It's been several months since we began work on
our 79 F truck, and by and large it's been an informative, and
surprising experience. Informative in that we've learned just how
capable a "general purpose" vehicle can really be, and surprising
in that the response from our readers has exceeded our wildest
expectations. In fact, just about every letter has included some
version of the following statement… "It's about time that a
publication paid attention to the full-size market." While those of
us on the Ford side of the fence would like to hog all the credit,
the Chevy guys have played no small part in building a loyal
full-size following. In addition to projects "Flashback F-150" and
"Great White", the Chevy known as "Potent Rodent" has given our
readership hope that not all off-road vehicles require a Jeep logo
to perform on the trails.
The aptly named "Bronco Falls" in Logandale NV
provided the backdrop for an afternoon of climbin' and crawlin' in
our newly capable F-150. contrary to popular belief, there's plenty
of room for a full-size F-truck.
With the Flashback project now well underway,
we've had time to live with, and thoroughly evaluate the products
we've bolted up. now it's time to give you an interim report on
what we've learned. By and large, the results have been positive.
That in itself says a lot about the state of todays 4x4
aftermarket. Quality products are no longer hard to come by.
Mastercraft Seats You'll likely remember the glowing review
we gave the Mastercraft "Prerunner" seats a few months back. Well,
with over 5 months of use, our original opinion hasn't changed, but
our respect for these quality pieces has grown considerably. After
being subjected to a slob of an owner (me), the full brunt of the
Vegas sun, and no small amount of sliding in and out of the saddle,
these seats are in perfect condition. There is no detectable wear,
the foam padding hasn't settled, the lumbar support works great,
and they have survived multiple spill / clean cycles without a
whimper. Spending as much time as I do on the road, these seats
have proven to be a godsend. The higher than normal side bolster
does take some getting used to, but it's proven a very small
inconvenience when compared to the payoff in driver/passenger
comfort. Off-road, the Prerunners' have lived up to their hype
every time the rubber leaves the road. Jacobs Off-Road Ultra
Team We've put a lot of trouble free miles on the new Jacobs
unit both on and off the highway, and it's done wonders for our
fuel bill. It's also done wonders for our trail performance. Now
that Flashback has evolved into a highly capable trail machine,
we've been spending lots more time testing its limits. As you can
see from the pictures here, we've been none to easy on the old war
horse, and trails like this demand performance, not promises from
your equipment.
Proof positive that you don't need a Jeep to
have fun in the rocks. Superlift suspension and Detroit Lockers add
up to serious traction when you need it most.
To date, the Off-Road Ultra Team hasn't let us
down. The truck continues to fire instantly at the turn of a key,
and the benefit from the Jacobs "Uphill Power Module" are evident
every time we get into some "less than level" situations. When used
in its element, the Jacobs box has proven itself top notch. Hell,
it does pretty well everywhere else we've tried it too.
Superlift 4 in. Suspension To be fair, we've been pretty
hard on our suspension from the day we bolted it up, and we gotta'
say that it's performed exceptionally in every aspect but one. The
shocks. Now in the interest of full disclosure, we blew the two
front units jumping the truck - a condition for which these units
were never designed. In "normal" off-roading situations, they
performed very well, and were worlds above the functionality of
their stock counterparts. Perhaps it just happened that we got a
couple bad apples? The rear shocks held up fine to the abuse, and
were only replaced after we hyperextended them one time too many.
This was clearly our fault, and should not reflect negatively on
the product. As for the rest of the kit, we maintain that it is an
outstanding product. Repeated airtime, rockcrawling, and high speed
blasts across the desert haven't dimmed our enthusiasm for the kit
in stock form. It's done everything we've asked, and returned to
fight another day, time and time again. Our only gripe is one of
personal preference, and easily addressed. The overload leafs that
come stock on the Superlift spring packs left the truck a little
too inflexible for heavy rock work. We recently removed the
offending leaf from the stack and were rewarded with a far more
supple suspension than we had before. While we're sure this will
void Superlifts' warranty, we're willing to forgo it in favor of
the improved ride and functionality. Bottom line? We strongly
recommend the Superlift 4in. lift, but if you plan on entertaining
any "Ivan Stewart" fantasies, you'll be better served with shocks
to match. Saner off-roaders will like the kit's units just fine.
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R Sized at 35x12.50x15, our MT/Rs have
been wholly trouble free for over 10,000 miles now, and are wearing
exceptionally well. Highway manners are great for such an
aggressive tread, and their off-road performance leaves little room
for complaints. Thusfar, the only thing that has slowed their
forward progress was the mud-slicked logs of the BITD Tough truck
meet here in Vegas. Even then, a little heavier application of the
right foot got us up and over with no further fuss.
Of course, a lot of credit goes to the
Goodyear MT/Rs for keeping the truck moving forward. Even at
highway pressure, the big rubber stuck like glue to the slickrock
formations.
In the rocks of Logandale NV or the sands of
Nellis dunes, the MT/Rs have carried the heavy Ford forward,
backward, up, down, and sideways with authority - and even on
3-1/2+ rated trails, I've yet to air them down. Sidewall damage has
been non-existent, bead sealing has been total, and as we said
earlier, wear is minimal. I've fielded a lot of questions about
these tires, and recommended them a dozen times over. It may sound
like gushing, but facts are facts. These tires are very impressive,
and I'll be damned if I can find a performance fault with them.
Randy's Ring & Pinion
Yukon 4.56 Gearsets & Detroit Lockers If you recall, we
took the Diff God's recommendation of the Yukon gears and the
Detroit Lockers for Flashback F-150, and he was right. It was like
driving a different truck. In our conversation, I'd told Randy that
I was willing to live with the Detroit's quirks and bad habits in
the interest of dead simple reliability. Well, now that I've been
living with them for a while, I don't regret the decision. I will
say though that there is a learning curve. The sudden sound and
"twitch" that goes along with a diff suddenly unlocking has left me
wondering whether or not I broke something, and it turns pedestrian
heads when it happens on the street. I finally had the chance to
learn about the Detroit's street manners on wet pavement, and I can
see why they may not be the best choice for short wheelbase
vehicles or even full size rigs in moist/snowy climes. You
definitely have to pay attention to what you're doing, or you could
get in trouble fast. As long as you stay on top of things, you'll
be fine.
The SpinTech mufflers are the hot ticket for
abusive wheeling. The thick walled construction acts as it's own
skid plate when you run out of ground clearance.
Off-Road? God, tell me how I ever survived without
lockers? I'll say this - novice wheelers really need to develop
their off-roading skills on an open diff vehicle because once
you're locked up, you think you're Superman. Obstacles that would
previously stop you dead in your tracks suddenly become speed
bumps. Well, perhaps that's stretching it a bit (lot), but
seriously, a locker equipped vehicle can get you into trouble (IE:
situations beyond your skill level) faster than you may be able to
get out of. Once you have the basics down though, a pair of Detroit
Lockers will likely be the best investment for your truck you'll
ever make. The Yukon gears have remained quiet and trouble free.
Once broken in, I changed the lube and have largely forgotten about
them. They are performing their job with no fuss or muss, and the
ratio is the perfect compliment for the 35 in. tire diameter - even
without an overdrive. SpinTech Mufflers Our last
modification to Flashback was a pair of SpinTech's ubermufflers,
and they have been a great addition to the project. The unique
exhaust tone coupled with reduced back pressure gave our new 400 CI
engine a freer flowing system when coupled with the custom pipe
work of Henderson NV's Hot Cars, Cool Trucks. Still love'em, still
recommend'em. Interior Updates The door panels and dash cap
from Coverlay Mfg. are holding up just fine thanks, but the same
can't be said for the Lightning Audio amplifier. It seems that due
to user error, a little moisture found it's way into the workings,
and, well, "Poof!" OK, ok, I left a window down and it got rained
on. My fault. The Crow 5-point competition harnesses have performed
flawlessly, and look as good as the day we bolted them in. I
haven't had any reason to call up Herman DeNunzio and complain
(mostly out of some primal fear that I can't quite explain -
something to do with his buddy "Guido" I think) Autofab The
seat mount for the Mastercraft Prerunners hasn't given me a lick of
trouble either. Not that any was expected. The heavy duty piece has
a single job to do, and it does it well. Got Mastercrafts? Get one.
End of story.
Photographic evidence aside, we maintain that
this isn't a "rockcrawler", just a good all around 4x4. Recent mods
to the rear spring pack opened up even more articulation, and
vertical wheel travel for our desert persuits. With the basics
covered, it's time to get into more serious mods to the
truck.
Other Additions Along the trail to
general-purpose bliss, we installed a remanufactured 400 CI engine
from the good folks at Pep Boys. Sure, we coulda' shot our wad and
threw down cubic dollars for a custom-built performance engine, but
let's be realistic here. How many of us are going to shell out the
dough? How many of us really need 600 HP at 7500 RPM? Most of us
shmucks can and will fork over the 1200 semolians on a re-man, then
add a few goodies as time and fundage allow though right? Good
answer. After ditching the tired 351M, the 400 bolted up as if it
was designed to - probably because it was. It's basically the same
engine as it's smaller brother, and was in fact offered as an
optional mill. Listed at the same price, the 400 provides an extra
49 cubes, so the choice is easy to make. We abandoned the stock
2bbl intake and manifold in favor of a free flowing Edelbrock
Performer intake and 600 cfm 4bbl carb, adding both mileage and
power to the factory numbers. While we're still fiddling with the
jetting, the carb looks to be a good all-around choice for the
off-roader (once you add the "off-road" needle and seats) but has
trouble with extreme angularity. I foresee fuel injection in the
400's future. Even with addition of the Jacobs Ignition, 4bbl, and
SpinTech exhaust, the performance of the engine still seemed
lacking. Respectable, but lacking. We're talking 400 cubes here -
and "Cleveland" cubes at that. That displacement should provide
plenty of go for anything. After buying up every book we could find
relating to the 400 (all of about 3 of'em), we learned that Ford
(in it's environmental wisdom) had retarded the cam timing a full 4
degrees to meet emission specs. What it did was knock about 40 HP
off the top, increase fuel consumption (and thus "emissions" -
DUH!), and accelerate engine wear. The weak 8 to 1 compression
doesn't help either. While we can't do much about the compression
without a major rebuild, we can address the cam timing issue easily
enough. Look for an upcoming cam swap to solve our performance
woes. Nothing to radical mind you, just a good swift kick in the
valvetrain. Flashback F-150 - Stage 2 On Deck For all
intents and purposes, we could stop here and call it "Done!" The
modifications performed on Flashback F-150 thus far have resulted
in a fully trail capable rig that you can live with all week long,
and won't gut the kiddies college fund. Of course, what fun would
that be? There are plenty of mods in store that will result in an
even more capable weapon for the off-roader's arsenal. With the
insanity of the Baja 2000 behind us, look for the long awaited
Klune-V Goliath reduction box installation, along with the equally
long awaited NP 205 swap from National Drivetrain. With the stock
NP203 nearing the end of it's life, this is a "do it NOW!" kinda'
thing. Since we're going to have a perfectly good (and sparkley
clean) NP 205 sitting on the floor, it would be a shame not to do
the Currie Twin Stick conversion before we bolt it in. For those
caught unaware, the twin stick conversion entails adapting the
Currie Twin Stick shifter designed for a Dana 300 x-fer case to the
205, and results in any possible combo of high or low in 2 or 4 /
front or rear wheel drive. It's the perfect compliment to a front
locker and a Klune Planetary box. Rounding out the drivetrain will
be an all new C-6 auto from the gods of the slushbox over at Valley
Transmission. We're going to get a little carried away here and go
with the manual valve body and E4OD gear set. Necessary? Hell no,
but you cant beat the performance of a manually shifted auto, and
sheer "cool factor" that goes with it. Lastly, South Bay Driveline
has pledged a set of brand spankin' long travel driveshafts to
compliment the added output of the powertrain. Remember, thet Klune
box builds viscious torque. Designed for serious flex/travel and
equipped with 1 ton u-joints, we doubt we'll experience driveline
failure even under obscene conditions. Protecting all that hardware
seems like a good idea don't ya' think? As we're moving into
tougher terrain with the big F-truck, the need for body armor is
becoming increasingly apparent. That said, we've decided to take a
page from the Jeep book (perish the thought!) and have the entire
body sprayed in Line-X. Don't worry folks, it's still gonna' be red
;-) Since there aren't too many bolt on HD rock rails (well, none
really) for the F-trucks, we're going to have to wander off the
path into fabrication land, but we aren't going to get too carried
away. The goal here is "minimal fabrication." We'll save the scary
stuff for a later stage - one outside the goals of this project.
Skid plates and higher clearance bumpers are also becoming a
necessity, and fortunately, they're available off the shelf.
Overall, we've got a lot more on deck for Flashback F-150, but
there's enough here to keep us wrenchin' and you readin' for quite
some time. I guess we'll just leave off with a little teaser about
that double shackle rear suspension using a combination of factory
and off-the -shelf parts……..Oh yes, we figured out how
to do it with a minimum of welding involved! Who knows? Maybe we
won't make you wait that long after all!
Off-Road Videos - Check out over ten years of extreme 4x4 action, product testing and the Off Road Nation at play. Baja racing to rock crawling, ATVs in the sand to motorcycles in the dirt, it's all here. Rate them, share them and upload your own.
ATV Reviews - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris, Kawasaki, Can-Am. First rides to long-term tests, check out the latest in ATVs, UTVs and Side-by-Side vehicles of every make and model. Read expert opinions and follow custom project vehicles.
Axxxtion Sports..... Axxxtion Sports is heating things up with their 2010 Winter Heat snowmobile calendar! Simply Sexy!
