I want a play truck

[nick112207]

I want a real play truck. I was thinking something in the 150/1500-250/2500 class trucks. older for sure. I say this because i found an old F-150 online for 1000 and it has a 351W in it. But idk what to look for. I dont want someone to suggest a truck just because they are partial to that brand. i was thinking for ford try to find a truck with either a 351, 400, or 460. with chevy/gm i was thinking a 350 or a 454. and well dodge honestly im not a major fan of the ram pickups unless they have a cummins. and the only reason i would choose these major gas sucking engines is because like i said it would only be a play truck that i'd take out only a couple times a month to go off road with my buddy. i'd prefer responses from people who have had experience with Chevy, Ford, and Dodge trucks from the mid 80's to the early/mid 90's. basically the years with the big, loud, gas sucking engines (remeber this would only be a play truck). So what would you suggest?

 

[LittleBigFoot]

I've worked on my friends F350 Highboy with a 351. I think it's an 83 IIRC
It's a good truck. Fun to play with, not a train length long.
He's had some Tcase problems, but other then that it's a beast.

I have a Chevy 2500 Silverado SuperCab LongBed W/ a 454
It's huge. Good tow pig. I wouldn't suggest a fullsize truck to take off road unless a wide dirt road is the most hard core trail it's gonna see. IMO

 

[soylent_green]

Go pre- 80's.

70's full size trucks are about the perfect things to build as play trucks.

Solid axles and leaf springs make for easy modifacations.

Large variety of great motors.

Gobs of replacemant parts in every junkyard.

They're big:

This is a 78 F-250. No lift, 35" swampers. Welded rear diff. Holds it's own on every trail, and every mud pit.

Lots of space to work on stuff. Tons of room under the hood even with a 460:

 

[LittleBigFoot]

73-79

Hell yeah.

 

[nick112207]

the major reason this idea came up was i found a 1990 f150 4x4 with a 351W in it. idk the miles though but i contacted the guy through email so i'll have to see

 

[94STXRanger]

No pics but very similair to the one above. We have a 76 F150 custom cab. Has like four inch lift and 351 in it. That thing is amonster. Havin played with it for afew years but when we did it was a lot of fun to mess around in.

 

[nick112207]

i actually found this on craigs list. i emailed the guy and asked him for pics and what the miles were. question, were the old f250's so big that they could run rather large tires with no lift on them?

 

[soylent_green]

I cut 2 inches around my fenders and my 35"s dont rub at all.

 

[soylent_green]

Highboys were 75' and older. they sat higher because the frames didn't have any elevation change from front to back, they had a divorced np205, and sat higher so the axle and driveshaft would clear the frame and crossmember.

I wouldn't suggest a fullsize truck to take off road unless a wide dirt road is the most hard core trail it's gonna see. IMO

If it doesn't fit, make it fit! My truck has moved more logs, rocks, and whole trees than I can remember...

 

[Dinker]

I have been an avid ford fan since i have been driving. i have had a ton of trucks from a '59 F100 on 35" BFG's to a 72 High boy with 40" Boggers. One of my favorite and most reliable off road toys was my 84 Bronco with a 300cid 6cyl and a top loader four speed. tons of torque and power and the gearing to get the job done. the short wheel base makes turns a breeze. it is wide for some trails, but that is how it got it's racing stripes. Keep in mind it isn't always about big block power if you are geared properly. big blocks tend to break parts on your rig when they get spinning and a wheel grabs.

After all that i have to admit that i now have a dodge. it is a 96 ram 1500 reg cab short bed. they set pretty high from the factory and have the short wheel base. the things i like about it are that dodge still used the dana 44 in the front for a straight axel and the fact that it is new enough to have fuel injection which helps in off-camber and steep hill situations.

lastly, i agree not to worry about what make it is. find something that will be easy to build up and maintain. i can get a 5" lift for my dodge for 600.00. hence staying away from independent front ends. get something you like and then go for it.

 

[nick112207]

yeah i know the big blocks arent something you need to have alot of power. thats based on gearing i know that. but what i like about the big blocks is the just raw power and sound of them. not to mention i would like a rather large 4x4 truck because well alot of my buddies around here like to get their trucks stuck. and the ranger isnt exactly heavy enough to pull them out. last time my real good buddy got stuck its because his dad drove his 1978 chevy 1 ton dually into their back yard to put the wood they have back there. it is by a little pond so the ground was just mud. his dad got stuck so then he tried to pull his dad out and his truck didnt weigh enough (he drives a 1500 c/k single cab short bed with a 350 4x4). they eventually had to call another friend who has a 1993 2500 silverado and then he hooked up to my friend who was hooked up to his dad. the got out. but the ruts they left in the mood were a good 2 feet deep

 

[nick112207]

soylent_green, what were some of the first things you did to your f250 to get more power? what parts specifically (like brand and model)

 

[mountainkowboy]

76-83 Fords are tanks and parts are EVERYWHERE.

 

[nick112207]

yeah i had a buddy that has a 79 f250 that has a 400 in it. he's running 40's. he had done well over 10000 dollars worth of work on that truck but it is sweet as hell.

 

[tomcat]

75-79 f100 f250 or f350 will do the job! stay away from the 351M and 400M's