$900 1980 Ford F250 - Budget Build - The best overlander is the one you have

[stark-in-the-wild]

To get rid of the rub and massively increase flex you can get longer radius arms that have an off set for bigger tires.

Likely stupid questions haha
What else would need to be upgraded with Radius arms? Does that take away the need for leafsprings? Id like to rework the suspension (on a budget) just not exactly sure where to start yet.

 

[Dilldog]

Likely stupid questions haha
What else would need to be upgraded with Radius arms? Does that take away the need for leafsprings? Id like to rework the suspension (on a budget) just not exactly sure where to start yet.

The radius arms are the parts that bolt to the axle halves then extend back to a mount with a bushing on the frame. You still need to run a spring. The radius arm is what locates the axle halves front to back while the center bushing and mounts are what locates them side to side. The longer radius arms allow the suspension to move in a longer arch allowing for significantly more droop and thus articulation, they also greatly reduce bushing bind which is the single biggest limiting factor in that front end.
If I were to rework the suspension I would look at getting a dual shock and coil set up off of an F150. It would reduce the weight capacity of the front end a little, but since your running a six it shouldnt change much. The coil sprung suspensions flexed tons better on those trucks, they were also TONS less likely to sag. The F250 leaf springs are known for sagging which causes camber issues. I would try to find a dual shock set up as they are amazing at soaking up bumps. Seriously my old 150 was a dual shock truck and it handled air time super well, a lot of the time I didnt even realize the truck went air borne it would land so softly (same story with my old ZR2 lol). Im not joking when I say that truck handled jumps almost as well as my KLX250SF. I really wish I hadnt pushed my F150 into extreme off road use, that suspension is simply amazing on rough road and mild off road. But the big down side is the frames are so rigid that they crack if you are constantly getting the truck so flexed that it picks wheels. Also out of curiosity what transmission and transfer case are you running? Sorry if we already covered this.

Heres the arms Im talking about...
Tuff Country EZ-Ride Extended Radius Arms 20801

EDIT TO ADD: I totally just brain farted, the F250s do not run radius arms, the leaf spring fills that role. Im going to blame the fact that its 95* in my shop and Ive been working out there all day, lol.

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

The radius arms are the parts that bolt to the axle halves then extend back to a mount with a bushing on the frame. You still need to run a spring. The radius arm is what locates the axle halves front to back while the center bushing and mounts are what locates them side to side. The longer radius arms allow the suspension to move in a longer arch allowing for significantly more droop and thus articulation, they also greatly reduce bushing bind which is the single biggest limiting factor in that front end.
If I were to rework the suspension I would look at getting a dual shock and coil set up off of an F150. It would reduce the weight capacity of the front end a little, but since your running a six it shouldnt change much. The coil sprung suspensions flexed tons better on those trucks, they were also TONS less likely to sag. The F250 leaf springs are known for sagging which causes camber issues. I would try to find a dual shock set up as they are amazing at soaking up bumps. Seriously my old 150 was a dual shock truck and it handled air time super well, a lot of the time I didnt even realize the truck went air borne it would land so softly (same story with my old ZR2 lol). Im not joking when I say that truck handled jumps almost as well as my KLX250SF. I really wish I hadnt pushed my F150 into extreme off road use, that suspension is simply amazing on rough road and mild off road. But the big down side is the frames are so rigid that they crack if you are constantly getting the truck so flexed that it picks wheels. Also out of curiosity what transmission and transfer case are you running? Sorry if we already covered this.

Heres the arms Im talking about...
Tuff Country EZ-Ride Extended Radius Arms 20801

EDIT TO ADD: I totally just brain farted, the F250s do not run radius arms, the leaf spring fills that role. Im going to blame the fact that its 95* in my shop and Ive been working out there all day, lol.

This is awesome! lots of good info! I'll definitely look into the dual shock and coil set up because rough roads and mild offroading is going to be mostly what i do. Id just like to do it a little faster than I can right now with some more comfort haha I've only done my old Mustangs suspension...so offroad suspension is a new field for me.

Tranny is a 4 speed with first being a granny gear. and Im not sure about my transfer case. Looks like its probably NP208, which im not sure what that means haha

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

Well with my move having been completed, most of my time (and money) has gone to home renovations. However, behind my girlfriends back I have also been accumulating parts. I have purchased a 4 barrel intake, and I have a newer model exhaust (common modification for a 300 I-6 of this year. To top it off I found a free carb on craigslist. I haven't had the time to install it all yet though.

The parts dusty with flooring saw dust.


Also, in GREAT news the state of Washington does NOT have smog like my previous home state. That means I can take off all the stupid smog stuff which just means more power and a smoother running engine.

Also w/ winter well in our sights and my excitement of snow camping I purchased a snow cover for my RTT which I have yet to test fit, but I will be posting photos when I do.

Lastly, I have been out exploring the endless fire-roads that WA has to offer!

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

Some more Photos of recent adventure:
(Mount Hood in the background)

 

[Dilldog]

So that carb looks like a Quadra Jet, they are great carbs but take a lot of experience to rebuild and tune. Most people throw them away because they dont understand them and dont want to devote the time to learning. Now on the down side, even if that carb came off of a small block its going to be too big for a 300-6 until you start doing some big internal mods. The 500 2bbl I was running on my 300 was too much carb, You would ideally be looking for an old 390 Holley 4bbl. You can probably make it work because Q-Jets are spread bore, but you will need to be easy on the pedal, once the secondaries open its going to be a lot of fuel...
Also if you need any help with that Q-Jet drop me a line, I was one of two guys people had rebuild them in my old 4x4 club.

 

[Lost Dutchman]

GREAT truck. I have an 88 Bronco I'm building into an overlanders. Love to see the older rigs running the wild country!

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

Great info! Had no idea what it was but seeing the price of the 390 Holleys had me running to the used market haha those carbs were almost as much as the truck!

I have read online and the FordSix forum a million different recommendations for these engines from 390 all the way up to 750 with not much done to the engine. So for a free carb i figured i might as well give it a shot before I go spending money on a smaller one. I do fully expect it to be too much carb tho haha hoping I can make it work for a time.

I may need to take you up on the help though so I'll reach out if i start tearing it apart. Im going to attempt as is just to see how it does and if it works then ill go through the pains of a rebuild and if it doesn't...then ill make a game time decision

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

GREAT truck. I have an 88 Bronco I'm building into an overlanders. Love to see the older rigs running the wild country!

Ah i love those Broncos! Its not easy running the classics out there and its a stiff ride haha At some point im going to need to do something about that suspension so these roads dont shake the car to pieces but its been good to me!

 

[M Rose]

GREAT truck. I have an 88 Bronco I'm building into an overlanders. Love to see the older rigs running the wild country!

You make number 3 FSB owner here... I run a 1989 FSB... well did until about a month ago.

 

[ollovertheplace]

Update - TRIP TO PISMO - TROUBLE IN PARADISE

After getting it running...goodish my buddies and I planned a trip to Pismo which is only about a 3 hour drive. Also the day before I left for Pismo I welded up a crappy rack and bought a Roof Top Tent! After work i left for Pismo and I got there at 10pm and as soon as i hit the sand got stuck. Rookie Mistake. Then with the rising tide the truck refused to start again. Got some help from a friendly passer byer and I got the beast jumped then made my way to camp. The next morning the truck refused to start again but I still managed to get it out on the dunes. The next day we woke up and heard there was a shooting on the beach 100 feet from our camp site and again the truck wouldnt start. Immediately I knew the alternator had gone bad. Drove 12 miles then my buddy jumped me. We did this for 100 miles and I stopped at an Autozone and told them to leave me. Swapped the alternator and made it home. Once home i bought a 240 amp alternator and threw that on so that the new lights didnt kill the truck either.


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If you ever want to head into the hills or need wrenching help hit me up. I’m just up in battle ground and it looks like you’re in salmon creek. Awesome looking build!

 

[Dilldog]

Yeah for sure man. I would highly recommend getting a manual for the Q-Jets, this is the book I used . Also before you start rebuilding it make sure you have some fuel safe epoxy on hand. Theres a few spots that were sealed from the factory and after 30-40 years the epoxy starts breaking down and causes leaks, also make sure you have a big clean area to start the tear down, theres lots of small parts in there.

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

If you ever want to head into the hills or need wrenching help hit me up. I’m just up in battle ground and it looks like you’re in salmon creek. Awesome looking build!

haha I appreciate that! Def will be taking you up on both of those at some point. You know any good trails out here? I stumbled upon one fire road "L-1200A" (i think) which had an incredible view of St. Helens!

Also be warned...going out into the hills with me in the truck...well it always runs the possibility of a break down *knocks on wood frantically* but im still game if you are! I just want to get my engine running mo betta first

 

[stark-in-the-wild]

Yeah for sure man. I would highly recommend getting a manual for the Q-Jets, this is the book I used . Also before you start rebuilding it make sure you have some fuel safe epoxy on hand. Theres a few spots that were sealed from the factory and after 30-40 years the epoxy starts breaking down and causes leaks, also make sure you have a big clean area to start the tear down, theres lots of small parts in there.

Yeah figure organization and taking my time will be a big part of it. You think a 600 cfm holley would be better? or any other recommendations more "bang for your buck" style carb? the 390 is just too pricey for this project

 

[Dilldog]

Yeah figure organization and taking my time will be a big part of it. You think a 600 cfm holley would be better? or any other recommendations more "bang for your buck" style carb? the 390 is just too pricey for this project

What are the numbers on the Q-Jet? A vast majority of those guys are 750, so a 600 would be a bit better. The benefit of a Holley is they are nearly infinitely tunable. But Caddy, Buick, and Pontiac big blocks got 800s.

 

[M Rose]

Yeah figure organization and taking my time will be a big part of it. You think a 600 cfm holley would be better? or any other recommendations more "bang for your buck" style carb? the 390 is just too pricey for this project

Go to a junk yard and pull off a stock carburetor off of a 1987-1990 f-150/250 with a 5.8L engine. They came stock with a Holly 600 DP just landed under the Motocraft name.

 

[Dilldog]

Go to a junk yard and pull off a stock carburetor off of a 1987-1990 f-150/250 with a 5.8L engine. They came stock with a Holly 600 DP just landed under the Motocraft name.

I completely forgot about the Motorcraft carbs. A 2100 2bbl would be the perfect carb for a 300. AMC Jeep V8s ran them as did obviously tons of Fords.

 

[M Rose]

I need to edit my years on the carb... 1980-1987 F series and Bronco with the 5.8L used the motocraft holly carbs... the 351c had a 4bbl option, but not sure if it was Carter or Holly...

But yes, I would stick to a 2bl carb in the 550-750 cfm range for the I-6.

 

[Dilldog]

I had decent luck with a 500 Holley on my 300, but it had intake, headers, was bored out, had the BBC rocker mod and it was still a bit much. I really wanted to go to a Webber 38DGES. I also ran a Webber 32/36DGEV on my stock 74 300 and it wasn't quite enough. So I always figured around 400cfm would be the sweet spot.

 

[oldmopars]

If you are new to carburetor tuning and fiddling, I would go with the Edelbrock Performer 1404 (Carter AFB). These carbs have been around for 50+ years, they are simple, no side hung bowls that want to leak, easy to tune, etc. Are there better "High Performance" carbs out there, yes, but this will give you all the performance that 300I6 has to offer. Best of all, Summit has them for under $400. I have used them and had great success. The 1404 of 500CFM and should be all the carb you need.

Edelbrock 1404 Edelbrock Performer Carburetors | Summit Racing

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