The F250 to F100 turbo project - it's alive.

Picked up a 2001 Dodge seat on Craigslist for $40. Whoo hoo shoulder belts! This is the type seat I have always wanted to put in this truck.


Built a mounting frame for them because the stock brackets were too tall.


Turned out pretty neat and is more comfy than the stock bench.


I test fit a 15" wheel from the Mustang. It fit ok, but I don't think I would ever run a 165/80-15 on a 4" wheel on this thing.




Still thinking about swapping the 552 in it. My boys are already building a warmed over 302 for my Mustang. It is the Mustang's original engine. They have been doing all the work and have been fun learning how to rebuild an engine. We slipped some stock HO forged pistons, new bearings, rings, a set of reconditioned stock heads that a buddy donated, proper valve springs, a Summit hyd ft cam, a Performer 289 intake and some stainless shorty headers. We will back it with a T5 and top it with a Holley 650 mech secondary with a small shot of N2O. The goal is to have a decent project car for them to play with.

I finally decided to add the harness bar, door bar and rear bars.



I painted another coat on the roll cage and started fiddling with the back window. I have thought about it a lot and I think I will do it like this. The plexiglass I have is too thick to just cut a slit and spread it and slip over. It would likely crack if I tried. I also have some thinner stuff, but it seems a bit on the flimsy side. I think I will just make some aluminum filler panels and rivet them in.



Next up is installing a new vinyl floor mat from LMC.

I plan to use plexiglass across the entire window. I will just use an aluminum filler in the little notches where the plexiglass slides over the bar.

I can't wait until after Ford vs. Buick, because I will be able get started on the engine/trans swap in this thing and the Mustang.

Saturday, I attacked the rear window. It was definitely a challenge. Since the down bars angle toward the center of the truck, once the side panels are slid in place, the window assembly will only move away from the cab about 3/4". This made it EXTREMELY hard to get the gasket in place. My finger tips may never be the same. lol I reused the stock slider glass for the center sections. They are mounted in the outside channel of the frame just like the side panels, so they are now permanent. The gap at the bottom is because the gasket comes as one piece and is supposed to stretch over the window frame. If I had half a brain, I would have slipped it on before I welded the down bars in place. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20. I will seal it up with some black rtv or something.

Anyhoo, it turned out pretty neat. It fit's real tight to the bars. Maybe too tight, I don't know. Just need to make some small aluminum plates to seal off the notches and it will be done.

Looks real nice IMO,looks like the stock glass with roll cage tubing running through it!!!!

Installed a new floor mat, then reinstalled the seats and stuff. I finally drug it out and drove it for the first time in a few months.

Truck is looking good. Cage turned out nice. I need one for my truck too.

Btw I run a 15x4 up front but with a taller wider 205/75-15 with no issues. And it sees more street then track.

cool thread really enjoyed following it so far

thos cv front ends fit real nice

tfsbbf466 wrote:Truck is looking good. Cage turned out nice. I need one for my truck too.

Btw I run a 15x4 up front but with a taller wider 205/75-15 with no issues. And it sees more street then track.

Good to know, thanks!

Had a running, driving truck then this happened. how does this always happen to me???

Damn kids can't leave anything alone

"New" motor is in!

BigBlockRanger wrote:"New" motor is in!

Wasn't fast enough with the old EFI 460 Truck Engine?

Yep.  Since my boys have the Mustang to play with now, I am upgrading the drivetrain in the truck!  Mostly it's just stuff I had lying around already.

The Mustangs's 552 shortblock, mildly ported D3's, Lunati Barebones hydraulic cam, 102mm throttle body, Megasquirt for efi and spark, HT60 turbo, C6 from the Mustang and some highway gears in the 9".   The goal is to make about as much power as the 552 did n/a with TFS heads, higher compression, and a solid roller, but with putt around town all day driveability.  Not trying to set the world on fire, just build something that drives nice, but will haul butt when necessary and of course make all the cool turbo noises.  lol

BigBlockRanger wrote:Yep.  Since my boys have the Mustang to play with now, I am upgrading the drivetrain in the truck!  Mostly it's just stuff I had lying around already.

The Mustangs's 552 shortblock, mildly ported D3's, Lunati Barebones hydraulic cam, 102mm throttle body, Megasquirt for efi and spark, HT60 turbo, C6 from the Mustang and some highway gears in the 9".   The goal is to make about as much power as the 552 did n/a with TFS heads, higher compression, and a solid roller, but with putt around town all day driveability.  Not trying to set the world on fire, just build something that drives nice, but will haul butt when necessary and of course make all the cool turbo noises.  lol

Sounds like it's going to be a cool ride with the 552 and a Turbo on it make sure you keep the pictures coming!!!

Some shiny parts arrived the other day.  20 gallon aluminum fuel cell and 31 x 13 x 3 intercooler. Very affordable and they look pretty decent as well.




Being the DIY guy I am, I went ahead and used JBWeld to seal up the bungs. I mixed it up, pulled out a bung, coated the bottom portion, slid it back in, twisted and wiggled it, then installed the set screw. Might have got a little much on them, but I'd rather it be too thick than too thin. Besides, I'm not out to win any beauty contests with this thing. When I checked on them this morning, it seems as if they are solidly fixed and sealed. I feel much better about these than the one's I did for the original Ranger big block project.

Looks like I will be able to mount the cell in the stock location. I will put a door in the bed to access the fill hole.



Drilled the fuel rails yesterday. Turned out ok.

This is about where the turbo will sit. It weights about 60lbs, so it is going to require a sturdy mount!

BigBlockRanger wrote:This is about where the turbo will sit. It weights about 60lbs, so it is going to require a sturdy mount!

Looking good keep the pictures coming!!

I can't tell from the pics but inside the cab did you weld the roll cage down bars only to plates welded to the floor? Or did you run the down bars through the floor and weld them directly to the frame/chassis (or tubing outriggers)? For a cage to be legal on a truck the cage needs to be welded/attached directly to the frame/chassis/tubing outriggers.

Actually, they are just welded to the plates. For the reason, you have to rewind back to why we did the main hoop and halo to start with. That was so we could mount good seat belts, etc for my kid to drive. At that time, this truck would have rarely seen a dragstrip and would have not run an ET anywhere near needing a bar much less a full cage. Probably not the best choice, but whatever.

Then our plans changed a bit and we decided to finish the cage out. Since the truck is down, I am considering tying it to the frame during this latest transformation. Truthfully, it has not been a huge concern seeing that I will never attempt to have it certed and 99.9% of the track tech inspections I encounter are really not that thorough.

Took a few minutes today to start trimming the bungs in the ports. One side is trimmed. The air grinder and carbide cutter make fairly quick work of it. A sand roll in the Dremel will be used to finish it up.

Quick mock up yesterday to make sure everything is fitting as planned. Love the way it is coming together.

I took cardboard and figured out how I wanted to make the turbo mount and then made it from metal this weekend.

After a few tweaks, I have the turbo sitting where I think I want it. It is very heavy and it will likely need some additional bracing.  It is tough to find suitable mounting points along the sides of the engine.   I think I may end up having to use an exhaust manifold bolt as an additional mounting point.

I also tweaked the coil bracket to lay flatter and clear the throttle body better.  I might end up with a 1/2" intake spacer to provide a little additonal clearance.






To see the turbo hanging there really lights the motivation fire!