88 F-250 sportsman truck

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Hauls Assington
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88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

So this build may happen or not, we will see.

I got an 88 F-250 4x4 reg cab long bed, as a donor vehicle for my go fast bronco project.

In my area is the TDRA racing in Texas, and close by in El Paso there are 2 Outlaw desert races each year, and some racing in Mexico.

The Outlaw race, really doesn't have much in the way of tech, so you just pick the class you want to run and go for it, they have trucks, and open, and vw's. If you have a fast truck you can run with the buggies in open class.

Anyway, this would be a fairly low buck build, not trying to win the baja 1000 or anything, just have fun racing and finish races. At the level I would be competing, (if you finished all the races in TDRA you would probably be in the hunt for the season points.)

It has the Dana 50 ttb in the front.

One question is, can I put F-150 2wd beams on this truck with what it has, or is a 4wd f-250 completely different from a 2wd f-150 in terms of the brackets that hold the beams to the front engine crossmember?

Here are my thoughts of what to do on this truck to race it.

-Long travel front 2wd f-150 set up, 3" coilovers.

-cut the frame somewhere behind the cab, and do a 4 link with some combo of coilovers and bypasses. (or leaf springs until i get funds for 4-link).

-Full cage/ fuel cell/ race seats ect.

-I have the roller 351 that came out of my bronc. I want reliability to start with, to get a feel for things and get the suspension working good, so I am thinking 9:1 comp, gt-40 heads, and a 2 barrel with a torque oriented cam. If I

It has a big f-350 rear end, not sure if it is a dana 60 or sterling of some sort, I would run it, hopefully the make a spool for those.
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ChaseTruck754
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

The d50 TTB and d44 TTB mounts are different as are the beams. I'd say just coilover the d50ttb and add radius arms to dump the leafs. Will cost less than whatever else you do most likely.

If you want inspiration have a look at the Baja F250 (in the rides forum under "non broncos"). That is a well build F-250. It's "simple", but not at the same time. Meaning: the concept is simple & straight forward, but with excellent execution and attention to detail.
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Wrightracing.net »

I may be wrong but can't you bolt a D50 to a D44 ttb housing? Then you get a better geometry by using the 44 housings. Not a big deal to fab 44 mounts or go to a junk yard and get a Bronco/f150 4x4 Front crossmember and fab it in place.
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ChaseTruck754
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

pumpkins/center sections bolt back & forth. Beams themselves are very different between d44 and d50.
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Hauls Assington
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

I have seen the baja f-250, and it is sweet!

Since I don't want this to be 4x4, I guess I could run the d50 beams, with no pumpkin, slap on some radius arms and call it good.

Without doing a c&t on the front beams, I wonder how much travel, and suspension performance there would be?


Leaves in the back, and go have fun for cheap.
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ChaseTruck754
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

If you run the beams (d44 or 50) keep the pumpkin in as it is structural. The beams bend fairly easily with no pumpkin.
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Wrightracing.net »

You could plate the back of the housing and put some internal cross supports in the difference area. At that point just cut the ends off and make your own beams with Dana 50 knuckles.
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Hauls Assington
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

For 3500$ giant motorsports has a equal length kit for the f250! Also I talked to John at autofab, and he said he could sell me the parts i need to make it happen. So it looks like one of these paths is what i will do. I am going to chop and tubularize the frame behind the cab, do a full blown DOM cage, 4 link in the back. Either run the dana 70 i have or get a 9" floater.
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Hauls Assington
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

I am still not done with the bronco, and i have to do a dropped c10 for my wife before i turn a wrench on the f250, but hopefully by late 2036 i should be ready to race!
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Hauls Assington
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

This thing isnt going to happen, im going to chop it in half and use the back half for an adventure trailer. The rest will be parted and sold. I will be buying an already built truck when it comes time to race. Hopefully for the 2035 season lol!
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Smith racing »

That will be pretty rad, get a snug top and you got a trail ready camping trailer.
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Hauls Assington
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Re: 88 F-250 sportsman truck

Post by Hauls Assington »

Yeah, exactly. It has a 16 and a 19 gallon gas tank, so I'm thinking rig up a fuel pump and a hose, and be able to fill up other vehicles, and I was going to put a 30 gallon water tank under it. Then camper shell, with some kind of awning or tent device. They make air mattresses that fit specific truck beds, so I am going to get one of those. Unload the gear, and stick it under the tent, and sleep in the trailer. It has a 1 ton axle under it with rancho shocks, and heavy duty tires, I think it could take some abuse behind the bronc.
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