Build Thread:: 1979 f150 7.3 IDI Conversion (Old Ironsides)

[Old_Ironsides]

Oh... and as you will see in one of those pictures, I do have the old vacuum booster hooked back up. There is ample clearance for the booster, so i have decided to use it for the moment, to save on the expense. I don't plan on running this setup forever, but for the time being it will have to do.. parts are adding up pretty quick so hydroboost will just be on the back burner for a while.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Coming along pretty good! Only suggestion I have would be that I'd have made the coolant elbow out of 3 pieces cut at 22-23 degrees instead of two pieces cut at 45, this would improve flow somewhat as coolant doesn't have to slam into a vertical wall before changing direction as it rushes in thru it. Also, make sure you have a spring inside the hose, factory hoses come with one to prevent the from being sucked closed by the water pump, most aftermarket hoses seem to skip that part but IIRC Carquest ones do have the spring. Or you can transfer the factory spring into your new hose, after cleaning it and obviously cutting it in 2 for your now 2-piece hose.

Also yes, since it fits properly run the vaccum booster for now, it's not like your truck is overloaded or you have monster tires on it, you'll be just fine. Cuts down on your fab time as well, lets you be able to enjoy the truck sooner.

Oh, and put some sort of metal ring around the ZF5 shifter boot, the way you have it now it will eventually tear at the screw holes - the ring will distribute the clamp load much better than the washers.

 

[laserjock]

Nice. Coming together quick too. We'll be waiting for that first start video.

 

[Old_Ironsides]

Coming along pretty good! Only suggestion I have would be that I'd have made the coolant elbow out of 3 pieces cut at 22-23 degrees instead of two pieces cut at 45, this would improve flow somewhat as coolant doesn't have to slam into a vertical wall before changing direction as it rushes in thru it. Also, make sure you have a spring inside the hose, factory hoses come with one to prevent the from being sucked closed by the water pump, most aftermarket hoses seem to skip that part but IIRC Carquest ones do have the spring. Or you can transfer the factory spring into your new hose, after cleaning it and obviously cutting it in 2 for your now 2-piece hose.

Also yes, since it fits properly run the vaccum booster for now, it's not like your truck is overloaded or you have monster tires on it, you'll be just fine. Cuts down on your fab time as well, lets you be able to enjoy the truck sooner.

Oh, and put some sort of metal ring around the ZF5 shifter boot, the way you have it now it will eventually tear at the screw holes - the ring will distribute the clamp load much better than the washers.

I agree that your solution of using three pieces is more ideal that what I have here, but the space i am working in is so limited I could hardly make the 90 and have enough room for it to work. There is quite literally less that 1/2 inch of hose between the 90 adapter and the inlet on the block, and less than an inch between the adapter and the outlet of the radiator. There isn't enough hose there to be able to use a spring, and there really isn't enough hose between everything that it would even be able to collapse if it wanted to. It isn't the most ideal setup, and is a royal pain trying to install the adapter and hoses, but I do think it will work. If not then it will be on to plan b down the road lol.

As for the shiftier boot, that is a better idea than just the washers and I will make up some sort of ring for it. It is back apart now anyway from filling the transmission so when I get it back together for good i"ll do it a little differently.

 

[Old_Ironsides]

Nice. Coming together quick too. We'll be waiting for that first start video.

Thanks, and there will be a start up video on its way as soon as I get it uploaded, I did get her fired off last night.

 

[Old_Ironsides]

While I wait for my start up video to upload, here are a few more pictures

New radiator and other parts including fans, fan harness, exhaust adapter, gauges, a few things of shrink tubing, and some wire loom

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With the electric fans, I really did not like the idea of using the little zip ties included to put it right through the core... plus upon doing a little reading I discovered that some people have not had good luck and actually ruined radiators using them. So I took a few pieces of angle iron, cut and drilled until I had something that would work, and this setup is in no way being supported by the radiator. It uses the 4 holes in the core support that used to be for the original 79 radiator.

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The only disadvantage to this setup is that the fans are not all that tight up against the radiator, and I have to make some sort of shroud, or at least some flaps on the top and bottom to keep the air going through the radiator.

 

[Old_Ironsides]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CFN6uFyczE

Finally got it uploaded to youtube... like I have written in the video description, if you just want to see it start, skip ahead to about 3:45. I had to bleed some air out, and left some video of that in there so if you want to watch me fight with it a little bit you can watch it all.

And yes... I had my phone the wrong way at the end there lol...

 

[opusd2]

That is SUCH a great feeling when it starts!

Awesome work there!

 

[Old_Ironsides]

That is SUCH a great feeling when it starts!

Awesome work there!

Thank you!

I was very happy to finally hear it run.. now I cant wait to drive it! few more weeks of odds and ends at least

 

[laserjock]

Nice. I miss that sound. Itching to get mine back together.


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[dirtbiker]

Awesome, that is great to hear em run for the first time. Your first start was a lot better than mine, she took a good bit of ether because the IP and injectors were old and it had sat for like a year. The rest of the stuff looks great, I like the fan setup you've got. I'm going to have to redo mine because the center of my fan is just too close to the pulley. I have a different setup I grabbed from the junkyard, I might steal your idea and try that. I must've missed the radiator part too, because that looks like an awesome choice. I wish I would've found something more like that when I was doing mine, but I guess mine works good still. Anyway, awesome progress and keep it up! Be sure to video that first drive (or at least try, it's tough with a stick shift).

 

[Old_Ironsides]

Awesome, that is great to hear em run for the first time. Your first start was a lot better than mine, she took a good bit of ether because the IP and injectors were old and it had sat for like a year. The rest of the stuff looks great, I like the fan setup you've got. I'm going to have to redo mine because the center of my fan is just too close to the pulley. I have a different setup I grabbed from the junkyard, I might steal your idea and try that. I must've missed the radiator part too, because that looks like an awesome choice. I wish I would've found something more like that when I was doing mine, but I guess mine works good still. Anyway, awesome progress and keep it up! Be sure to video that first drive (or at least try, it's tough with a stick shift).

Thanks! Yea that radiator was a bit challenging to fit in there but I am happy about how it turned out. Originally I was planning on using the '79 radiator, which probably would have worked out since it had the "super duty cooling system", but that radiator was very weathered and as I found out, had very brittle tubes. I did it in when I was taking the bumper off, and I tapped the radiator with the ratchet handle right on a tube, split it open, and got a bath. It probably is better that I did not take that route anyway since if I hadn't done that, it probably wouldn't have been long before the radiator let go on its own, in a less convenient place.

This here was my first experience with electric fans, and they don't seem to push quite as much air as I was hoping (even though they are supposed to be 2300 CFM each, they were some of the highest CFM rated among 12 inch fans) but I think once I get some sort of shroud made to get more of the air going through the radiator they should be pretty sweet. I may have screwed myself a little with the thermal switch to activate them though, since it is a 195 on/185 off. I neglected to take into account that these engines have a 190 thermostat, so my fans may never turn off unless the switch is calibrated a little high... might be something ill have to take care of eventually, but if the fans only are going to come on a couple times during the really hot days in the summer, I can probably live with them running until I shut the truck off. If they are coming on all of the time though I'll have to do something.

I should be able to get a first drive video, I have a holder for my phone that I can suction cup to the windshield to do that with. You're right, that would be pretty difficult videotaping and diving at the same time with a standard while holding the camera

 

[Old_Ironsides]

Nice. I miss that sound. Itching to get mine back together.

I love how these old engines sound.. especially with the cold timing advance on they sound pretty mean

 

[laserjock]

You will probably be okay on your temp. Radiator probably won't get to full thermostat temp all the time especially if your sensor is near the bottom of the radiator. Might if you are working it hard.


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[Old_Ironsides]

You will probably be okay on your temp. Radiator probably won't get to full thermostat temp all the time especially if your sensor is near the bottom of the radiator. Might if you are working it hard.

Sensor is in the head, I put it in the unused hole towards the back on the passenger side. Some arrangement up at the radiator would be more ideal but this sensor is a NPT threaded one. I should have sprung for the more expensive adjustable thermostat kit, which had a threaded sensor but also an optional radiator probe sensor... Might still have to do that