So i have a 99' Super duty and as it stands now, its a daily driver (pictures below). The plan is to convert it to a wheeling rig progressively over the next few years, ending in a bad *** trailer rig. Right now it has 4.10's LS, 5.4L triton, 5-speed, ~3" lift on 35x12.5 toyo M/T.

Heres the plan, mostly in order:

-7.3L powerstroke swap from a 99.5-03' with the zx6 (6-speed tranny)
-Rock Sliders
-Hummer style beadlocks (the ones that lock on both sides)
-Selectable Lockers front and rear (so i can still have the LS driving around Bozeman in the winter and locked when i wheel)
-3" or 4" more lift with leaf springs (has leafs in the front and rear)
-Anywhere from 37"-40" M/T or swampers or boggers
-Flat bed with tool boxes
-Exo cage on cab
-Fuel tank skid, tranny/transfercase/oil pan skids
-plate/tube bumper with fogs and 12k CSI winch
-Rear flood lights to light up the world
-snorkle.... maybe?? personally, i think they look tacky if done wrong or cheaply, not sure if i'll really even need it.

What do you guys think?

 

SIIIIIICK! sounds like a good plan to me.

 

meh i think an sd is too big to make a trail rig out of, but to each his own

 

that would b kick a$$ man. i say do the snorkle i think they look bad a$$

 

That looks like a SuperCab Longbed which would put the wheelbase around 158," approx 2" longer than my CrewCab Shortbed. I don't I don't know about you, but 13 feet between the wheels gets me into trouble quickly. If you're going to some kind of flat bed, you may think about choppin' some frame. If it is a shortbed, you still have nearly 12 feet to dance over rocks, logs, and other obstacles.


The sliders are going to be important, I say.

Does your truck have the Dana50 or the Dana60 front end. I can't remember when Ford went used the Dana50, but it did show up in some earlier F250s I think. This could hurt your locker selection.

Good luck with your build. The Super Duty is build with some solid parts right from the factory.

 

nice project u got there. do the snorkel

 

its a super cab, short bed with the dana 50. i was thinking about swapping it with a 60, but it might be unnecessary, the 50 would be fine.

i was thinking about chopping the frame, but i was going to run it the way it was for now, and if it does prove to be way to long i'll chop it down some.

 

it has the dana 50. also it is a shortbed.. when i talked to him we were playing around witht eh idea of flatbedding it and shortening the wheelbase a bunch

 

Are there any selectable lockers available for the D50?
I don't know a whole lot about that axle and what's available. Sometimes Ford does some weird things with front axles...

Dana35 hybrid TTB anyone?

I know a guy who had a early Super Duty with the Dana50 and wheeled the poo poo out of it in the mud and in the creeks and around the farm- he never had a problem with the 35-36" tires he ran. I believe his was a diesel too.

My F250 has the 5.4L & ZF6 manual in it. If my memory serves right, I think your ZF5 and my ZF6 have the same 5.79:1 1st gear ratio which is really nice to creep around in with the transfer case in Low Range.

I really like your ideas of a "clean" truck. Be sure to keep us updated as you build this rig.

 

Damn, that thing with a 7.3L in it would be ( . )( . )'s. I love that color lifted... And the black protech really sets it off.

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you man! Good luck!

 

I say skip the diesel swap. It weighs more and that truck is already heavy (sink in soft terrain and harder for others to pull you out). I say put your money into a D60 front axle, gears, skids, lockers, flatbed. I don't see the point of putting in a heavier engine with more torque that will break that D50 easier. Then it depends if you want to be a big badass mud bogger, trail rig, technical trails etc. If you're going for mud then I guess the 7.3 would work. Out here in the desert I see Jeeps all over running little 4 bangers with deep gearing 5.13 & deeper with D44 and/or D60s tearing it up on the rocks and trails. Whatever you do it will be one badass Super Duty!

 

ARB makes an air locker for the D50. i wish OX made a locker for it. yea, i love that low gear! SOOOO low, i love being able to drop the clutch on a hill and have it just go. did the 09' 5.4 come with the zf-6 stock? or was that an afterthought on your part?

the truck already weighs 3.5 tons... it cannot get much heavier... im not really worried about the weight. well with the gearing that it has now, especially in low range, you can break the axles with the 5.4, i'm not to worried about the axle, i might put in some beefier axle shafts in later. I'm mostly doing the 7.3 because i'll get better MPG while i commute from Bozeman to Seattle 4 or 5 times a year, and when i tow boats and "toys." The 5.4 is GUTLESS in that aspect. I had it loaded down with a ski boat, jet ski, 2 dirt bikes and some gear and i got 4 mpg up the pass. Don't want to keep doing that. Its going to be a mixed usage vehicle, i'm going to do a bit of everything, so the diesel is going to be a good choice for me. With the 4.10 and the low range, like i said before, its top speed flooring it would be maybe 3mph, max. Its now as it is now.

 

sweet man i say go for it! Peterson's Four Wheel and Offroad made a BA SD wheeler. and it did KICK *** on the trails... just got a lil body damage lol

 

My truck has the ZF6 stock, and like you I have 4.10 gears with 35" tires.
Crawl Ratio with our F250s is prettly low compared to other stock 4wd vehicles...

ZF6 Low Gear (5.79) x NVG271 Low Range (2.72) x Ring & Pinion (4.10) = 64.5:1


Comparing that to a similar newer GM product shows a big difference.
6L80E 1st Gear (4.03) x Transfer Case Low Range (2.69) x Ring & Pinion (4.10) = 44.4:1


And for reference, a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon scores somewhat better than the Super Duty because of the very deep low range in the transfer case.

1st Gear (4.46) x RockTrak NV241 (4.00) x Ring and Pinion (4.10) = 73.1:1



Again, the Super Duty starts it's life with a bunch of very stout pieces of equipment. As it was mentioned, the weight can be a problem in some off-road conditions. Swapping for a 7.3L Powerstroke is going to bring more power than even the later 5.4L engines with 3 valve heads, and it'll bring at least 600lbs more to the front end.

Another thing to consider is all the little "extra" things a swap from gas to diesel will bring such as wiring incompatabilites in the cab. Even the gauge cluster may need to be swapped. The 7.3L Power Stroke was a great engine; for me it just wouldn't be worth that kind of major surgery. For me, wheelin' seems to be about traction and then about power.

Again, good luck with your build. Be sure to take lots of pics for us to drool over.

 

i agree. but it would be badass to see nonetheless..

get to it!

 

I've talked to a few friends who have diesels and know a ton about them and we came up with the idea of getting a salvaged SD with the ZF6 and 7.3 and using it as a doner truck to steal everything off of. We're going to need to swap the gauges, fuel system (which i might upgrade anyways), whole wiring harness, cooling system, the whole 9 yards. Its going to be a big undertaking, but with a few guys, we should be able to do it.

I'm a photography major at MSU, their will be pictures!

 

VITO!! you know that im with you with whatever you decide to do and that i will back you up completely! as well as help out and do all that i can to build this rig! HOWEVER!! in a couple of posts back a guy hit the nail directly on the head! wheeling is about traction and gearing, not power! consider the yota guys running a 22re 4 banger with 5.29 gears and dual cases can push 42s around easily!

 

its not all about power, your right, i'm also looking at the MPG for that truck on the highway, especially under tow/haul. The truck is heavy and it get crappy MPG with the 5.4, so i want the diesel to get me that. and you cannot say that a powerstroke wouldn't be bad ***!

 

your right, i could not say that!