Ford Highboy with a Roar - 4x4 F250 Gets a Godzilla

[suppjoe]

It's looking like a truck again! May fine tune bed fitment with some shims, but this is how it looks for now.

In addition to getting the bed set on the frame, I also finished wiring for the taillights, fuel pump, rear locker as they are all in the same branch of loom. Got an order of new lenses and installed as well as some cables for the tailgate since the original supports are sheet metal and annoying to use/it's really easy to destroy paint with them. The fuel pump wiring isn't totally done as I want the ecu to trigger the fuel pump relay instead of the ignition switch. Pet peeve when you turn the key on and the fuel pump buzzes nonstop.

Fuel tank kinda bothers me but we shall see what it looks like once there's a rear bumper. This isn't necessarily the final iteration of the fuel system, just the first idea I put into motion.

I also wired the heater controls and redid some of the cabling. It doesn't feel as smooth as I would like so there's a chance I re-make the cables with some nicer material.

May also buy new heater controls altogether but working with what I have at the moment. It's not great but could be worse. That's all for this weekend, bunch of odds and ends to tie up before I can buy and wire in the engine controller.

 

[Broski]

Super nice work. Thanks for sharing!

 

[suppjoe]

Super nice work. Thanks for sharing!

thanks! hopefully some more updates next weekend

 

[PIP]

Love it!

I bought a 1970 F250 4x4 with a 300 six 24 years ago. When I was 19. Still my favorite vehicle and still have it. It's had 390 and 410 FE's. Now it's got a Cummins/nv5600/79HP60/Sterling. I have put over 300k miles on it and it had over 250k on it when I got it. Driven it cross country. Towed a bunch of heavy stuff with it. Tons of great memories.

I also have a 77 F350 Supercab in decent original shape. I'm installing it on a 2006 F350 chassis just like you did. I'll be running the 2006 5r110W behind a 6.7 Cummins. Hope to have it done by next summer.

 

[mattressking]

The Nardi in the Ford was unexpected....then the Cressi pulled it all together and answered my questions.

Good progress so far!

 

[PIP]

What influenced your choice to use the Bronco fuel tank instead of the Superduty tank?

I used a 2008 Superduty chassis under a 1968 F250 4x4 crewcab and used the Superduty tank with the original 2wd bedside filler.

I was planning to do the same with the 77 Supercab I'm building.

Was the Superduty tank in a bad position when you cut the frame down for a single cab? Did you cut out the Superduty rear cab mount/fuel tank crossmember or did you keep it?

 

[suppjoe]

What influenced your choice to use the Bronco fuel tank instead of the Superduty tank?

I used a 2008 Superduty chassis under a 1968 F250 4x4 crewcab and used the Superduty tank with the original 2wd bedside filler.

I was planning to do the same with the 77 Supercab I'm building.

Was the Superduty tank in a bad position when you cut the frame down for a single cab? Did you cut out the Superduty rear cab mount/fuel tank crossmember or did you keep it?

since this was a long bed 4-door chassis the original tank got all up in the way of my driveline. i also just didn't really like the way it looked i.e. was super visible from the profile view of the truck. not that i like the look of the bronco tank much more lol.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

We're doing a swap on a 2021 F250 Tremor chassis under a 74 F250 crew cab now. Planning to keep the tank in stock location.

Fun projects! Great work.

Jason
TT

 

[suppjoe]

ok you guys have convinced me to revisit the stock SD fuel tank idea. looking at the bronco tank is upsetting. unfortunately, the SD was diesel but we shall see if it is actually a factor. worst case i can buy a gas truck fuel pump hanger

 

[suppjoe]

The Nardi in the Ford was unexpected....then the Cressi pulled it all together and answered my questions.

Good progress so far!

thanks! ironically i have owned that cressida longer than most any other car. this nardi is definitely a placeholder but who knows, it may just stay with the truck

 

[mattressking]

Haha I get that - I debate slapping a nardi in my ram….but does it really need a 400$ wheel is the question.

 

[suppjoe]

Well for starters, I gave the SD fuel tank an honest try but it's too long for the frame since being shortened. It is all up in the transfer case and looks like it would hang down below the frame rail a ton. Not that this is a rock crawler but not sure I want a plastic fuel tank so low down in the high-center area.

Tackled some detail-oriented stuff this weekend like installing the missing idler and serpentine belt - might have to check on this one - I bought the idler pulley based on the parts diagram but was surprised to see that it's a ribbed idler. Not sure if I ordered the wrong pulley or what. Did an oil change in preparation for first start. Need to do the trans service as well.

Also wired the driver side headlight and wired/installed the turn signals finally:

Halfway started on the exhaust but it started raining and was kinda late in the evening. Looks crooked because I'm holding too much with one hand to take this photo. More on this another time:

Made a bracket for the shifter cable. Shifts through all of the gears and the pointer on the column more or less lines up. There is some adjustment in the cable so we will see if it needs it. I'll cut off this grommet at some point too.

Wired in my aux fuse block and relays. We have a relay for the diff locker, the fuel pump, and the start relay which the wiring kit didn't come with for some reason. Not pictured I also took care of the fan relay for now. I think I will eventually move to brushless PWM fans from a Silverado or something so the ecu can spin them up faster when the AC is on. This would simplify the relays needed a ton - for now I just have one giant relay for the fan (Taurus fan, they draw a ton of amperage) so there isn't a way to engage the fan when AC is on without buying another expensive relay. The obvious solution is spend 10x on a new PWM fan setup. Worth noting (mostly for myself) is that the aux fuse block is fed by 10awg tefzel. All that is currently run off of it is the fuel pump and diff switch.

Here's a profile shot of the truck. Looking a little more complete with the turn signals. Excited to do the ecu next.

 

[PIP]

I have a feeling the Single cab Superduty fuel tank and how it mounts is different from the Crewcab/Supercab version. Single cab Superduties are a bit rare.

I know when I was looking for a Superduty chassis to swap under my my 77 Supercab I measured up a Superduty supercab longbed chassis and everything was in the wrong spot to work. It was VERY different from a crew longbed frame. Looked at a shortbed crew frame as well and there was no way to make the shortbed frame work under a longbed, the frame shape was very different where it kicked up at the rear of the cab.

Hindsight being 20-20 if a guy could find a single cab superduty chassis to start with, I bet the fuel tank could be kept while adapting it to the Older body.

But I completely understand where you're coming from and why you went with the Bronco tank. I think it'll look great when done.

And you'll rarely hear anyone say this, but I don't mind the cab tank. I've put more miles on Bumpside Ford pickups than any other vehicle I've owned. All 3 had cab tanks and I never once thought "Man this cab tank sucks- I need to get rid of it." I kinda figure if I wreck bad enough in one of these old trucks to split the fuel tank I'm probably not making it through anyway. The fuel tanks are fairly well protected in the cab. My logic is I would choose the old Ford in cab tank 10 out of 10 times over the saddle tanks outside the frame like GM used in squarebody trucks. Fuel tanks should be inside the frame or body or both.

I've scrapped out around a dozen of these trucks. If I crunch the roof off with my 100 size excavator and grab the fuel tank, I can lift the entire truck and shake it violently and that fuel tank isn't coming out unless the entire cab rips of the frame.

 

[suppjoe]

I have a feeling the Single cab Superduty fuel tank and how it mounts is different from the Crewcab/Supercab version. Single cab Superduties are a bit rare.

I know when I was looking for a Superduty chassis to swap under my my 77 Supercab I measured up a Superduty supercab longbed chassis and everything was in the wrong spot to work. It was VERY different from a crew longbed frame. Looked at a shortbed crew frame as well and there was no way to make the shortbed frame work under a longbed, the frame shape was very different where it kicked up at the rear of the cab.

Hindsight being 20-20 if a guy could find a single cab superduty chassis to start with, I bet the fuel tank could be kept while adapting it to the Older body.

But I completely understand where you're coming from and why you went with the Bronco tank. I think it'll look great when done.

And you'll rarely hear anyone say this, but I don't mind the cab tank. I've put more miles on Bumpside Ford pickups than any other vehicle I've owned. All 3 had cab tanks and I never once thought "Man this cab tank sucks- I need to get rid of it." I kinda figure if I wreck bad enough in one of these old trucks to split the fuel tank I'm probably not making it through anyway. The fuel tanks are fairly well protected in the cab. My logic is I would choose the old Ford in cab tank 10 out of 10 times over the saddle tanks outside the frame like GM used in squarebody trucks. Fuel tanks should be inside the frame or body or both.

I've scrapped out around a dozen of these trucks. If I crunch the roof off with my 100 size excavator and grab the fuel tank, I can lift the entire truck and shake it violently and that fuel tank isn't coming out unless the entire cab rips of the frame.

ya know the only reason i didn't keep the in cab tank is i'd like to throw a tool bag back there or something. otherwise i really have no issues with the cab tank.

 

[suppjoe]

Couldn’t not install toyota parts on my truck. the Koito headlights are still a super bargain at $18 picked up. Not even amazon can top that.

 

[aztoyman]

I put a set on my 52 Ford F3.

 

[suppjoe]

Not a ton of progress on the rig this weekend. Installed the headlights, wired them to a common ground. Also wired the ground side of the battery and grounded the engine to the frame, uninstalled the original engine harness (giant pain). Started polishing some stuff on my free evening on Friday. Hooked up a battery and my headlights do in fact work:

Took the S2000 up to the mountains Saturday with my brother. Super nice day to be out but I think my muffler is failing lol. A first for me.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Not a ton of progress on the rig this weekend. Installed the headlights, wired them to a common ground. Also wired the ground side of the battery and grounded the engine to the frame, uninstalled the original engine harness (giant pain). Started polishing some stuff on my free evening on Friday. Hooked up a battery and my headlights do in fact work:

Took the S2000 up to the mountains Saturday with my brother. Super nice day to be out but I think my muffler is failing lol. A first for me.

Ha I know exactly where that picture of your S2000 is. A sign that I spend entirely too much time on those roads in my toy? Nah....

Great weather Saturday for a run through the hills. I had planned to do the same but sick children demanded otherwise. I imagine high traffic with the Florida-plated leaf peepers?

 

[suppjoe]

Ha I know exactly where that picture of your S2000 is. A sign that I spend entirely too much time on those roads in my toy? Nah....

Great weather Saturday for a run through the hills. I had planned to do the same but sick children demanded otherwise. I imagine high traffic with the Florida-plated leaf peepers?

We went up 129 to wolf pen, up 60 to a spot off of Coopers Creek then went back to Dahlonega on 60. On the way up people were parked for literally a half mile on either side of Vogel. Never seen that many people walking across 129.

 

[spazzyfry123]

We went up 129 to wolf pen, up 60 to a spot off of Coopers Creek then went back to Dahlonega on 60. On the way up people were parked for literally a half mile on either side of Vogel. Never seen that many people walking across 129.

Holy smokes. I live up here and can't say that I've seen anywhere close to that many folks parked outside of Vogel. Hopefully no one was parked at the runaway truck ramp. I've seen that numerous times...

Good choice of a run! Some great loops up here. Although it does sound like I'm happy I stuck around the house this weekend with your description