I picked this truck up in 2013 on a whim, I saw it for sale in a Craigslist ad and the next day I was picking it up. It had a very clean body and a stock 350sbc and th350 transmission in it. The truck ran very good and could have cruised it anywhere. All factory interior which was also in great shape. I halfway wish I would have left it like that...but that’s no fun haha. Sadly the only picture I have of it back then was when I trailered it home. #ad
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As the need for always more speed and power grew, a friend told me about an engine that had been sitting around the shop where he worked and was sure the owner would sell it for cheap. This seemed like a decent deal instead of building the current setup and was for sure a cheaper route to go. So in the winter of 2013/2014 I decided to prepare for an engine swap and do some other work to the truck in the downtime as well.

The engine was a destroked 400sbc, 377ci with 13:1 compression and a big solid roller camshaft. It was basically a circle track engine that was ran in a willeys jeep as a sand dunes and play rig. I got the engine for a steal of $1500 but had no clue to what parts were inside. Before doing anything with it I decided to tear it down to the long block and get some part numbers off everything so I know what I was dealing with. Keep in mind this was my first V8 I owned and my first build of this level so I wanted to take an approach with some knowledge on things instead of just diving in. #ad
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Because this engine wasn’t going to be a cruising setup, I decided to change the truck into more of a racing themed setup while it was down. I also wanted to try and prepare it the right way while it was out and be able to handle the new engines power plus more if I wanted a power adder in the future on top of it. I bought a 86 f150 for $300, tore the 9” out with 4.10 gears and took the rest of the truck to the scrap yard. Ended up getting the 9” for pretty cheap after that! I had it narrowed and 31 spline Dutchman axles installed. I also took the time to upgrade the rear brakes from drums to 12” wilwoods to aid in stopping when I was going faster than this truck was originally designed for. I pulled the factory overload leaf spring out during the swap and made the truck sit a little lower and softened the suspension up quite a bit which was happy about. Once installed I fit some adjustable QA-1 shocks in the rear as well. #ad
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I always enjoyed looking at clean and minimal engine bays and interiors, so I had the idea to try a similar approach with this build. I stripped everything off the truck and decided any addition would be a custom made or fit piece. Once everything was out and I started piecing new items together, the decision was made that now was the time to install a roll cage while it’s torn apart and still in the dirty fab work stage of the build. Art Morrison is only 2 hours south of me and bought a roll cage from them and had a local off road shop install it. They did a great job and tucked it pretty tight. They even relocated and custom made a body mount to let the rear hoop drop directly to the frame. The floor was also modified to fit the sparco reclining seats I had purchased off a buddy for it. I wanted the largest radiator I could fit so didn’t get one for this application, instead I measured what I could fit and bought one based on those dimensions. While cutting out the front support to fit I made more own stainless core support top while I was in there. Came out good and actually is stronger than the factory one. My previous car had fixed bucket seats and while they held you in nicely, they got uncomfortable pretty quickly. This was about as torn up as the truck was going to get and was exciting to get into the forward progress stage once these steps were finished. #ad
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With the engine torn apart I cleaned up everything and decided to give my first go at porting the heads. They were 220cc Canfield heads and definitely had some casting imperfections to clean up, mainly around the valve seat and surrounding area. The heads were installed with new valve springs and titanium retainers and a fresh valve job. With the engine cleaned up and some new “pretty parts” installed it was finally back together. #ad
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The engine made 550hp at 7100rpm on an engine dyno, while less than I had hoped for I think the cam was too large and the heads were definitely outdated. A newer casting like a AFR or a custom ported route I’m confident I could have been knocking on the 600hp door but it ran and it ran good so I was happy with it. Now with it dyno tuned and ready to drop on the truck, I had to wrap up the firewall and whatever needed to be mounted before I placed the engine in. #ad
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Forgot to add, before the dyno I built a test run stand to get any potential issues or leaks caught before it was ran hard or in the truck. It has been useful a few times for buddies’ engines as well. #ad
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Next was attacking the interior a bit and getting some things squared away in there. I wanted all my electrical in a central location and left the only factory wiring in the truck for the headlights and taillights. I had a custom box built to go over the trans tunnel and up against the firewall to hold everything electrical related to help keep it clean and also troubleshoot and making future additions easier. I got a universal painless 8 switch box and fuse/relay panel which was an easy way to connect everything and support the vision I had for the interior. I didn’t care much for turn signals and wanted it as minimalistic as possible even though I would be driving it on the street periodically. The steering column I found was perfect and also built a small panel of gauges to keep it all basic and to the point. #ad
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Built a bracket for the fuel pump under the fuel cell. I planned on running nitrous at some point so setup my regulators on a custom bracket with the aeromotive being a pass through and the Magnafuel regulating the carburetor. The aeromotive would control the nitrous once that got going in the future. #ad
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Installed the rear lexan window to fit around the roll cage and gave the truck it’s first bath since I pulled the original engine. #ad
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I got tired of pushing the truck around and was ready to get a transmission. I built a custom aluminum crossmember for it and ordered a stage 3 th350 with reverse shift pattern and trans brake from Jakes Performance in Texas. I also got one of their billet converters with a 3500 stall. Once I had it installed and I had my measurements I ordered a 4” aluminum driveline with chromoly slip yoke and 1350 u joint on the differential side. I also upgraded my 9” pinion to 1350 and installed a mini spool at the same time to get both tires going for now. #ad
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I went with a Kwik Shift shifter from Precision Performance and installed that along with my harnesses on the inside. I also put together a custom radiator overflow/catch can and installed a vacuum pump as well. #ad
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I do love the boxy S-10s. Looks good!

 

Thanks! They’re my favorite too.

 

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By this point I got to take it around town on a few drives and work a lot of little details here and there. The trucks was rowdy and got plenty of looks. It didn’t stall too high on the brake or foot pedal and I believe the lack of bottom end torque made the converter act like it had a lower stall in it. With that it did hookup well on the street. Even used it to pickup and deliver flowers for Mother’s Day. You can see the fuel cell in center, the right stainless box is the battery and the left is a nitrous bottle box.

 

I was getting ready for the truck to be racing at the end of summer, I got it detailed and the nitrous system all hooked up. #ad
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One of the last details on the list was my line lock. It was plumbed in but never wired. I got a steering wheel mount push button for it and got it working, then went out and tried it one day. It was the first time I really pushed the engine like that doing a burnout. Shift light at 7500rpm in first gear then grabbed second, saw the light again and rolled out until it got squirrely. It was a rush! I was excited to get some more practice doing things like that and prepping for the track, dialing the truck in more. #ad
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As I was warming it up a few days later in the driveway to take it on another cruise, I noticed a wet spot under it. I figured it was leaking oil, I went under the truck and saw it was water...traced it up and saw it leaking out of the head by one of the outside head bolts...cracked head. Not the news I want to deal with when I am just getting the truck on the street. I took one last drive with it before deciding what to do next... #ad

 

For your first engine you did an amazing job! 550hp is no joke! Probably would have ran 10's on motor. I'm impressed with your fab work on this truck, nice work!!!