There’s nothing like a Ford F series to get the job done. This 1970 F-250 is a long-bed 4×4, factory-equipped with a 360 CID V8. The engine was replaced in 1980 with a 428CJ from a Mustang, said to be numbers-matching from the carb to the oil pan. Stored for five years, this truck is listed here on eBay by the original owner; he’s looking for a starting bid of $10,000. The buyer can retrieve it from Portola, California; if you head down there, ask after the original sales documents, which the owner indicates he “might still have.”
The engine has fresh heads and is said to run well – so long as you can afford the gas. No odometer reading is supplied. The seller believes the rear end is a Dana 60; the transmission is a Toploader four-speed. On the one hand, this combination of components practically makes this truck a hot rod in disguise; on the other hand, I might be tempted to swap this engine back into a Mustang. The original 360 would have supplied about 215 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque – good enough for the farm, particularly paired with 4WD.
The cabin is tired, with the typical blanket-style seat cover, vinyl wrap on the steering wheel, broken sun visors. These fifth-generation F-series trucks were significantly upgraded both inside and out versus the earlier generations. The exterior styling acquired a squared-off appearance, while the interior was at least four inches roomier in the beam. Materials – including the seat padding, upholstery and door panels – were improved. These trucks marked the beginning of the race to ever larger dimensions. Today, my ’74 F-250 looks like a mouse next to a new Super Duty.
The body is dented, rusted, and otherwise compromised across nearly every square inch. I’m not sure what kind of storage the truck enjoyed over the last five years, but it may not have been inside, since the bed is growing moss. It retains original California black plates, and it’s on a non-op registration, backed by a clear title. Though the F-250 is the simplest of vehicles and nearly ubiquitous, this 1970 presents a conundrum: the engine might comprise most of the value here while at the same time supplying more performance than most of us need in a work truck. What path would you choose if this F-250 landed in your driveway?
I would get a stock engine for the truck, remove the 428 and go looking for a Mustang / Cougar / Torino to put it in.
I can’t wrap my head around how a top loader is gonna work in that application…..
I’ll bet the seller hasn’t either, that’s why it’s been sitting for 5 years with a non-op registration. Sounds to me like the buyer would be getting a half-baked project that needs to be broken back down & returned to stock form.
The CJ motor/trans would be an easy sell or put into something more appropriate.
You are probably right. I worked at a place that mainly sold performance parts for years, it was a shock to the system to find out how many enthusiasts thought they had a certain engine, transmission, rear end but had something different. The amount of parts that were returned, often opened or unsellable as new, because the parts they asked for didn’t fit what they actually had was an eye opener. I’m sure it’s a lot worse nowadays.
Steve R
worse case scenario – ID components on site PrePurchase w/a cellie in cases in which U R unfamiliar. Walk away to the lie if accuring. I’ve hada change a one way flight into round trip a good many times. Its ended a lot cheeper than a lousy purchase.
Best case – have local bud swing by to do so, or get seller to confirm, record in hard copy. I’ve formed a few short term partnerships with rental companies (truck’n trailer) & still hada smile…
Have a good 390 for that high boy….428/ top loader needs to be in my Cyclone… liol
I could read about and look at these old trucks all day long. It has a lot going for it, #1 being a factory high boy. I am having trouble making out the transmission and transfer case shifters from the pics.
I agree with everybody on taking the truck back to a stock type powertrain. There would be a lot of options for the 428CJ, first one being to start roller shopping.
buy it jerk the 428 out stuff a 390 in it and sell the truck off if you want and get your money back and get a 428 for next to nothing. i am sure somebody out there is looking for that long lost motor
By the way I read their ebay ad, the 428 was swapped into it back in 1980. I don’t know these well enough to know, but based on you alls comments it sounds like there is an incompatibility issue with that trans/motor/transfer case. Sure makes the ad a bit more confusing to me. It’s great reading everyone’s comments. I always learn something new. Thanks all
The 428 is an FE engine, just like the 352, 360, 390 & 427, to name a few. There should be no issues bolting it up. The transfer case is a divorced unit, so there should be no issue there either. The “toploader” the seller is talking about is the 4-spd trans, where the shifter was inserted into a hole in the top of the trans and locked down with a rotating collar. It was the normal truck 4-spd back then.
Bulldog!!
This is a beast of a truck with the 429 in it.
’76 F250 4X4 High Boy, 4 speed w/ dual range transfer case, PS, PB, A/C, Standard Cab, XLT trim, 4.10 axles w/ limited slip. It came with a anemic 360 V-8. It had a 9 1/2′ camper and towed RV’s. Down hill, with a sail, it might get 9-10 MPG. I took the 360 out and replaced it with a 428 Police Interceptor. I did keep the original transmission. I put a 735 Holley on it and re-curved the distributor. It now pulled everything just fine, and got 13-14 MPG. Best move I ever made!
Reference above comment. I now remember having to install a stabilizing support rod that went between the bottom of the transfer case to the frame. With all the extra power, it was needed to keep the transfer case in alignment. This support rod was standard with all automatic transmissions.
Actually, the 428 is a really good engine for a truck. Long stroke gives it lots of torque without having too rev it real high. If you don’t watch it, it’s possible to really lug the engine before you realize that you need to grab a lower gear!
This looks like it was an old PG&E truck.They were all painted
that Chocolate Brown color back then.
That’s a very cool truck! Even though I would probably just take the 428 CJ out and put it in a boat or something else and then I would race it on whatever came to mind!!
If you go to the ebay ad you can see that it has a normal truck 4 speed/transfer case. I am guessing that because the shifter comes out of the top of the transmission they are calling it a “top loader” transmission. Also it says that the heads are “fresh” yet in the engine pictures you can clearly see that those heads haven’t been off the engine in a while. Still an interesting truck.
Ford’s 4-speeds were called “Top Loaders” because to gain access to the inside of the trans you had to remove a top-mounted plate/cover, which on a car was just a cover, or on a truck had the shifter mounted to it. Having the cut-out in the trans case for the access opening in the top instead of the side, like GM’s & Mopar’s manuals, was said to increase the strength of the case in the mainshaft/cluster-shaft area where it was needed more than on top.
Doesn’t anyone know what a CJ looks like anymore? That’s just a mass production FE engine. Take a good look at those heads again, and those exhaust manifolds. Now do the homework and see what else I see. That stuff won’t fit in the mustangs and cyclones of the day. Nice valve covers though. Unfortunately all of the CJ’s had aluminum covers. Not saying it cant be a 428 it’s just not a 428CJ out of a Mustang.
Some years ago a friend of mine had a ‘68 Torino GT with a 428CJ. At the same time I had a ‘68 Mustang GT with the 390S. It so happened that we had the engines out of our cars at the same time. Both had the same heads that ate up valve guides like they were going out of style; both had the stamped steel factory chrome valve covers and both had “352” cast on the front of the blocks. At a glance you couldn’t tell the difference between the two. Pull the heads off and the 428 had an 1/8 inch on the bore. The stroke on a 428 is a tad under 4 inches; which the 390 is just a tad over 3 3/4 inches.
In all my years I understood the 428 to be an FE engine. My friend’s CJ even suffered the same defect as so many FE engines from ‘58 to ‘68: tendency to sweat oil into the water jackets from the lube supply passage that runs up from the oil gallery, up along the outer side of the block to the head.
We stuck a sleeve in the FE engines whether there was oil getting into the coolant or not because there was a very good chance it was going to do it.
Now, another friend had a ‘70 Torino CJ with a 429. Now, that was different, and it had aluminum valve covers.
I have had these in my younger days. Loved my 1968 highboy. Found it flooded. Rebuilt it to running and it was a tank. Probably one of the best wheelers of my era.
I did remove the flooded 360 and bought a 390 out of a 1970 LTD. Kept all the old running gear. It came with the 3500 front end. The big hub axle.
It became a lettuce truck in Mexico last I heard.
Thanks for your comments , saved me typing same thing 😁
Well, if the owner dropped a big FE engine into that bay, it should couple right up to the original transmission which would be a top-loader 4-speed. I would guess it to be an NP 435. Ford used a basic casting mold for the FE engines. I wouldn’t be surprised to see if this engine had a “352” cast into the front of the block, the same as the actual 352s/360s/390s had.
We had a ’67 Ford F-250 4×4. It had a 352/4spd and went through the typical ranch mill. I remember the winter of ’68/’69, the longest coldest winter I’ve ever experienced. -20 (F) or colder for 104 consecutive days, starting 20/December. I had to start that truck every day and feed cattle before school. When we got to February the overnight lows were dropping down to 40-45 below.
The engine was plugged in and wasn’t much trouble getting started, but trying to break that transmission loose was a major task. Sometimes it took 10 minutes to get those gears to turn in that molasses. But we got through it.