how to set up a ford for sled pulling

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Schwinn68

diesel fanatic
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Feb 10, 2008
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My buddy has a Ford excursion and now that he's seen me pull my truck was wondering what it would take for him to do it. I'm not really sure what you need to do to the fords to get them ready to pull. any input would be appreciated
 
strip inteior to make weight
what class does he want to run
and what current mods to it?
 
remove motor

install cummins

build tranny

strip interior

beef up rear or put dana 80 under it
 
what he said, lol. Seriously though, is it a 6.0L or a 7.3L? If it has leafspring suspension up front, then he will defenatly want traction bars front and rear. If not he will be bouncing like a jack rabbit down the track and break stuff. If its a coil spring frontend with track arms, then he should be ok and just run rear traction bars and blocks.
 
he just wants to run in the street stock type class. It has the 7.3 with a predator box, cold air intake, guages and 4" exhaust. He's just looking to have some fun, not break anything and not embarrass himself.
 
Back on topic......... He defanetly wants traction bars front and rear, and block the rearend. Depending on the what the weight class is, he may have to strip the interior and possibly some other things to make weight. If so, take out as much from the back of the vehicle as possible and work your way up. Pull in 4x4 Low range, and shift to second gear after he winds out 1st gear. That will probably be all gear he can get out of it. 3rd gear would probably be too much and bog the motor down with what little mods he has.
 
kino_fab said:
Back on topic......... He defanetly wants traction bars front and rear, and block the rearend. Depending on the what the weight class is, he may have to strip the interior and possibly some other things to make weight. If so, take out as much from the back of the vehicle as possible and work your way up. Pull in 4x4 Low range, and shift to second gear after he winds out 1st gear. That will probably be all gear he can get out of it. 3rd gear would probably be too much and bog the motor down with what little mods he has.
Click to expand...

thanks for the info, this is what I was looking for. Do you know of a good place to get a posi or locker for the front axle and especially the rear axle? used would probably be ok if it was a good deal. Is there a write up on how to make the traction bars or does someone sell a reasonably priced kit?
 
Is there some kind of shift kit for the trans or will it be ok for limited pulling? I know he wont drop the trans for a full build, but he would have something simple installed
 
Farmboy fabrications has the best traction bars I have seen. Check the site sponsors list. He has a page link there.
 
kino_fab said:
what he said, lol. Seriously though, is it a 6.0L or a 7.3L? If it has leafspring suspension up front, then he will defenatly want traction bars front and rear. If not he will be bouncing like a jack rabbit down the track and break stuff. If its a coil spring frontend with track arms, then he should be ok and just run rear traction bars and blocks.
Click to expand...

To the original poster:
I'm assuming he will be pulling it in an entry level class, and probably just for fun once or twice....?

There are alot of things you can do to make a vehicle pull better but when you consider cost vs. benefit/usage, many are unnecessary for the guy only pulling once or twice.

The big issue (carnage wise) that I have seen on Fords is the rearend rotating up and wiping out the rear driveshaft or worse. I would concentrate on that first and power second.

On a side note:
Around here, the leaf spring Fords bounce, but the Coil Sprung ones have a huge issue with Oscillation (up and down) of the front end. It's pretty painfull to watch. A couple of guys have asked me for my input, but to be honest I have no clue. Would they benefit from a better style shock absorber....?

I have seen video of some guys pulling with the coil front end and some have the same oscillation while others seem pretty smooth. Is there a known fix or is it dependent on truck, or is it secret squirrel stuff?
 
NVJAY775 said:
Farmboy fabrications has the best traction bars I have seen. Check the site sponsors list. He has a page link there.
Click to expand...

They are going on my truck next week. Jesse has some of the best stuff.
 
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