Hey all,friend has gotten me interested in off-roading (muding in particular) but all he has is a 1997 Rav4 (its his daily driver and he beats the crap out of it). So me and a few friends decied we wanted to build something we could all have some fun with.

Im not new to Ford's,I got a 99' Lightning and a killer stock suspension style Mustang that goes 8.0's in the quarter,but anything four wheel drive IS pretty much new too me.

After debating a bit on what to start with,I figuered on some kind of F150 or Bronco,but might use anything I can get a V8 in with room for some big tires I suspose (I got a striped down 88' Mustang coupe shell....nahh).

Oh,and one last thing,we dont have alot of cash to put into the project,but I have plenty of performance parts to build another nasty engine,and more importantly can do all the work myself.Also,this is gunna be off-road only so no need for title,tag,registration,ect. I can use our car trailer when the mustang aint on it.

Im an experiance welder both TIG and MIG,so I plan on doing all suspenion and roll cage work myself.Im also not conserned with the condition of the body so long as its not rusted to badly.

Well,with thous things said,where should I start?

 

Oh,there was one certain thing we all wanted open exhaust of some sort so it sounds mean and loud. Eh,what you guys think I should do?

Full length headers into 2.5-3.5" collectors under the body or above the body? Was thinknig about having the collector exit some where around the corner of where the hood and fender meets the firewall.

Or...zoomies,witch for thous of you that don't know are individual exhaust pipes coming out of the head ports,no common collector or merge area. Though about going straigth up if I did these,as I was planing on runing a plexi-glass hood.

Or are we getting a bit carried away? Mind you I can do what I mention,I think it will be awsome but it its not,please tell me so we dont make a mistake and look stupid with the exhaust.

 

just watch Extreme 4x4 on Spike this weekend, you will get plenty of ideas...

 

yeah what he said

 

In all honesty I wouldn't want to take a lightning off roading. But that choice is yours.

Max out on a great lift kit, 35" mud tires, Roush Off Road exhaust, some tow straps, get 4.56 gears and you should be set.

 

Oh hell no Im not taking my Lightning off-roading,lol. Im talking about buying a junker,was thinking something like mid 80's?

Anything to look for as far as drivetrain,I dont know much about the transfer case or the front drive.

 

I was hoping you wasn't even going to try, but I must have misread your post.

 

Your looking for items with a stout driveline and solid axles. Anything IRS will be nothing but a headache to maintain and will be much much more costly to lift. Suzuki samurais are great budget munded wheelers. I have built 2 for just around 2k that wheeled with some of the better rigs in texas. K5's & solid axle broncos are also good trucks. Short bed straight axle chevys, dodges and Fords can be made to work, but the wheelbase is something that has to be overcome. Dont go thinking you need a large v-8 to turn birg tires, offroad gears are your friends. My Suzuki had 64 hp crank! and I would walk all over some of the bigger heavier trucks

 

The only "off-roading" my Lightning ever saw was a couple doughnuts in a wet grass field,lol. I regreted it afterwards cause mud got stuck up in the trim and rear bumper

So,ugh,whats the best years to look for?

 

Im craming a V8 in anything I use.and if I cant get it to fit in anyway,then whatever it has is getting a turbocharger set-up on it,lol.

Ok,thats one thing I really wanted to know about,I was thinking of 8.8" front and back with a spool in the rear and locker up front (35 spline axles rear,31/33 front).What about axles studs? Will 5 stud be enough (am thinking 5/8" stud,they'll handle ProMODs so why not an off-road truck?) or will I need a 6 or 8 set-up? And for gears I was looking at 4.88 or 5.14 ratios.

 

ok so acording to Four Wheeler magazine-
best fulsize pickup- 91-94 chevy k3500 or 94-02 dodge ram 2500/3500 diesel
best compact suv- 85-95 suzuki samurai or 97-06 Jeep wrangler tj
best fulsize suv- 73-91 chevy k-5 blazer or 80-96 bronco(in particular a 95 or 96 with a 351 which you swap a 9" rear into)
best midsize suv- 84-96 cherokee or 85-89 4runner

Acording to Petersens 4 wheel and offroad- you need big power(big block), wide tires, good weight balance,lots of waterproofing, drive flanges instead of manual hubs

when it comes to mud you dont want too low of gears cause you need tire spinning, so pick gears to put that big block in its power range and not too low so that your redlining it to get them to spin. interco boggers are the most popular and most extreme mudding tires which would be a good idea since its a trail truck only. Personaly ive always wanted to build a bronco or blazer up with enough lift to clear 44"s(possibly fiberglass fenders so i dont have to lift it up too high and ruin the center of gravity) some one ton axles and a nice 427 or 454 depending on brand.

 

I would look for an older Jeep or pickup!
If I were to do this project I would go with a straight axle chevy short bed and build the crap out of the 350. sounds like you know motors so you know the chevy 350 is inexpensive to build and repair .

 

just find an old Ford F100 with a 460, build it up and put a stroker kit on, front and rear lockers, better gear ratios, a nice lift and some 38" tires with open headers. check this thing out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RjxPzFAq30

BEAST!

 

Where should you start? Any older 3/4ton+ truck with solid axles. Think 70's - 80s Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks. Personally, I'd stick with any Chebby up til about 1988 (or whenever they did away with the solid axle). Go with any year Ford that you can afford, but don't get one that is too nice. Remember, you'll be beating the tar out of this truck. Best bet would be a 1979 F-350 reg cab long bed 4x4 with the 460 V-8 and your choice of transmission.

 

Get yourself an old Bronco, Lift it 6", throw some 35" M/T's under it, and wheel that sumbish!!! If you want some bawls under the hood, build up a 460 for it, but that's not even necessary. Any engine that doesn't overheat will get you anywhere you wanna go in 4-Lo.