The "Unpardonable Sin"

[dustman_stx]

Why do you want to relocate the gas tank? If its for "saftey" ....I remember the owner of this website saying if you get hit hard enough in a wreck to rupture the in cab gas tank you're probably dead anyway. Which is probably true, so moving it is a waste of time in my opinion.

Well, I'm not particularly fond of my little girl breathing gas fumes on a regular basis. So, if I am to continue using the 71 as a daily driver, the tank will be moved.

[dustman_stx]

Let me see if I'm reading this correctly: You're going to drop in a chevy motor because you've got an oil leak and need a new carb?

Not exactly. Really could use better fuel mileage, and EFI would be nice- you should see my wife try driving a carbed vehicle.

[dustman_stx]

Id spend the $4000-5000 and buy about 4 used Chevy's. One to drive and the other three for parts.

OOOOOOkaaayy. Don't really have the time to be constantly repairing a $2K truck. And would rather have something that's not gonna leave me or my wife stranded every few days.

[j41385]

Why do you want to relocate the gas tank? If its for "saftey" ....I remember the owner of this website saying if you get hit hard enough in a wreck to rupture the in cab gas tank you're probably dead anyway. Which is probably true, so moving it is a waste of time in my opinion.

Well, I'm not particularly fond of my little girl breathing gas fumes on a regular basis. So, if I am to continue using the 71 as a daily driver, the tank will be moved.

Thats odd, my truck has no fumes in the cab. If it did I probably wouldnt smoke in there.

[dustman_stx]

Alright. Since I've addressed some specific comments. Let me remind everyone that I've HAMMERED guys for even thinking about putting a Chevy motor in a Ford. And trust me, I've done a complete frame up restoration and know exactly how to calculate the cost of doing mods to these trucks. The 4K figure allowed for about $1000 of unforeseen costs. After looking at used vehicles, though, I've become quite discouraged. I won't put my wife and kids in just anything. It must be safe and dependable. I almost flat out refuse to buy a used car from a dealer that wants to make $2,000 on a $4,000 car. I'm not sure I was clear about this earlier, but I need a pickup in good working order. If I buy a used vehicle, I won't be able to do the necessary upgrades to the 71. Therefore, the new one would have to be a truck. And, if I'm gonna spend the money, I'd rather have something that is extended cab or crewcab so that my wife could use it if something was to happen to her car. And I'm having a hard time finding something around 10 years old that has around 100K on it that an individual has- at least close enough to justify me driving and looking at it. I'm sure there are other and better options out there that I just haven't run across yet.

By the way, I appreciate everyone being so clear about their opinion of the LT1 install.

[dustman_stx]

Why do you want to relocate the gas tank? If its for "saftey" ....I remember the owner of this website saying if you get hit hard enough in a wreck to rupture the in cab gas tank you're probably dead anyway. Which is probably true, so moving it is a waste of time in my opinion.

Well, I'm not particularly fond of my little girl breathing gas fumes on a regular basis. So, if I am to continue using the 71 as a daily driver, the tank will be moved.

Thats odd, my truck has no fumes in the cab. If it did I probably wouldnt smoke in there.

Mine is typically only after adding fuel or when the tank is relatively full. (So, I probably made too big a deal out of the fumes) But, I don't like the idea of having up to 16 gallons of gas 12" or so from my little girl, regardless.

[Jarred Hodges]

I have chevy engines in fords and cross breeding doesn't matter to me. I would say an lt1 swap would be a bad idea. Those engines had major problems with the optispark ignition. To the best of my knowledge those are rear sump pans and you need a front sump for a bump. Don't hold me to that though. If you wanted to do a 5.3 or 6.0 ls swap I would be all for it but lt1's suck

[novaboy009]

Go find a late 90's sentra with less than 100k on it. Pay around $1800-2000. Get 40 mpg. Have room for family. With remainder of cash saved, fix old truck to use as beater.

Or, fix the SBF in your truck. You can buy a LOT of gas for the $2500 a crappy LT1 swap will cost. In fact, lets see. 10,000 miles per year. Truck gets 11 mpg with SBF. Truck gets 18 mpg with LT1. Gas is $2.50 a gallon. It's $2,273 per year with the SBF and $1,388 for LT1. $885 difference per year. So it will pay for itself in 2.82 years. But is the time and hassle really worth it? Probably not for a used LT1 which is not a particularly good engine to start with.

[dustman_stx]

I have chevy engines in fords and cross breeding doesn't matter to me. I would say an lt1 swap would be a bad idea. Those engines had major problems with the optispark ignition. To the best of my knowledge those are rear sump pans and you need a front sump for a bump. Don't hold me to that though. If you wanted to do a 5.3 or 6.0 ls swap I would be all for it but lt1's suck

Thanks for the info. I am not thoroughly informed on Chevy engines, so this helps.

[DuckRyder]

I am not thoroughly informed on Chevy engines, so this helps.

Let me clear it up for you...

They suck... any questions?

[crazyhorse]

Dude, bastardizing your Ford, which will also result in considerable speculatory observation from your Fordification peers.

i like this explanation BobbyFord:l
would that be the only "bumpbastard" on Fordification ?

[dustman_stx]

I am not thoroughly informed on Chevy engines, so this helps.

Let me clear it up for you...

They suck... any questions?

That's funny. I suddenly feel like I've gone back to Junior High and am engaged in a Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge argument.

[cdeal28078]

If you are thinking of doing this to have a second family car I would leave the F100 alone. Save up about 2K and start looking for a used Taurus or maybe a T Bird. Look hard enough you might find a used cream puff of an 80-90's LTD which is a great family car. Beats messing up a perfectly good F100.
clint

Well, I have to have a truck for ocassional hauling, etc. . And as I mentioned, the 71 HAS to have some upgrades. I figure about $1250 minimum if I'm gonna keep using it. So, using it as is and saving up isn't really an option.

I thought you had a restored 72? That is why I suggested just getting a car to haul the family in.
clint

[dustman_stx]

If you are thinking of doing this to have a second family car I would leave the F100 alone. Save up about 2K and start looking for a used Taurus or maybe a T Bird. Look hard enough you might find a used cream puff of an 80-90's LTD which is a great family car. Beats messing up a perfectly good F100.
clint

Well, I have to have a truck for ocassional hauling, etc. . And as I mentioned, the 71 HAS to have some upgrades. I figure about $1250 minimum if I'm gonna keep using it. So, using it as is and saving up isn't really an option.

I thought you had a restored 72? That is why I suggested just getting a car to haul the family in.
clint

I do. But it's not setup to haul. Has a pretty hot engine in it, and I want to keep the miles off of it. I had actually tossed around the idea of just adding heat and air to it, and it'd be ready to roll. But it gets HORRIBLE mileage, and I'm not sure how many miles the engine would be good for with a pretty aggressive roller cam.

[DuckRyder]

I am not thoroughly informed on Chevy engines, so this helps.

Let me clear it up for you...

They suck... any questions?

That's funny. I suddenly feel like I've gone back to Junior High and am engaged in a Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge argument.

Well you had to know it wasn't going to go well, I mean you knew we were going to tar and feather you (the tars about ready BTW)....

Seriously, any automotive project is probably going to run over budget, Id say when you start talking about putting an engine from a different manufacturer or different era thats doubly so and when you talk about a different manufacturer and era I would say triple what you think it is going to cost, best case senerio...

When you are talking about something for the family, its awful hard to argue with one of the many $150-200.00 month leases out there for dependable transportation and you get a number of bonuses like good fuel economy, abs, air bags, air condoning and so forth and so on.

I love old cars and trucks, but I rarely think making a daily driver out of something 40 years old is an excellent idea...but if that is what you are going to do, I would just fix it vs swapping a non standard engine into it...

That is my