F150

[big sky trapper]

This is what Im starting with...

85 F150 4x4 LWB. Dual Tanks. 300 straight six (great mileage and a serious torque monster) factory 4.10 gears with LS rear end. Almost no emissions simple single barrel carboration. Massive wheel wells=33x12.50x15 rubber with no lift and no rubbing. The stongest frame of the 80's fords in the half ton size.

Plans to build something on a little differant platform besides the yoda-jeeps-and LC's ect. plus its the ultimate budget DIY build. Its intended use is geocahing runs, ghost town hunting in the north west, elk hunting and running our back country trap lines and the occasional 4 wheeling trip and campping trips.

My com package is nearly finished.

Scored a like new camper/topper with built in sleeping platform-storage area. To be installed tommorrow night if the snow lets up.

So far for maintenance Ive replaced heater core and all rubber under hood, complete tune up, oil pan and rear main set, ball joints, and all front end uJoints, wheel bearings and seals, tie rods and radius rod bushings.

Total cost so far including truck...865.00

Future plans include SAS front axel hopefully to be accomplished with as little to lift as possible. (6.9l deisel in the garage on a stand), 9 in rear, true lockers, Air compressor, hidden frame mounted front and rear winches (have front mounts made need to finish the bumper extensions)

and of course the required camo paint job haha will post some pics as it goes if interested...

 

[calamaridog]

Oh, how badly I wanted a SWB F150 4x4 with the 4.9 I6 and a manual transmission. Such a simple truck and the 300 is absolutely, hands down, one of the best motors Ford ever built.

It sounds like you have a real good starting point for a neat truck. I'll look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[jim65wagon]

Reminds me of my 80 F150, 300 inline and a 4spd, you could take it anywhere because more dents and scratches were not a concern!

mine cost 1200 and like to eat hubs once a year, but Warn had a lifetime warranty, and the local NAPA always had a set waiting.

can't beat the price - 865 and lets see the pics.

 

[big sky trapper]

I was looking at a SWB 84 but then found this one with the dual tanks that was enough to make my mind up. plus same initaial price. and now i glad I got the LWB becuase the additional 2 feet of sleeping storage area in the back will come in handy. the tail gate can stay up and the topper door shut for when its in the -40 to -60 somethings around here in the middle of winter and theres room for some sort of a small propane heater tucked in the some where.

Gave it a good run this am on the way in needs a brake booster next be here tommorrow in the AM.

Ill throw some pics this eve out...

 

[big sky trapper]

this is the sleeping platform i scored. alittle on the froo froo side for me. need to find a place for the spare now so everything fits in nice and tight. there are 6 storage compartments built in to it.
With just the cost of wood alone plus padding ect there's no way i could have built this up my self. 75.00 for the topper and the platform!!!!

This a bad shot of the truck with the topper picked up on the way home tonight

 

[eugene]

I had to register when I saw the cap, I have the same one but its 6' and has a different brand name on it and I paid $75 for it as well.
Mine is in bad shape, it has a tiny hole in the top center so I bought a fiberglass patch kit from NAPA and patched it. Where the ceiling braces attach to the top of the window that little bracket is weak, mine would let the braces swing forward or backward a little bit. I cut some thin sheet steel into triangles and welded to it to strengthen it.
I had a small truck (Chevy S10) with an aluminum cap with the frame inside like that and went to the hardware store and bought a couple of the 4' x 8' sheets of styrofoam and cut it to fit in between the frame to help insulate it a bit. It quieted it down some when rain would hit the top. Use the aluminum duct tape instead of the the normal cloth stuff as the aluminum sticks a bit better and was stiffer to hold the insulation in place.
Wife says my cap is too ugly and wants me to spend the $ for a new one but I can buy a lot of gear for that so I'm using more of the fiberglass repair kit and spreading it all over then will sand it to smooth it out and then paint to match.

 

[big sky trapper]

started rebuilding my front hidden winch last night. here are a few mock up's as things are being marked and plated...

The winch will actually sit down inside an old Warn winch pate from a jeep. it will be sandwiched to the 5/16" plate between the frame rails.

The trim directly behind the winch will need to be trimmed right around the winch body for it to skide all the way back.

Hopefully the bumper will only need an inch or spacer to clear the rest.

Here i need to build a side reinforcement.

 

[big sky trapper]

This is going to be my rear spare tire carrier hinge. That a 1 1/4" bolt. welded to 1/4 flat plate and but in with 3/4 bolts to the orinal bumper. Its one of the older ford factory step bumpers and very strong. I wanted to be able to take the swing arm off with little work to be able to run with tail gate down when hauling large loads around the house/town ect.

That was an issue i allways hated with the tire and can carrier on all my yoda;s ive built, was could no longer carry long loads in the back of the truck.

I think this will work quite well, undue the nut slide the swing arm off and back on when needed.

 

[big sky trapper]

gps mounts

 

[devinsixtyseven]

How are you liking that Rhino? Does it "play well with others"...as far as getting the GPS data out? --laptops, other hardware etc...

-Sean

 

[big sky trapper]

that part i havnt tried at all yet with this one. It is very easy to use and get from screen to screen, plug in co-ord's and the like. both the gmrs and frs radio work as well as any on the market in it power class. And the radio scan function is a good feature that most of them dont have. when playing "tag" or transmitting info to other rhino's is good but limited only by the power output and the terrian. theres a few more features i like but then i might as well get the Rhino 530 next haha

 

[big sky trapper]

winch mount almost done

its almost done. need to make the side plates tommorrow and punch two more support holes in the front for 2 half inch bolts.

Next is decide how to mount and wire the soilnoid pack...
then trim the front bumper to clear the whole mess. I was going to space the bumper out but after test fitting it, I think it will be too far out for any strength.
more to come

 

[big sky trapper]

started mocking up the can carrier today

two cans or three-four. weight isnt and issue on this mounts. as there temporary for this year only. Ive decided to ditch the stock bumper idea and this comming winter rebuild the whole thing with my rear winch built in to the bumper instead of seperate, but for now what do you think???

Im kinda leaning towards the 3 side by side. they dont stick any farther out than my spare tire.

 

[mike h]

3 side by side will serve you better - no particular reason to worry about overall vehicle length on this rig. I had a 79 F150 which I dearly loved, until I put it on its roof one winter. My mistake, but that old Ford kept me alive somehow when I found myself suddenly rubber-side up.

I do not think your bolt will last as a hinge pin, if I understand your plan correctly. Most homemade and many aftermarket swing-aways fail there, you need to emulate the hinge designs proven by ARB, Slee and a host of others.

Pack a self-siphon hose regarding the dual tanks, they don't always work as expected. But they are a much appreciated assett when you can hit the button or use a siphon.

m.

 

[big sky trapper]

front winch in done.

The dual tanks switches are picky about getting switched just "right". Depending on what the local dealer can find i might just go ahead and replace them and the tank switch completly this spring. My other option Im kicking around is just to put a small electric pump and make it into a tranfer system.

The front winch plate is completed. I did have to trim a lot more of the front bumper than from the initial measurments, But im quite pleased with it as it is.

The small opening to each side of the winch plate Im going to put a section of "C" channel on each side. Since the front bumper is now completly cosmetic only, This will give me a place for the high-lift to lift from without sliding or kicking out.

On the cans im going to try and do 4. two deep and then length wise side by side. 2 for fuel and 2 for water. still kicking around the layout there...

heres a pic of the final front bumper...