Hey guess what Ed got tired of resurecting a piece of junk

[Eshaver]

Hey kids, sorry for the absense but I aquired a 1978 Ford Stepside with 62.000 on the dash for a Hundred ! Now it's a 300 six, no power nuthin and I MEAN NO POWER NUTHIN. I have to change muh own gears ho hum.......... No power locks to go " BLOYEY" No PRINDIL TO keak transmission fluid all over the driveway. My 78 Ford van does a fine job of that already and the big nezs, ARE YA READY?????????????? NO COMPUTER TO BLOW OUT ! Hey Chrysler see if ya can top that ?

Now aeriously, all jokes aside , I have a 78 Ford Van thats going to cost nearly a thousand to ovwer haul the engine in it . It has power steering in it , a Saganaw type to be exact. How much agrivation would it entail for me to swap steerong boxes ? From my perspective , looks the same to me but Pick ups and Vans that Ford Make don't seem to share parts like the Chevrolets did . I'm running the same engine in both vehicles, a 300 six cylinder. Both are the F- 150 series

Second question, OH OH Jere we go , I need to name the new truck . My 1953 Panel Delivery was named Mabellene for the Chuck Berry tune . Yeah , that Flathead has overheated too! The van was named Elvis cause it had No smog controls and other stupid stuff on it . The Chrysler was simply , the Chrysler from Hell it nearly Bankrupted me !

Oh , in cas yall think I'm not modeling yer wrong! I'm very hard at work doing " Sub- assemblies " for the Amoco Projek! Ed Shaver

[James Flowers]

Ford has a bad habit of making parts different on their vehicles . The best thing to do is ask a wrecking yard to look at there interchange books. They can tell you what you need. What about "Simplicity" for your truck?

Edited May 2, 2009 by mustanglover1951

[Blue coyote]

Pretty sure the steering box will swap, Ed. As long as it bolts up in place and the Pittman arm is similar (or you can swap the arm as well), then you're good to go.

One thing Ford didn't change much between lines is the steering boxes. Guys with Ranger and Bronco II rock rigs often swap in F250 steering boxes with no issues...

Smokin' deal, too! 78-79 were the best looking years of the Ford trucks, and a stepside is ALWAYS cool!

When do we get to see it "under glass"?

[george 53]

NO COMPUTER!!!!???? Man,Ed you really should be in your elemnt now! As far as Ford Truck stuff goes, I'm as lost as you. Like Mustang said, Ford gots a funny habit of make things different on their cars!

[Scott H.]

Ed,

Glad to see ya back!

Try http://www.ford-trucks.com/ for the answer to your question. They have a forum that has a ton of info on it.

The only concern I would have is the angle of the steering columns is different from a Van to a Pickup. I wish ya would have gotten it earlier as I sent 3 ford Pickups to the scrap yard a couple of months ago and 2 of them were power steering equipped and 1 had power brakes.

If there is anything you need for the pickup, let me know. There are a bunch of them around here and I can check to see if I can find it. I will say right now that there is NO WAY I'll be able to find anything for the step side bed though. I have only seen one F-100 with that option around here and he definitely was not getting rid of it.

Oh, the names of my F series trucks are as follows:

1976 F-150 Ranger - Gas Hog ( 390 Engine - 10 MPG Loaded or Unloaded)

1977 F-100 Custom Explorer - Old Yeller (I've owned this one since I was 15 years old)

1977 F-100 Ranger XLT - That Mother .... Piece .... Well, you get the hint! (It's getting a new name after I get done restoring it... Maybe!)

-Scott H.

Edited May 3, 2009 by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo

[Smart-Resins]

Hey Ed, maybe you could call it Jane. Jane as in Jane of the Jungle. Your Jungle! Since its a nice old plain jane truck! LOL. Good luck. Jody