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Considering an F350, need opinions

3.5K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  goatboyposer  
#1 ·
So i've been lookin around and came across a couple late 80's F350s for cheap money. I was thinking of getting one to turn into a mud truck, but i'm wondering will they be too heavy for mud?

I found a couple regular cab long beds with 460's and c6 trannies and I was thinking of just throwing on a lift, boggers, and some gears and going to town, but i'm just worried that it will be too heavy and i'll get stuck all the time?

Anyway anyone have an opinion? Are they too heavy or would it be a nice mudder?

Thanks :rockon
 
#3 ·
That's what I was thinking. Don't they come with a 60 front and 10.25 rear too?
 
#7 ·
Yeah that sounds nice. I wanted to put that setup in my bko but with no welder and garage it would cost wayyyy too much, easier and cheaper to start with a new platform I think.



Thanks for all the replies, i'm starting to obsess now. I found a 1996 with a blown 460. I wanna buy it and try to rebuild the 460. Only thing is I have no income so i'm probably dreaming, it's a sweet deal though. Even if I couldn't rebuild the 460 I could make my money back on the part out. Only bad side is it's an autotragic. Although if I'm rebuilding the motor anyway I'm sure I could swap in a 4 speed or similar
 
#8 ·
Well i talked to the seller of the 96, it looks like if it's not sold by sat i'll be going to get it. Planning on borrowing my dads 1500 silverado and renting a car hauler from U-haul to get it and tow it home (haven't lifted the bko yet so I can't tow with that). I'll keep you guys updated
 
#11 ·
Posting was deleted before I saw it.

And the silverado should be fine, we used to tow our 24' powerboat with it before we sold it, i think that weighs more than the F350 and it was nothin.
 
#12 ·
I'd take the F350 over anything else. Its the perfect foundation for what you want. Don't worry about the weight because it can be lightened up. I know a guy with a 90 F350 standard cab 4x4 with stock suspension that weighs 3950 pounds. Thats with a big block and C6 in it too. Look for a C6 instead of the manual because for one thing its so much cheaper to SFI, and the auto is far more forgiving in the mud.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the info :thumbup

Hope you are planning on using something with trailer brakes. IMHO there shouldn't be trailers sold without them, as there are too many people that don't worry about stopping in a controlled and timely fashion until after they smash or injure someone.
Lol, i've towed plenty of heavy stuff, i wouldn't tow a 1 ton w/o trailer brakes.

Let's try to keep this thread for F350 opinions, all set in the towing dept :thumbup
 
#15 ·
my pickup hits the 6400 pound mark when its covered in mud. it does really well in the mud with the tire size i'm running. so a F350 is a good place to start. when you say you want it for mud are you talking just playin in the mud or entering mud drags and stuff like that?
 
#16 ·
Good to hear. I'm just talkin about playing, not thinkin of draggin it. I just want a big truck that I can play out in the woods with and hit some pits. We have 45 acres where I live in NH with plenty of trails, and occasionally take it into town or to the beach and cause a stir :rockon

My ideal plan would be to lift it high enough to get some 39.5's on there, put on a big intake and nice exhaust. But first I have to see about the motor, and before that I have to actually buy the thing.
 
#18 ·
well you should be more than happy if you spend $ on the right spots. mine has about 11 inches total lift. and the 42s just clear. it goes every place i want it to, and some places i shouldn't be lol. good luck.
 
#24 ·
Damn, it's not lookin good. Sent the seller an email and left 2 messages on his phone, haven't heard back. last i talked to him was tues afternoon. If someone else bought it i'll be pissed! Listing is still active on craigslist so I'm gonna keep calling, wish me luck. . . .
 
#25 ·
My next trail rig will be an F-350 cut down to a short wheel base and a stepside bed. Big Axles, Big Motor, Big Frame and shit simple leaf spring suspention. I'm just going to shorten the wheel base and run 35's on stock suspention and locked rears. I'm going up to look at one this weekend with a 460 and ZF5.

Seems to me you can't go wrong, why build a 1/2 ton with one ton parts when you can just buy a one ton?


We just shortened an F-250 PSD to a std cab short bed for a customer and it got me thinking...
 
#26 ·
yeah my ideal would be shorten the frame and put a bronco body on but no welder/garage kinda puts that one outta the picture.

I'm stressin out about this truck! I want it! I hope it's not sold yet!
 
#28 ·
I'm sure you'll find another one soon if it's gone. I passed up a reg cab dually for $500 a few months back. I really would have liked it but I already bought this one.

What part of NH are you in? Who needs a garage, the driveway works fine! Extension cords can be a PITA though. I need a generator...

I was thinking about turning my Diesel F-250 into a Bronco, however taking that much out of the frame isn't easy. The truck frames have a 16" strait section of frame for long beds, and removing 12" of frame basically gives you a short bed frame. Cab configuration is a whole different story though, because the frame is different for a std cab to a extended cab, bronco, ext. It could be done, but it would take a lot of hacking up. The short bed F-250 we built uses all the stock body mounts, and the only way to tell its not stock is the fish plate we put on the inside of the frame.
If it's just a staright section, it doesn't seem like it'd be that bad? I would have liked a Bronco body myself, but it'll be similar if I just toss 2 rows of seats in the bed...
 
#27 ·
I was thinking about turning my Diesel F-250 into a Bronco, however taking that much out of the frame isn't easy. The truck frames have a 16" strait section of frame for long beds, and removing 12" of frame basically gives you a short bed frame. Cab configuration is a whole different story though, because the frame is different for a std cab to a extended cab, bronco, ext. It could be done, but it would take a lot of hacking up. The short bed F-250 we built uses all the stock body mounts, and the only way to tell its not stock is the fish plate we put on the inside of the frame.
 
#29 ·
It's not hard at all to shorten the frame from the cab back, but you can only get 12" out of it, and the portion of the fram under the cab doesn't have an easy strait section to take out.
 
#30 ·
I guess I will chime in on lifts. To fit 39.5s with no trimming or rubbing on a 92-97 you need about 9" of lift. I would do a 4" shackle reversal up front and 4" spring packs and out back a 4" flip kit with 4" spring packs and no bodylift. I run the sky flip and reversal stuff on mine with 6" spring packs front and back and a 3" bodylift. The rear also has a 2" block and I sit about 2" lower in the rear still. I clear 44" boggers pretty good with no trimming or rubing on the body. I don't know if it will rub the stock bumper with the lift since I took mine off the first week I owned it. Just to let you know the reversal and shackle flip made a huge differance on the ride and flex for my truck. O and the power a 460 puts out is great. Mine has 180,000 miles and will smoke the 44s and does even better now with 5.13 gears.
 
#34 ·
Thanks for that post, I missed it, some good info there.


Hopefully I can find a truck similar to the one I was looking at, I'll just keep searching.
 
#32 ·
No garage just sucks cause all the tools are inside said:
I know your pain. I don't have one either and what sucks more my tools are over 1000ft away from the pad where I work on my truck at.
 
#33 ·
yeah. try parting out two cars and having them both parked 50 yards from your house and the tool chest is inside a back room in the house with no straight path to it. Need a breaker bar? ok see you in 5 minutes :twak

Oh yeah and no pad, i lay in the dirt/mud/snow :rockon