(images: TFLtruck)
1989 Ford F-350 project Gunsmoke is a beast!
Our 1989 Ford F-350 project Gunsmpoke has a 7.3-liter diesel, solid (open) front and rear axles and a manual transmission. Built as a serious work truck, we’ve converted into a much more off-road-friendly vehicle.
This vehicle was donated by our friend David Morrow. He donated the truck to TFL, on the condition that proceeds from the eventual auction sale to go to Mountain States Children’s Home. We are happy to do it! Not only that, since we got the old Ford, we’ve done a ton of work to it.
Lots of used components, including a completely replaced (used) bed, have been added. We added new wheels, 35-inch Toyo tires, an updated suspension, sliders and a ton of needed mechanical maintenance. It is now a sweet, bad-ass restoration that’s a blast off-road.
We are grateful that Toyo donated these beefy 35-inch tires to the project. They look amazing and work well off-road.
We put this old Ford to the test.
Tombstone Hill was scouted as a prime location for testing crossovers, SUVs and some pickup trucks. Honestly, it’s only moderately challenging for four-wheel drive trucks. The terrain, while steep, isn’t that difficult for a beefy truck. At the most, we thought that the heavy rig might spin a wheel.
The thing is: our old project truck laughed at these obstacles. Tommy and Kase take us through their off-road test and have some fun with the low gearing. I mean, Kase got out and walked next to it as it chugged up in super-low first-gear.
In the future, we will have to “up” our game and take it to our more challenging ORV trails. Check out this video and watch the boys as they play with Gunsmoke in the mountains!
