely as the 390.

I see this as the better option to go with, as I don't have the cash for a rebuild right now.

How prevelant are the np435's for an fe? Haven't started making calls yet.

I have been running an FE in my old ford for years. It has been the most dependable engine ever. I have ABUSED this engine. Personally I wanted to blow it up for years so I could swap something else in. It refuses to die.

Anyways, my '78 was a pretty easy swap. Your 84 might be a little more of a pain. The two major problems I have with FEs is the complete lack of decent headers and the poor factory power steering system.

I nursed a set of crappy full length inside the frame headers along for years. They hang WAY to low for a real off road truck. The only thing I have found that looks good for headers is the Sanderson. They might be a little tight around the clutch linkage....

http://www.centuryperformance.com/detail.asp?product_id=SDH-FF390

http://www.centuryperformance.com/images/sanderson/f390.jpg

The power steering bracket...or more realistically the stock ford power steering pump sucks. For bigger tires I like the saginaw pump. You might be able to make your own brackets but I found this company....

http://www.ndgearheadscruiserproducts.com/id22.htm

They make a nice bracket that bolts on and FE for the GM pump.

What tranny does your parts truck have? You might be able to use a bellhousing off of that. Most 4wd ford NP435s are the same in the 73-79 ford trucks. They are not engine specific. You will need the correct FE bellhosuing and flywheel. Clutch linkage if your truck has hydraulic linkage could be a pain.

One bonus with Ford is that most of the later 80+ trucks transfer cases will bolt to the back of a 73-79 NP435 ( that had an NP205 or 203 behind it ). Or you can fab some more and use the 205. Your factory t-case should have lower low range gearing however.

Thanks for the info! :)

Do you think those headers will interfere with the TTB setup? It's gonna get a SAS soon, but not yet. Just want to get it on the road for now.

Both trucks are auto's right now. C4 in the 6 powered F150, C6 in the f100 donor truck I think. Mostly guessing. I need to find lots of parts to make this happen... But I'm just too hard on auto's. And I'm tired of replacing them. It's 4 speed time.

I checked out Jeffs Bronco Graveyard and they want just as much for a rebuilt 435 as COAN Racing wants for an all out C6. Guess I'll be rebuild the 4 speed myself...