Project "Autonomous" F-350

[pappawheely]

The final piece of the mechanical puzzle arrived. I deleted my heat exchanger to run an external oil cooler. The factory hose won't work. It leaves you with a unique lower hose situation. The water pump inlet is 2 inches. The radiator is 1.75. I had to run a reducer on the water pump end to 1.75. Most of the lower hose is stainless pipe. Only the elbows are silicon hose. One straight pipe at the reducer and the 60 degree bend you see in the photo. It's very tight under there, but there is just enough room around the belt and oil cooler lines. There is extra silicon hose covering the pipe and extra hose clamps; just in case something goes wrong. The stainless tube won't collapse and it's very sturdy.

 

[pappawheely]

This ought to help my fuel range. Actually I'm going to mount it to the trailer to have a mobile fueling station. Might have to beef up the tongue. 110 gallon diesel tank. Couldn't pass up the price. $75 with mounting straps.

 

[pappawheely]

I have projects on projects. I think I know what I want on the interior of the camper. I just found a solution on another project that puts me in a position to make a major decision. The project is a 1985 Isuzu trooper on a 79 K5 chassis. The decision is V8 or V6? I can go with the drivetrain that came on the blazer; 350 small block, turbo 400 and 205 transfer case. In addition to the obvious work to mate the two, I need to find enough room for a radiator that will cool the V8. If I go V6 (4.3 chevy) I can go turbo 400 or NV3500. If I go NV3500 I will need to make a transfer case adapter. I will also need custom motor mounts as the K5 never came with a V6. The axles will remain the same regardless, Dana 44 front and 14 bolt rear. Thoughts?

 

[Kingsize24]

Do it! I love those little Isuzu Troopers. And as long as the chassis wheelbase and frames are similar, it sounds like a fun project.

 

[pappawheely]

More work on the ford. More heartache and disappointment. Everything breaks when you take it apart. I also found the base of my port-a-potty was cracked. Good thing it was empty! I guess I need to be happy for the small victories. I did get a new power window motor installed on the pass side. The door had not even been drilled yet. For those of you unfamiliar with obs fords, they installed the door guts, then put the doors together. The only way to get the bolts out of the motor is to drill holes in the door sheetmetal. At least they put a couple dimples in the door to show where to drill. I guess there was one engineer there that was thinking. He obviously got fired afterwards.

 

[Kingsize24]

More work on the ford. More heartache and disappointment. Everything breaks when you take it apart. I also found the base of my port-a-potty was cracked. Good thing it was empty! I guess I need too be happy for the small victories. I did get a new power window motor installed on the pass side. The door had not even been drilled yet. For those of you unfamiliar with obs fords, they installed the door guts, then put the doors together. The only way to get the bolts out of the motor is to drill holes in the door sheetmetal. At least they put a couple dimples in the door to show where to drill. I guess there was one engineer there that was thinking. He obviously got fired afterwards.

Thanks absolutely insane. Engineering at its best. 😂

 

[pappawheely]

Temporarily fitted with sensible shoes. 35's and alcoas.

 

[pappawheely]

I need an intervention. I swear, no more orphans. I'm picking up another free truck in the morning.

 

[chet6.7]

How much can a free truck cost?

 

[NevadaLover]

I need an intervention. I swear, no more orphans. I'm picking up another free truck in the morning.


View attachment 861043

Spare parts!! They are worth their weight in gold!!

 

[pappawheely]

Spare parts!! They are worth their weight in gold!!

I see what you did there. People ask me why I drive such a big truck. The answer is, it does everything. Towing, hauling, 4x4, it goes everywhere and never leaves me stranded. A good old truck! If I can get it to run, I might just flip Goldie. It has some warts, the bed is messed up on the other side, but it's an 87 so it's already proven to be a survivor.

 

[Kingsize24]

I see what you did there. People ask me why I drive such a big truck. The answer is, it does everything. Towing, hauling, 4x4, it goes everywhere and never leaves me stranded. A good old truck! If I can get it to run, I might just flip Goldie. It has some warts, the bed is messed up on the other side, but it's an 87 so it's already proven to be a survivor.

View attachment 861128

That truck looks just like mine in HS. It was gold as well, 300 straight 6, manual transmission, and manual locks, windows, etc. Even had a rear window slide. Was an amazing truck that literally never gave up. I sold it with over 380k on it, still running well.

 

[NevadaLover]

I see what you did there. People ask me why I drive such a big truck. The answer is, it does everything. Towing, hauling, 4x4, it goes everywhere and never leaves me stranded. A good old truck! If I can get it to run, I might just flip Goldie. It has some warts, the bed is messed up on the other side, but it's an 87 so it's already proven to be a survivor.

View attachment 861128

The older square body's, of all 3 domestic manufacturers, are getting harder to find parts for, a lot of chineseum junk can be found but are not quality parts, so a few spare trucks sitting around are invaluable for those of us who enjoy driving an American made beast from the last century!

 

[pappawheely]

That truck looks just like mine in HS. It was gold as well, 300 straight 6, manual transmission, and manual locks, windows, etc. Even had a rear window slide. Was an amazing truck that literally never gave up. I sold it with over 380k on it, still running well.

There was an aeronose extra cab for sale locally, but the guy wanted 5500 for it. 300 6 and 5 speed manual. It was a nice truck, but pricey. I even snapped a photo of it.

 

[bigeyedfish]

Where is local for you? I haven't seen rust free examples of these trucks in 20 years.