7.3 into an 86 ford

[cornbower]

we have a wrecked (bent frame) 1989 F-250 with a 7.3 idi and 3 speed auto tranny. truck has about 110,000 on it. I have and 1986 project truck that currentyl has an inline 6 in it. would it be worth it to swap the engine tranny and entire wiring harness over to the 86 or is it more trouble than its worth? thanks for the input

 

[NCheek]

Is the 86 a 3/4 or 1 ton? Even if it isn't, the swap has been done before,and not too difficult.

 

[cornbower]

the 86 was originally a 150 but i swapped in 350 axles and springs. currently the truck is a manual with a t-19, ideally i'd rather run that behind the 7.3 but finding a bell housing may be difficult.

 

[NCheek]

Sounds like you are good to go as far as suspension mods are concerned. You might want to do a little reading on some old posts. One of the members here (Agnem) has done a few IDI swaps into 1/2 tons so look at his posts, pics , or look him up and PM him. Don't know anything about PA geography, but y'all might not be too far from each other, because he's in PA too.

 

[jaed_43725]

That would be a good truck.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Well...you'll need a bellhousing and clutch for the T-19, I suspect any IDI/T-19 truck would work as a bell donor. I THINK the T-19 was used in some Stepvans and I think the 7.3 has one of the SAE bell patterns...if so, any bell with the right bolt pattern should work. You may want to think about digging up a ZF 5-speed, especially if you have 4.10 gears...overdrive is a very nice thing to have!

The accessories from the 89 SHOULD work. One wild card, though: the front clip and interior changed for 1987. I have no idea what changes (if any) were made to the wiring harness between 1986 and 1989. Hopefully, someone here has a 1986 & 1989 service manual and can tell us.