68 F350 crewcab 12v

I

Ibuildembig

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I have this on a couple of other forums but I wanted to post it here since I am getting closer to messing with the motor and I'd like some input from guys who mess with um all the time.

Truck began life as a 68 F350 crewcab 2x4 with a 6 cylinder. As of right now it has a 79 Ford 60 front, 94 Dodge Dana 80 rear, 205 divorced case, nv4500, 12v cummins, 4 corner air ride, and the floorpan out of an 04 Superduty.

I'm going to drive this at least 3-5 days a week, and tow the hell out of it, so whatever I do it has to be reliable. I am shooting for 600-650 without getting stupid hot pulling a load. This will be my 9th diesel truck, but my first 12v.

Here's a few pics...

68-1barn-1.jpg

1.jpg

lowair.jpg

DSC02772.jpg

DSC02769.jpg

DSC02813.jpg

DSC02442.jpg
 
500+ hp for reliable towing = twins

stocker over a 475 or 3b would be perfect for a working truck

or you cuold just go with something like a 62/68/14
 
for the rear airbags will you be running varying rates of inflation for ride and weight control, and will the that diff housing center section have torque arms attached to the frame, am not sure how a rear suspenion that massive will work for this app, however nice truck, build, and fab skills
 
I'm gonna have to build something like that to keep it from raising up when I stand on it. Im thinking of a sled pulling truck setup with a rigid heim style mount on the housing end and a shackle mount on the frame end...that way it will allow inflation and deflation of the bags.
 
Subscribed cool looking build I wanna see how that air ride works

bobby
 
OrangeNV said:
500+ hp for reliable towing = twins

stocker over a 475 or 3b would be perfect for a working truck

or you cuold just go with something like a 62/68/14
Click to expand...

agreed on this one...

600-650 towable, would be hot, unless you have a valet switch, my towing setup was 450/1000 and was as followed when i had a 12v. and it was sweet, quick spoolin, low egt, decent mileage, and would yank a trailer with ease..

35/14 with crossdrilled housing, over an S400 (rips twins)
100 plate 1/2 forward with AFC about 3/4 forward
starwheel at snug or so
4K spring, free reving to 3800 or so
16.5 degrees of timing
Dragonfly injectors 150 horse Industrial injection
AFE filter
Valair inc clutch (best option to put it to the ground)
and FWIW posilock 4x4 for the two low option...

id do this setup agian in a heartbeat if i had another truck..
 
I wondered if either a 351 or a 351 vgt setup would be a good top turbo for his setup.
 
Looks good man there is plenty of crew cab fummins being built on here now keep up the good work
 
I would like to see more on the air ride setup. I have modified my air setup a bit and am always looking for new ideas.
 
Thanks guys I appreciate the words of confidence!

What parts of the airride to you wanna see more pics of? I have tons more, but I didnt wanna bore everyone.

Roachie....do you mean turbo cooling or radiator cooling?
 
Radiator system. Its generally accepted that 500 is the max on a 2nd gen dodge when towing. The way the radiator support is on your 68 will really limit your options, really custom radiators are about your only option.

Two of my friends have converted 79's, one has a 7.3, the other has a 6.0. The 7.3 truck has some random radiator that just happened to fit (3core) the 6.0 truck has a custom unit. Neither are built to tow.
 
On edit, roachie beat me to it:
Anything over about 450hp constantly (like towing) really taxes the cooling system. Maybe if you could get a much bigger radiator in there you would be ok.

Also I would be looking around for something other than a nv4500. Besides it being weak, the 3-4 gear splits suck for towing. I think a g56 out of a 3rd gen dodge would be pretty nice to drive, and you could get one mated to a nv271 transfer case.


Awesome project, keep the pictures coming
 
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I'm gonna have to have a custom radiator anyway so I will keep that in mind. Also I manufacture and sell electric fan kits so I will prolly use one of those on this rig as well.

I have an 06 with the G56 in it and I hate it...plus I have a friend who has been through 2 of them now and he's not doing anything but pulling. And I know I am old school, but I will never use a chain drive tcase in anything; and a mated case would force me to use a carrier bearing in the rear shaft and I don't wanna do that.
 
In the 67-79 conversions I've done the largest radiator I could fit was the 94.5-98 Powerstroke unit. The top lip of the frame needs a small trim. The 99+ 7.3 radiator is the same width and thickness, but it's about 4" taller and hangs below the bottom of the frame.

I also feel the NV4500 is real poor for towing and just driving in general. I like the ZF 6 speeds over the 5600 or G56. I've pulled big weight with a 5.9 and a close ratio diesel ZF 5 speed in the 70's Ford 4x4 chassis with D60/D80. I liked the ZF5 a lot, but never got abusive with how I drove it.
 
Well that's why we all like different things :) I have a ZF5 in the old ladys 7.3 and its already been gone through twice. No one around here will touch a ZF6 with a 10 foot pole for some reason. I'm gonna run the NV4500 because I already own it and I have a buddy who knows them inside and out and he runs one without issues. As far as radiators go, I can fit a longer one than a standard 67-79 truck can simply because my body is 4.7 inches taller on the frame than a stock one. I am not afraid of having custom stuff made, after all this whole project is pretty much a one off piece as it is. Money is never been an issue with my projects, I will find a way to pay for it if its what I want. So far I am in this project for a shade over 6500 so I am way ahead of the game as far as that goes.
 
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