ok so im looking for a truck to pull everything to do a 4x4 conversion on my 56 f100
i found a 79 f250 verycheap, so im wondering if the axels/transfer/ case/steering colomb everything would work? quick replt's olease because he has another offer by saturday so if it right i wanna get it tomarrow

 

It's not a bolt in deal but with some work you can get the drivetrain parts to work on your F100 chassis. But be prepared to do some fabrication and you'll need to have the driveshafts modified.

 

O I DEFINATLY KNOW ITS NOT GONNA BE A BOLT ON JOB(SORRY FOR THE CAPS -ACCIDENT)
but how much father does the fab work go, isnt it just for mounts and crossmembers?
and do you know how expensive getting the drive shafts would be, and would i have to get both or just the rear one??
sry for so many questions

 

not familiar with this, but aren't the axles too wide? I thought the trucks after 72 got wider.

 

My brother -in law has a 55 F100 mounted to a fullsize bronco frame. I will send a pic if I can find it but. He is no genius and it looks pretty good! I would think that might be easier but, just my two cents

 

well i want to use a bronco but the cheapest one i can find is 3 grad wwhich is a little out of my budget since its just for the drivetrain and ive alradey spent 3 greand on the 56 and 3 grand on the garage for it. so the 250 is only like a grand

 

Those axles might be a little wider then you want. If you plan on lifting the truck the wider axles wouldn't look so bad. I think I paid $400.00 to get drive shafts made for my Jeep.

 

Wow $3000.00 is the cheapest you can find a Bronco for? What city do you live in? In my area I could easily pick up a Bronco off craigslist $1000.00.

Try to find some off road forums in your area. Maybe you can score something cheap off there. Or if you feel the F250 is to good of a deal to pass up buy it use the rest of the parts and sell the axles. Then find a different set of axles. Check Pirate 4x4 it's a huge off road forum maybe you get lucky and find something in your area.

 

I believe the broncos used the same parts as a F150.

79 is a good year for parts, but are the gears what you want? Waiting a little bit to find something with the gearing you want can save you a lot of money.

They're a little wider than the '56, I'm building a F600 so I'm already there, but they will stick out a little on you. It won't look bad, I'm just saying they're a little wider and you can expect the tires to go out a few inches past the fenders.

You'll need both driveshafts. All three if the transfercase is divorced.


I'm currently shopping for the same parts for my truck. A '79 F250 is a great donor. I'm not sure what parts run where you live but a good deal around here is $200-300 for a matching set of axles, $450 for an engine and transmission and transfercase (even fuel injected). $500 for a full donor truck unless it's got something special. I have a friend who converts old trucks to 4x4, he never spends more than $500 on a donor. A donor will make it easier than pieces, and its cheaper usually.


If you're not positive it's what you want and it will work for you, hold off. Deals are always out there and its better to wait and be sure its what you want. The 'guy coming on tomorrow' is one of those oldest tricks in the book to hurry you into buying it. Might be true, but everyone who sells anything always says it, keeps them in the power chair with negotiations.

But if it's what you want, for all means go for it. If you're willing to walk away from it (really walk away, which is way harder than thinking you will, lol) you'll save a lot of money.

 

I'm doing a 92 F-250 4x4 but I'm putting a 1952 F-7 so the wider axles will be ok.. just need to get taller tire and rims to fill the wheel wells...

 

Dang! I can't upload the pic without downsizing it, It's a 4.18 MB pic! ridiculous! Anyone know an easy way to make it smaller? I tried to uplaod it but the site won't let it.
even though it says it will automatically downsize it. Hmmm....

 

There's good information in this link on a Frame Swap.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...o-chassis.html

 

i guess ill keep looking to make sure i get something perfect, could you tell me what truck you think would be perfect for a 56 4x4 donor so i can start looking for the right thing. And i havent found anything close to 500, this is the cheepest 250 i found and it was 650

 

o and im new to ratios so maybe you could tell me, i just gonna use it for a daily driver, the occasional 55mph highway but deffinatly in the snow to school and stuff

 

I play hard ball on pricing, I tend to stretch a dollar as far as possible. $500ish is ideal, but generally a good donor truck may run $1000. The trick is finding one will good parts and a horrible body.

Gearing depends on what size tires you're going to run and what powertrain you are going to use, specifically the transmission. I'm planning around 4.10 but I'm also planning on 36"+ tires.

As far as a good donor goes, like I said my project is made to be wider so I don't have the same issues as an F100, but the 74-79 trucks actually make for great donors. I'd love to find a '79 F250 with what I want in it... problem is I really like the '79 body style and I'm not sure I could do it unless it was destroyed, lol.


What will work for you depends a lot on what you want out of the truck and how you plan on using it. A dana 44 works well upfront for a lot of things, but if you start getting really big tires it won't be strong enough. Dana 60s are often considered ideal up there. As far as rears go, Dana 60 or 70 for a stout 4x4 that can be pushed hard, Sterling would also be a good choice.

Things are a bit wide spread on finding what could work, generally it's easier to find a donor then google what axles came in it. You probably won't want anything off a 1/2 ton, least from the 80s. The 70s made for stronger parts, however bigger trucks used stronger axles. 70s is just easier to work with basically. Might try Pirate4x4.Com - The largest off roading website in the world. lots of information there, I'm still getting things worked out for my choices, lol