67 Ford F100 with Isuzu 4BD1T

[carcrafter22]

I have been gathering parts for my 67 F100 so I can swap in the isuzu 4BD1T. I bought the engine out of a 1990 isuzu npr truck. The engine has been rebuilt and has about a years worth of use and 40,000 miles on it. I will post pics and give progress on this as I go along. So far I have managed to get the engine, GM trans adapter from isuzudieselswapper.com, an intercooler, and a few odds and ends. I still need a trans and some gauges and I will have a driveshaft made here locally by fort worth gear and axle.I am planning on useing a 700R4 for tranny duties and a 3.55 rear axle.

I am currently cutting the front suspension out of the truck so I can install the front crossmember and suspension out of an 06 crownvic. The crown vic crossmember will have 12" disc brakes rack and pinion steering and offer light weight with the aluminum crossmember. The Whole crossmember is out of an 06 police intercepter so the coil springs are rated for 700#'s as apposed to the standard crown vic springs at 400#'s.

[Dougal]

This will be an interesting one. Most of the 4BD1T swaps have been into 4wd's, into a lower and lighter 2wd truck I'm curious to see how the fuel economy compares.

[carcrafter22]

I just got home yesterday evening from a buisness trip and started working on the truck this morning. After 4hours I finally got the front suspension and crossmember out. I have the aluminum crossmember and suspension out of the crownvic mocked up. I will get the crossmember bolted in place, I will then box in about a 1 ft section of the frame where the crossmember is. The crown vic crossmember is made to have the motor mounts attached directly to it so I plan on attaching motor mount "stands" to the crossmember and the boxed in frame section, I will then use these "stands" to attach the motor mounts to much like the factory ford 6cylinder mounts.

[toolmanoffroad]

COOOL... ill be watching this one. Good luck

[blyth]

make sure we get to see some good pics of that front suspension

[carcrafter22]

I have everything in place and ready to be finised tomorrow, at leas the front suspensio part anyway. I do have a few things left to do such as box in the front frame rails, switch the steering column and connect it to the rack and pinion. I will be putting the wheels on in the morning to roll it out of the shop and pressure wash the front section of the frame and firewall so I can finish putting por-15 on everything. I will then box in the frame to cover up the 4 crossmember bolts and start mocking up the engine mounts. Here are some pics of my progress so far let me know what you think.




The old suspension, I had to cut it out in several pieces and yes it was a huge pain, by far the hardest part.



here is the suspension in place, notice the sleeves I made for the crossmember bolts to slide into. These will come in handy after the frame is boxed.

[carcrafter22]

here you can see there is plenty of room between the frame and steering linkage. I really should clean up the welds on those sleeves but they are getting covered up so oh well.



here are some pics of the suspensioin from underneath
passenger side from in front of the truck




driver side from the front of the truck

[carcrafter22]

I also received some goodys today for the 4BD1T I will be installing in this truck.

Here is the GM tran adapter from isuzudieselswapper.com this is a very nice kit. I also like shiny parts lol.



Here is the HY35 turbo I will be installing.




The turbo has about 30k miles on it and is in perfect shape. I am trying to decide whether to install it when I install the engine or wait untill I get a good feel for the stock turbo then do a swap. I am leaning toward installing it with the enine out so I only have to do the intake and exhause once.

What do you think?


Here is the color of engine pait I have decided to go with. The paint is high heat chrysler blue. I will be painting the exhaust with 1500 degree ceramic paint. I doubt it will last but it will look good for a little while. I may have it ceramic coated later on.



As with everything else I would love to hear your comments and opinions on this project. If there is anything you would do to make it better or different I would like to hear.

Stay tuned more to come

Randy

[big specht]

Man I never thought about that, that suspension fits in there good

[coog]

Great shots! What is that turbo off of?

[toolmanoffroad]

Just a few questions.. first, what is the difference in width between the front axles if any? second, it looks like the front of the truck will end up seting lower than the original. If so about how much, and if so are you going to lower the rear? looking good. Now if you will only fourlink the rear with bags all arround, she will ride like a caddy-lak.

[carcrafter22]

Great shots! What is that turbo off of?

The turbo is off of a 2003 Dodge 2500 with a Cummins, the turbo was made April 4, 2003

Just a few questions.. first, what is the difference in width between the front axles if any? second, it looks like the front of the truck will end up seting lower than the original. If so about how much, and if so are you going to lower the rear? looking good. Now if you will only fourlink the rear with bags all arround, she will ride like a caddy-lak.

There is practically no difference in track with. I dont have the exact numbers in front of me right now ( I do somewhere though) but the difference is only like 0.1 of an inch between the old and the new.

I am not sure how much it will lower it but I have heard around 5 inches. I can tell you this, it looks like it will be much much lower. The new front hub doesnt even come anywhere near inline with the rear hub anymore, it sits much higher. I was wanting some drop anyway,thats one of many reasons I chose this suspension.

As far as the rear suspension I am still deciding. I have a few options. 1. IRS out of a 96 lincoln mark 8 with 8.8 pumpkin, they make axles that will handle way more than my 4cylinder diesel will ever put out so this is a good option and I could put bags back there to help with any light loads I may carry. Option 2. the 06 crown vic 8.8 solid axle with leaf springs, the axle has 3.55 gears and disc brakes and its the same track width as the front with the same bolt pattern. Finally option 3. the 06 crown vic solid axle with a 4 link instead of leaf springs.

What do you guys think? I really like the IRS for the ride but the solid axle with a four link would be pretty sweet as well and I wouldnt have to mess with bolt patterns or anything. I could just weld on some spring perches and go. Oh yeah the 06 solid axle is an 06 so its practically new insead of a 12 year old rear end.

[blyth]

go with the 06 vic axle four link and bags that would be a fun ride

[carcrafter22]

I am sorry for not keeping everyone updated so far. I have finished installing the front suspension and boxing in the frame along with coating the entire engine bay and frame in por-15, it sure does look good. I bought the trans just before I had to go out of town on buisness friday afternoon so when I get back home around wednesday I will be finishing the engine mounts and starting on the trans mounts. I will be posting pics definatley when I get home.

[carcrafter22]

I am finally back home and have a few update pics. I am hoping to have the truck sitting on the ground in the final ride height this week. I will then start working on the final engine and trans install.

here is the engine bay coated in rust proofing pro 15. I love this stuff.



here is the boxed in section of frame. I used 3/16th steel. This will be for welding the engine stands so I can attache the motor mounts.



Here is the 8.8 rear axle from the 2006 crown vic police interceptor. I will be using this rear axle for the 3.27 gears, positraction, and large disc brakes. This rear axle will also give me the same track width as the IFS from the 2006 crown vic.

[carcrafter22]

Here is the 700R4 trans I will be using for now. The trans has been rebuilt and has a new converter so I am hoping it will last a while, if it fails I will be replacing it with a heavily built 4L80E and use a pcs controller for it.



Here is the intercooler I am looking at using for now, I bought it out of a large isuzu truck I think it was called a FPR? I am not sure though. I only paid $35 for it and it has no leaks at all. its worth a try.



I hope to get the rear installed very quickly and then move on to installing the engine and trans. I will be painting the 4BD1T engine tomorrow so I will be posting pics of it very soon.

Stay tuned

Randy

[carcrafter22]

Rear axle installed I will need to rearch to raise the rear 3" to make it level with the front



Here is the 4BD1T installed and sitting on the 3/16th" 2x4 motor mounts. They work great even just tacked in place and dont flex at all. The fornt end didnt even squat much. I guess those heavy duty pollice interceptor springs are the way to go

[carcrafter22]

As you can see I have plenty of oil pan clearance. The motor mounts are just tacked in place so I will probably lower the engine to help with handling and clearance for the trans in the tunnel.



Here is the 700R4 trans in place



Here is how the truck sits with the engine sitting on the mounts. The tires are goodyears 225/60/18 on stock 07 dodge magnum wheels. The tires are 28.6" tall and from the ground to the bottom of the fender lip is 29.75"

[Dougal]

This is looking very good.

[blyth]

thats actually higher than I thought it would end up sitting, but I think it is Right where i would want it

[carcrafter22]

I think I may end up lowering it 1" in the front but thats later on, I want to get it driving and see how it goes before that. I dont want it sitting in the weeds since it will be used for work but I think it will look good with the edge of the fender sitting level with the top of the tire and still be able to go over small bumps and potholes. I was impressed how the crown vic springs handled the extra weight of the diesel engine it will be great to see how it handles.

[walnut]

Interesting project, you should enjoy it when finished. I drive a 1979 F100 every day with a 4bd. It has paid for itself in fuel savings. If I could make a change I would add a turbo and lower my gear ratio. I would also get rid of the old top loader and replace with a 5 speed. Good Luck!

[carcrafter22]

Thats good to know I havent met anyone that has a old truck with a 4bd in it. I chose the 700R4 for the low first gear for takeoff and the 3.27rear gear for highway cruising. I think it will be nice and comfy crising down the highway riding on a 2006 crown vic suspension in the old truck. I hope to get some good mpg out of it and I plan on running vegi oil for cheap fuel.

What kind of mpg do you get out of yours?
Size tires?
4x4 or4x2?

Thanks
Randy

[walnut]

I will check my tire size and let you know. They are all Wal-Mart all seasons, either stock or one size bigger. I am 2wd short bed. I usually average 28 mpg, sometimes a little less when pulling something or with a lot of idle time. I use it as a daily driver and on the farm for light work. You just can’t believe the improvement in economy from a gasser. When you pull up to a piece of farm equipment and let it idle, or towing a wagon. I had become use to getting about 9 or 10 mpg with the gasser. I could post a picture or two if I can figure how. I have a nice conversion, but it is basic. Yours will really drive nice with the new suspension. My truck is going to need some cosmetic work soon; the rust stayed away for a long time but seems to be getting a good start now. If my plans hold, I would like to start over on a new conversion with 4wd.

Rick

[briney]

hi there. this is a pretty cool swap. good work i would definitely drive it around for a few days before changing the springs. they will still settle a bit from there i reckon.

[repete]

Any updates?!

[giezy]

this thing is coolI like the way the front suspension went in . Do those magnum wheels have a hole in the rear for a old style rotor hub been thinking about getting a set for my diplomate?

[carcrafter22]

sorry I havent posted any updates lately. I do have many though. I have taken the moto back out to install the flywheel,trans adapter, HY35 turbo and paint. I will be installing it in the morning. While I had the engine out I started mocking up the new hydro brake unit I snagged at the local junkyard for $100. I also installed a different rearend, its still a 8.8 ford unit but it has 31 spline axles with traction lock diff. I will still be using the 3.27 gears.

I will try and post some pics tomorrow of the motor installed and hopefully the hydraulic brake booster. I will also post the new axle along with the way I changed the leaf spring hangers to lower the rear 3".

To recap, so far I have the front suspension out of a 2007 crown vic police interceptor with rack and pinion steering and 12"disc brakes, 700R4 trans, heavy duty 8.8 rear axle with disc brakes, Hydro boost brakes, 4BD1t engine with hy35 turbo and its all sitting on 2007 dodge magnum wheels with 225/60/18 tires.

[carcrafter22]

Well I have the hydroboost bracket made and installed I need to install the engine now to make sure I have enough clearance.

I have been installing the HY35 turbo and boy I am glad I did it with the motor out of the truck. I can already see it was a great choice to go with the hydroboost since I will need to take the vacuum pump off of the alternator to clear the intake tubing. I may eventually have to build a header to get the turbo to sit where I want it to.

[carcrafter22]

Well here are some pics of the progress so far.

Here is the new hy35 turbo on the engine. notice I had to take the alternator off. There isnt an interference problem but the vaccum pump does sit about 1" directly in front of the intake opening.



See what I mean