[chewmaize]

Howdie boys (and gals). I'm going to continue to search and find this info myself, but until I find it I figured that I would go ahead and put the question out there. I've found a nice 65 F100 StepSide (FlareSide, whatever you wanna call it) Roller and I'm start'n to track down the pieces of the puzzle. She has no engine/tranny. I've been told at another, less classy or sophisticated, site that I should run a stock 6 and tranny combo for "reliability". That sounds very boring to me. I'm wanting something that will break the rearend loose. The engine bay is bare....stipped COMPLETELY and looks big enough in there to squeeze an S10 in. Not counting the money that will be spent on the roller ($2500), my budget is going to be around $5000.....that's stretched over 2 years. Hit me with some of that knowledge and give me some ideals on a engine....better yet, and engine/tranny suggestion would be great too.

I'm going to try to post a couple pics, hope this works.

Is $2500 too steep for what your seeing in the pics????

[monster76]

I dont think fitting an engine is a problem i was going to buy one with a 460 in it and it looked like it had ample space in the engine bay

[chewmaize]

Yeah, it's roomy under the hood brother.

[Mr. P-Body]

My brother has a '64 "slab side" that he put a 460/C-6 combo in to tow his race car trailer. The truck is gorgeous and runs 13s ("empty"), while getting around 13 MPG pulling the load. You can see it Oct 13 on MuscleCar TV. They're interviewing my niece because she drives a Maverick "bracket" car. They pitted the Maverick against the pickup for "fun" (running aginast his 9 second Mustang wouldn't be "fair"). He still had to "let up" to keep from beating her in front of the cameras.

I know he put a later front and rear suspension in it. Contact me at:

mrpbody@centralvirginiamachine.com

I'll give you his contact info and you can talk to him about the swap. As far as "gas" engines, hard to argue with 460.


Jim

[RWENUTS]

Truck looks clean and straight. Good price!!
I had a 64 once with a 455 Pontiac and turbo 400 in it. Big engine bay. Anything will fit.
Maybe for a real torque monster look into a caddy 500 and T400.
You could buy a big caddy fairly cheap I'd think considering your gas prices are finally starting to get up there.

[chewmaize]

The Caddy engine is interesting RWENUTS. It has that "interesting factor" to it. Would be kinda cool to say, "It's a 65 with a 500 in it".

[RWENUTS]

And they make hop up parts for them now. Intakes, better cams, headers etc.
And for ultimate stealth paint FORD on the top of the valve covers! LOL!!!
Here's a link for parts.
A good reason to use a caddy is the front mount distributor. Much easier to swap.
http://www.cadillacperformanceparts.com/

[matt167]

The sky is the limit. If using factory parts you can go to a 427 in an FE platform, 429/460 in a 335 platform or any type of stroker in between, and because Ford used FE's and 335's in that chassis, it is a bolt in affair. Cad 472/500 would be cool too.

[chewmaize]

How big of a deal is it to put a 473/500 in? Would there be a lot of cutting to line her up? Please remember, I'm ignorant with 4 wheels and I have no ideal what to do. Yes, I'll be getting a couple of friends to help, but the more info I can get in here the less stupid I'll sound to the guys helping.

[RWENUTS]

Here's a couple links for engine dimensions and mount options. THe sky's the limit. Pick your poison.
Since it's your first foray into 4 wheels you might want to stick with a stockish type setup. Put a ford motor in. Go hogwild on your next project.
Good luck Grasshopper!! LOL!!
Popular American V8 Engine Dimensions
Hedman Performance Group

[Mr. P-Body]

Cross-breeding is okay, but the Caddy engines are getting scarce and expensive. Since Ford already makes a world-class torque monster (460), might as well go with it. If you really like that "500" number, it's easy enough to make a 501 out of a 460 with just pistons and rods and machine work. The factory nodular iron crank is plenty strong for the task. It can be offset-ground to make 4.14" srtroke with BBC rod journals.

Everyone knows I'm a Pontiac "bigot", but I do like a certain level of
"purism". I can see crossing brands if your brand of choice (body) doesn't offer an adequate engine family. That's not the case here.

Lastly, I fully understand, a person wants what they want because they want it. That may sound funny, but we tell all our customers: "It's YOUR money. You tell US how to spend it". The GM swap wouldn't be "easy", but not insurmountable, either.

Jim

[chewmaize]

I did a little more research, and I'm leaning with you Jim. 460 and keep'n it Ford is probably the way I'm going to go. Any good sites for a reasonable engine and/or tranny?

[RWENUTS]

Use this search from craigslist. Covers a big area around you.
SearchTempest Online Classifieds Search - All the Classifieds. One Search.

[chewmaize]

I found a company that builds what sounds to be a pretty solid 460. I'm going to start a new thread on the topic, but wanted to say something in this threat. The company is Phoenix Engines out of Arizona. They build a "Midnight 460 Crate Engine" that's pretty modest as far as price and what I've ran across. $5090 "TurnKey"....so I'm assuming that's bolt it in and go. I might go their route on the engine, not I'm going to search out a Tranny. This is actually a lot of fun!

[RWENUTS]

Even tho it would be nice to have a crate 460 I wouldn't go that way on my first build. Turnkey only means it's got a carb, distributor etc. Ready to fire up. Cam already broke in etc.
THen you need a tranny, torque convertor, starter, motor and tranny mounts, headers and exhaust, a shifter, a better rad, maybe better brakes, rebuild the suspension, better rearend, driveshaft etc etc. Add another 5 grand.
It adds up in a hurry and becomes a massive budget beater.
Keep doing research, take lots of time, go to car shows and cruise nights and look at similiar set-ups in trucks like yours. You'll be farther ahead.
I'd look for an old LTD with a 460 auto and build from there.
If you buy the big motor for 5 grand then odds are a year or two from now you'll have a big motor sitting in the corner and no truck built. That happens all the time.
Save your money. Do it right!!