I've been casually searching for a newer, cleaner, more reliable daily driver for a few months. We were at dinner with the family last week, and talk turned to vehicles. Turns out, my BIL had a well-maintained '98 F-150 he was thinking of selling. A bit more talking, and the F-1Shifty followed me home.
The specs- '98 F-150, short bed super cab, 4.6l V-8, 4x4, and a five speed manual. That's right, a three-pedal pickup truck! Headlights, housings, and fog lights are all brand new, as are the tires (General Grabber ATx). It's got a few minor quirks to be worked on, but is otherwise in pretty excellent shape. This thread is more of a drive/maintenance thread, not a build thread. Without any further ado, my new truck-
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
Nah. I drive folks to workman's comp appointments as part of my work duties. I can only imagine the 5'nuthin ladies trying to climb into it at that height.
If money was no object, it would get new fenders and a long-travel suspension.
http://www.vegasdezertfab.com/product/97-03-ford-f150-4wd-long-travel-kit
Noice! I didn't even know they made that body style in manual.
In reply to NY Nick :
These suggestions are coming from a guy with the lowest 4x4 Chevrolet Silverado.
petey
Reader
2/9/22 11:27 a.m.
I have the same truck...factory 4.6 5 speed
Even though one exhaust manifold had a giant hole at number 8 i had to buy it.weird driving a "big" truck with a stick
After 2 years of horrible noise i went to fix the manifold...it was easier to replace the whole engine.so here we are, now just needs brakes from sitting 3 years and fire it up
In reply to petey :
Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. A boosted 4.6 would be a rev happy monster...
petey said:
I have the same truck...factory 4.6 5 speed
Even though one exhaust manifold had a giant hole at number 8 i had to buy it.weird driving a "big" truck with a stick
After 2 years of horrible noise i went to fix the manifold...it was easier to replace the whole engine.so here we are, now just needs brakes from sitting 3 years and fire it up
I used to have a '92 F-250 with a 460 and a ZF5 manual. I could shift through all five gears and hit 25 mph without touching the throttle. So torquey, mmmmm....
Will
UberDork
2/9/22 2:35 p.m.
If/when you need brakes, look at the Expedition/7700 upgrade. The rotors on those are .25" thicker than on the standard F-150. Felt as if it helped reduce fade on my truck.
In reply to Will :
Does it require a caliper change?
My favorite body style f-150, my neighbor and his buddy had pre runners that body style in my youth.
So, who do we like on the interwebz for custom window stickers? My BIL named this truck when he bought it (just like he names everything else), and I've decided I want to plaster
"F-1Shifty"
on the back window behind the driver. The passenger side is reserved for my TTWO sticker and a manual gearbox preservation society sticker.
I'm thinking 6-8" wide by 2-3" tall, white vinyl.
So, stickers notwithstanding, I've been driving the F1Shifty for a couple of weeks now. Kinda nice having a rig that doesn't beat me to death on a daily basis. In order of priority-
1) Odometer's gotta get fixed. I'd like to know my fuel economy and trip distances... thankfully, the new odo gear is cheap and relatively easy to fix.
2) Love the tonneau cover, but the latch sticks and needs repaired or replaced.
3) there's a minor rattle with the clutch engaged, but only if the temps are sub-freezing, and then it's gone after it warms up. Throw out bearing? If so, I'll throw a new clutch at it.
4) Again when really cold, a slight rattle from the engine. Sounds kinda valvetrain-ish to me. Chain tensioners? Who knows.
5) This summer, I'll repaint the tailgate and touch up a couple of other spots to keep the tinworm away.
Other than that, drive and standard upkeep.
petey
Reader
2/20/22 9:10 p.m.
The engine rattle will almost 100% be the chain guides and probably dirty tensioners.i clean em out and put new guides in when it starts doing that .typically rattle bad on a cold start till oil pressure arrives
If it always rattles then its usually stuck "lifters ". A liter of atf on an oil change cleans them out nicely
Yesterday was Mom's pre-op appointment in Boise for her aortic aneurysm repair; the procedure was today. We live two hours away, and Dad is unable to drive, so I designated myself as the taxi driver. It's the first long trip I've taken in the F1Shifty, and I think it did a pretty good job. Fuel economy was 13.7 mpg at 79 mph. (Speed limit is 80, I set cruise at 75, gps was 79.)
The procedure went well, and Mom is awake and giving the nurses a hard time already. I drove home today, and my sister will bring mom home next week.
Of course, March in Idaho brings whatever weather it wants to, and today was Blizzard/whiteout conditions! The truck handled admirably, and I made it home with only a couple hundred pounds of extra ice on it.
Visibility was about 200 feet, and I was moving at 25mph. It stayed that way (with at least 4 slide-offs) for about 40 miles.
Usually, this is some of the best scenery of the trip... today, couldn't see crap.
Before (Weather was just hitting)-
After (When the storm spit me back out)-
After several months of daily driving, I've decided that I intensely dislike having a fiberglass tonneau cover. On the bright side, six clamps and it's off. This gave me access to the third brake/cargo light, which had some burned out bulbs. $30 in LEDs later, and I have lights up high again.
Got the odometer fixed when I replaced the fuel pump. Other than that, it's been as reliable as gravity. I have a buddy who has a handful of limited-slip equipped 8.8 axles from ford explorers. He's bringing me one next week, so I can get rid of that open rear diff.
Next up- a motor. I need to pick the brain of someone who knows mod motors, cause I'm thinking of putting an aluminum 4.6 in it. Mild cams and a tune should get me a bit more zip. I'm shooting for 300/300 ish.
Any mod gurus out there that can help a guy out?
Will
UberDork
1/29/23 1:18 p.m.
When you say aluminum 4.6, you mean 16 valve?
16 valve best option is the 02-04 Explorer. That has the aluminum block an cable throttle body. Later Explorer 4.6s are 3V or throttle by wire. But I don't think streetable cams are going to get you to 300 hp. The Explorer was rated at 239 hp, but the same cams/heads/intake in the Mustang was rated at 260 hp. Unfortunately, cams just don't make that much power on NA 4.6s.
If you're talking about a 32 valve engine, the 02-05 Aviator is probably the way to go, but I know less about those and the swap will probably be more complicated.
In reply to Will :
The motor in the truck right now is a 16-valve. I want to stay with that, just for ease of tuning etc. As far as blocks, any of the early blocks from crown vics, mark viii's, etc will also work.
Might not make it to 300, but with cams, a tune, and some additional work I should get close.
