thewestwon's 1994 F-250 Build Thread

[thewestwon]

Finally decided to make the commitment to a build thread because I haven't got too far into the project yet and I'd like to keep track of it so I can look back a few years from now and complain about the money i spent . A little background info - I've lurked on Colorado K5 for awhile and have been more of a Chevy guy (still have my 1987 Blazer on 35s, 2001 Yukon, and 2010 Camaro SS) but ran into a 1994 F250 a month or so ago and decided to do a serious build since the money situation is good for the time being.

Truck: 1994 F-250. Essentially no rust (thank god) and pretty straight body. 8" skyjacker lift and 3" body lift running on 38.5 TSLs. Guy I bought it from said it ran well, I thought the body looked solid and was pleased when I looked at it so I jumped on it. It has a c6 tranny, dana 50 TTB up front and a 60 in the back. Initially was gonna just run it for what it was and have some fun, but two days after I bought it I was driving down the highway and she started smoking pretty bad and I lost oil pressure. Got it home and the oil had been ejected violently all over the engine compartment so the wheels started turning and my roommate and I decided it was time to strip her down and rebuild it the right way. On a side note, I'm okay with what I paid for it, still think it was a fair deal for parts alone, if nothing else. (Turns out it might have just needed a water pump, haha)




And so the fun begins. To this point we've pulled the front clip, cab, and motor, gutted the interior, and removed the factory wiring and fuel system.

At this point we're pulling the bed to get the frame ready to sandblast and paint. I have a SORD shackle flip kit and I'm fixing the body mounts that need some TLC. I have a master set of energy suspension polyurethane bushings, Broke Dick 10pt cage on the way, summit seats and simpson 5pts, hurst shifter, new steering column, dash ignition, hood pins, painless 18 circuit truck harness, warn premium hubs, 20 gal fuel cell, summit heater, running a comp cams x-treme 4x4 hydraulic roller cam and holley 670 truck avenger carb on a coast high 427 long block (ordering that next week - dart heads), going with a flat dash, have flowtech long tube headers, shift kit for the c6, 60" hi-lift x-treme, m12000# Warn winch and plan on ordering a broncoair front bumper.

Will post more pics as we get into the project. As soon as i get the frame blasted and painted, we should be ready to start doing some work around here .

Side note: I need a 5-5/8" c-6 transmission to bw 1356 rear extension housing - mine is broke. If you have one or know someone with one - send it/them my way. To the best of our investigative skills, the previous owner broke the motor mounts and torqued the whole drivetrain up which pulled the 4x shifter through the floor a bit and broke the mounts on my tranny extension housing - bet that was a fun day.

Other than just showing off my hard work here, I'd like to get some input from you guys as to things you think i should do / things that would make the truck stronger. This is my first build of this nature, so I'm open to damn near anything. What I'd like is a nice all around truck, definitely not a daily driver, but I want to be able to play with it at the mud bogs and have it hold its own on the trails - I doubt it will see any rocks, but it is going to Texas with me this summer.

[fatdan460]

you sure on the specs of this truck? should have an e40d od tranny, sterling 10.25'' rear, and while you said a d50 ttb front, it looks like a solid axle from that pic. also looks more like a 3'' bl and only a 6'' suspension lift if those are 36's, or are they wore down 38's?

seems like a good starting point, i just can't see why a guy would put a weaker rear end in a truck.

[thewestwon]

Good call on the rear axle (this is my first ford - it's like learning a new language) - my mistake. Tires are wore down 38.5's. Definitely a c6 and the d-50 ttb, though.

[thewestwon]

Made some progress....I'd like to get the frame stripped and blasted so I can paint before it gets too cold..we'll see.






got some parts in the mail..

[FordX4-offroad]

gosh dam, cant hide money lol. are you goin with leafs up front still?

[BennyBooster]

tell me how you like that carb, I might get one

[huff75]

Well while your throwing the cash around get rid of that TTB and get a 60 front!

[FordX4-offroad]

Originally Posted by huff75

Well while your throwing the cash around get rid of that TTB and get a 60 front!

X 2 ill even sell ya mine with 4:10 gears and a detroit

[thewestwon]

Well it's been a busy winter, but I'm making progress. Got the frame cleaned, primered and painted black. Also got the new rear shackles on..about ready to start reassembly.




I figure i'll keep the TTB up front until I break it. I doubt the rig will see much more than oil/gas lease roads in S Texas for a few years.

The big question I have now is whether you can reinstall the body lift and my new poly bushings without the factory body mount shims which got cut off in the disassembly/rust nightmare. If you need them, anybody know where I can get a full set???

[f350n4.6ranger]

Your picture links are all broken.

Edit: now they are working

[thewestwon]

Anybody have any input on using/not using body mount shims and/or where to get replacement/new ones. I have found some on bronco graveyard that are fairly pricey (understandable considering the rarity of used ones in good shape and the effort it takes to get them off)..didnt know if anyone had any experience with not using them or knew of any other sources

[f350n4.6ranger]

Set the body on with the new rubber mounts and level/shim as necessary with large washers from the hardware store?

[FordX4-offroad]

i just took all mine out when i put poly bushings in. i didn't really give two shits if it sat level

if i can dig them up from the garage they're yours plus shipping, whatever that is.

IF you want them still.

edit: maybe thats why my doors didnt ever close perfect after the new bushings

[thewestwon]

I guess I may have been wording this awkwardly..or maybe we're talking about the same thing. My new polys have bigger holes than the body mount bolts..the shims/sleeves/whatever you want to call them close that gap (at least partially) between the bolt and the bushing. I didn't know if the body would want to shift if you didn't put this piece back in (my new poly instructions said to use the old "sleeves" from the factory bushings)....

here's what I was talking about from bronco graveyard:
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-...eve-lower.html

[thewestwon]

Getting everything sorted out slowly. Here's a little update....

found a new tranny (c6) and got it, t-case, and motor back in. body back on, too. Get the seats in place, but the summit brackets were horrible and bent as soon as my fat a$$ sat on them so I got some 1/4" c channel to replace that. Got the cage mostly in and the steering column mounted up. Shifter mocked up, as well.


got the dash mostly together. Still thinking about adding AFM and vacuum. Need a switch for my brights and turn signal indicators.


started the painless (painful) harness



Gonna be putting in a lot of hours over the next week. I have to be moved out of my current house by the end of the month and I start work in Houston, TX mid June. Things should get pretty interesting.

[thewestwon]

Finally get settled in down here in Texas and got to working on the truck again. Got the engine fired up this weekend and have been working on cleaning up the wiring...still got a laundry list of stuff to do. Hopefully things will start progressing faster with my 14/14 work schedule.

Ran into some major issues with the cross country move...I ended up having to leave to come down to TX earlier than expected and left the truck at the mercy of some buddies until I could have it shipped down. I had them tape up any open holes, and in their infinite wisdom, decided the spark plug holes didn't deserve covering. She was pretty stiff when I got to work on her down here. Finally broke it loose after soaking cylinders with PB and using a breaker bar. Stuck a camera in, and the cylinders looked OK after a few baths of PB and some air to blow the crap out (certainly better than they did before the rebuild). Bit the bullet and decided to just roll with it....still planning on building a proper stroker down the road, so as long as it runs decently for now, I'm happy. Roughly got it in time and it fired up right away once everything was lined and wired up....very pleased with my first startup...sounded great with open headers, as always. The neighbors weren't particularly thrilled, though; imagine that.

Here's a few pics:

[66CC]

Regarding that D50, you should atleast weld it up as a solid axle to avoid the crossmember cracking. I have seen pics and read of it happening w/ longer than stock drop brackets.
Some of the paint around in the area of the brackets on mine is pealing off. I think it's because of some flexing of the metal around the bolts. So, I will be doing some welding in the near future.
I just thought i'd mention it.
Nice truck BTW.

[thewestwon]

Well, to be honest, the only wheeling I've ever seriously done was in two different K5 Blazers I used to own (4" lift and 35's on both). I never had any problems breaking things on the trail, which is clearly a statement to the pansy offroading we used to do. That being said, I haven't researched much of anything as far as suspension is concerned. My initial thought was to run the 50ttb until I had problems then upgrade to a 60.

If I were to weld up the 50, it seems like it would be a better choice to just pick up a 60 and try to sell the 50 as is to someone local. However, I've also been looking at the coilover conversion on bajaf250.com. It looks like a pretty cool idea. I would imagine you could get more travel out of the independent 50 with coil overs than a solid 60, but I certainly have nothing to back that statement up. I definitely need to become more familiar with the pros and cons of the 50.

Either way, it'll be awhile before I'll be getting into the suspension too much. The only thing on the immediate list is fabbing up new front shackles for the rear leaves. Mine are UGLY. I was planning on going with a design similar to the rear flip shackles I got from SORD. Any input there?

[rjjp]

Like this?

[thewestwon]

Actually, yeah, that's very similar to what I've been thinking about. I'll have to pick up some 1/4" and get something welded up when I get back from work in two weeks.

[Blakegordon]

Originally Posted by rjjp

Like this?

this a joke?

[fordpickupman]

I want to see some pics of a "welded solid" D50. I don't see how it could work and be stronger too.


FORDpickupman

[66CC]

Originally Posted by fordpickupman

I want to see some pics of a "welded solid" D50. I don't see how it could work and be stronger too.


FORDpickupman

It wouldn't be stronger.
You would get rid of the center drop brackets and avoid the crossmember cracking.
And gain a lil more flex, comparing to a D50 w/ the leafs.


http://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/v...php?f=19&t=864
Or just go all out and read the above thread and copy. You'll no doubt get a much better ride.

[rjjp]

Originally Posted by Blakegordon

this a joke?

No, I got shit faced drunk while making the first prototype. For some reason the thinnest piece is fucking 3/8" the final version isn't as fugly.

[rclark12]

Originally Posted by huff75

Well while your throwing the cash around get rid of that TTB and get a 60 front!

Definitely dont put that wet noodle suspension back in. Also d60 rear or a 10.25, should be a 10.25 I believe

With the fact you say you not wheeling hard, ttb has a tendency of eatting up big tires and just being crappy like it likes to be Of course I just hate it too so its biassed but Im pretty sure pirate community hates them. Pull out the wet noodle suspension and put in a nice axle