Introduction

[TheOneOz]

Hello,
I am building a 1986 Ford F-350 dually 4x4 flatbed 460. It's an old farm truck I want to make into an adventure vehicle. It's currently in the shop getting all the kinks worked out with the engine and I will be putting an Edelbrock performer intake and 1915 4 barrel carb on it. I want to lift it and get new shoes and restoring the interior as I go. I am looking for lift advice and any information on upgrading the interior, etc and just general communication as I go. Thanks for having me.

[Gary Lewis]

Welcome!  Glad you joined.  

Nice truck.  An '86 F350 4wd should have the D60 solid axle up front, which is a huge improvement over the leaf-sprung TTB's in my opinion.  So it is a good base for what you are doing.

But it is already pretty high.  Don't know what tires you have on it, but it looks like they are pretty close to the 33's I have on Big Blue, below, and you can see that we have similar clearance to the fender.  My clearance in front comes from going with a D6 and SuperDuty springs with a Sky Offroad reverse shackle kit.  And the clearance in the rear comes from going with the 4" blocks on the axle instead of the 2" blocks the F250 came with.  But yours probably already has the 4" blocks.

Is there a winch in that front bumper?

Where's home?  I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and can add you with a city/state or zip.

[TheOneOz]

Thank you for the response!
I will have to get out the camera and take a look at everything when I get it back, hopefully next week, to get the tire sizes and pictures of the suspension setup.
I am looking at 235/85R16's AT to get it rolling without breaking the bank on 6 tires.
There is a winch in the front bumper but I need to replace it, also a fifth wheel hitch in the bed as well with a tow bar.
We are in Southern Utah and want to get out into the beauty with it.
very good looking truck btw.

[grumpin]

Welcome!

[Gary Lewis]

I put your lollipop in St. George as you didn't say what town, but it is easy enough to drag it elsewhere if you'd like.

My tires are 33" and the 235/85R16 are said to be 32" so you shouldn't have any problems with clearance.

Thanks.

[TheOneOz]

Cedar City, apologies, I usually do not put out location on the internet

[Gary Lewis]

You don't have to be on the map if you don't want to be.  And you don't have to be actually where you are.  It is entirely your call and no one will worry about.

[Lukes_86]

Welcome,

That looks like it could be a great adventure vehicle.

[TheOneOz]

Hello again, I have so far purchased the Edelbrock performer intake, avs2 650cfm off road carburetor, performer plus camshaft kit with Hedman headers to 3” dual exhaust with flow masters. The work should be completed in the next few weeks. Out of curiosity, what performance gains would I expect from this setup? I should have it back in my hands once I get tires on it and can share more pictures. Once again thank you for all the input and information.

[Gary Lewis]

That's pretty similar to what I supposedly had on Big Blue.  I say supposedly since I don't for sure that the Edelbrock cam was in there, but it did have the Eddy intake and 750 CFM carb.  And the thing pulled like a tractor from low RPM.

However, I really don't have a benchmark for what it would have been like originally, so don't know what the gains were.  Still, it was strong.

[Jammefoxe]

Welcome!

[TheOneOz]

Had the truck back for about 11 days after getting the carb, intake, timing and Cam installed as well as the exhaust and headers finished so I redid the interior and the lights. It’s back in the shop getting the tires put on. A bit rushed on the painting due to hurricane Hillary bringing rain and getting it complete so it can go back to the shop for final tuning but happy with the results. First outing this next weekend. Looking to take it to a spring shop for suspension next and then work on the exterior. Time and money…🤷‍♂️

[TheOneOz]

[Gary Lewis]

Progress!  

Glad you like the results, but I'm looking forward to the trip report after you can take it for a nice, long, shakedown run.  

[TheOneOz]

Ok, questions. The truck runs good and sounds good around town and on flat ground but it should climb a tree and it is far from that ability. It has no power to climb off road or even spin the tires… no burn outs lol. Is this possibly a torque converter issue or transmission issue? There is just no power to the wheels. It basically stalls out when trying to climb or do the slightest burn out.
I can’t take it up the mountain until this is fixed and it appears the mechanic doesn’t understand “I want it to pull down a house and roast the tires if I want it to”

Thank you for any direction

[Gary Lewis]

We need to know a lot more about your truck, and going back to re-read all the posts isn't likely to happen for those wanting to help.  So you really need to have a signature that spells it out.  You can see how to do that on the page at Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's.

You ask if it might be a torque converter issue so I assume you have a C6, but assuming isn't good when offering advice.  In any event, there's very little to go wrong in a torque converter for a C6 as nothing changes pitch and there is no clutch, so it is unlikely to be that.

What gears do you have in the differentials?  And what size tires do you have on it?  If you installed 35's and have 3.55 gears you are probably over geared.

Have you checked to see that the throttle is opening fully?  It is pretty easy to only get part throttle, especially with an aftermarket intake and carb.

And what ignition timing do you have dialed in?  You should be somewhere around 10 to 14 degrees BTDC for initial and into the 30's all in.

Last, what cam do you have?