Here's my story. I have a 78 Ford F-350 Ranger XLT Super Cab with a 460/C6 that I haven't been using very much. I converted it to a dually about 7 or so years ago and mainly used it for towing. For the better part of the last year and a half, the truck sat out back behind the shop...not being used....growing roots (I know...shame on me). It was 2 wheel drive, had a ton of wiring issues, charging system issues, rotted out driver side cab mounts, and a host of other things that really made it a pain to deal with. Since I had my other truck to drive...I really just didn't bother with it.

Here she is when I pulled it out from behind the shop during the 3rd week of September:


Well, my guilt was getting the better of me, so I decided to do something with it. Not just anything....something different....something unique to me. Don't get too excited, or upset....the truck is not clean by any means. The bed is rotted away under those dually fenders, and the bed floor. And the passenger door has a HUGE dent in it. Just to name a few issues

****WARNING-The following contains NON-Ford parts being used on a Ford truck!! Look away....or risk being upset!! Ford purists...you have been warned!!****

I decided to beat my head against the wall and tackle the 4 wheel drive conversion...with a twist or two....or three.

Now we all know, this conversion topic has been beat to death on nearly every aspect.
:It's easier to move the body to a 4wd frame
:Cut the frame and graft in the 4wd front section
:Just don't do it!! It's a pain in the A$$!!
....ect, ect, ect.

So I decided to do it my way. And no, this isn't a full blown restoration project, it's me building and having fun with a project so I can get some use out of a truck that I really enjoy...again! I plan to DRIVE this truck. And since Ohio winters aren't that great on vehicles anyways, body work won't even be considered as an option until next spring.

I needed to get her in the shop, so first...off comes the bed:


I knew I needed a transfer case, and my C6 worked fine, so a divorce mount NP205 was the ticket. So I found a used one online in Michigan, and drove up and bought it. Now....I needed axles, which is where I touch on the non-Ford items (cringe).

When I converted to a dually all those years ago, I used a 1979 Dana 70 that had 3.73 gears in it. This wasn't going to be a dually anymore. After gutting that, as well as the entire factory 2wd suspension/steering, I got a great deal on a matched set of Dana 60's with 4:10 gears out of a 97 Dodge Ram. Oh no.....not the 'D' word!!! Calm down fellas.....I promise....it will be ok! And yes....that front Dana 60 has the dreaded vacuum CAD system. No problem, I plan to convert that to a cable lock.

So I had her in the shop, tearing stuff down....off with the front clip:


Then removed the front suspension/steering:


So there I was, with all good intentions on just doing a fairly straight forward swap (yeah right), and I was debating on how to spring the front end. I had the coils and buckets from the donor Dodge, so making/modifying new spring buckets was plausible. but then a good friend planted the seed in my head of using 'coil overs'. Well....there goes the budget! New plan....4 link custom front-end with new steering and coil overs with custom built....everything!

The problem began as soon as my coil overs arrived from California. When I removed these shocks from the boxes, 14 inch King coil overs with remote reservoirs, and seeing they were beautifully polished with blue powder coated springs, I knew they would look like a$$ against that rusty old frame.
Time to take her down to bare frame and do a little cleaning:


Engine out, shock hoops fabricated, new steering gearbox fabbed to the frame section that I boxed:


Took the frame outside for degreasing/powerwashing/metal prep:


Then back in for a coat of POR-15 Silver paint:



And just a quick peek at my nearly finished front 4 link suspension setup:


Frame done with new fuel lines, brake lines, wiring split loom, ect...:


Need to fix the driver side cab mounts, so a little plating was in order. Here is the driver side front cab mount, er....whats left of it. The entire bottom was GONE:


So I took some measurements and cut a plate out of 3/16 steel:


And fit it for shape:


Then welded it in. The difference in height when mounting the body is taken into the equation by using less shims under this (and the rear) mounts:


Then, the body is put back on using a 2 inch body lift. My rear suspension lift was accomplished by a shackle flip on the rear of the leafs and custom built leaf hangers for the front of the leafs:


Bed on. Me standing next to her....my what little 'shoes' she's wearing!


A few peeks at the tire/wheel combo. 36x12.50 Military Goodyear Wranglers:


I like the offset!


I have finished 95% of my wiring, and still need to fabricate front and rear bumpers. Hopefully by this weekend I'll have a chance for a road test. Here's hoping! I'll update this as I go.

Catch you guys later!
Brian

 

Funny how nothing is ever "I'm going to do this and that's it". It's ALWAYS "well, while I'm here I might as well....."
Looks good, like the wheel/tire combo.

 

That about sums it up! Lol. Thanks Mike.

 

Looks awesome

 

Thanks. Should be a fun toy.

 

Impressive work / conversion! I am curious on why the 2" body lift given the tire size you are running.

 

Good question. The body lift was strictly for clearance issues not related to tire size. One was the transfer case mount that I built. I tucked it up in the frame as far as possible for ground clearance. in doing so, the top of the case is 1 inch above the top edge of the frame rail. And it happened to be directly under one of the cab cross members. The other clearance point was between the left shock hoop and the heater blower box on the passenger side. As a bonus....bigger tires in the future will be easy. ;-)

 

Nice work! I am starting to experience the "while I'm at it" thing as well with my truck It is a dangerous thought process

 

It is amazing how one thing snowballs into something much more complex. I guess all you can hope for is that it turns out the way you wanted it to. In my case....so far so good.

 

Wow! Pretty nice! The only criticism i have on the Dodge Dana 60's is the newer one's aren't like the older ones. The ring gears are smaller and they aren't built as well. Other than that, you've done a fine job on the conversion. I like it a lot!

 

Wow, nice.

 

Thanks. Of course they just don't build things like they used to, but I think this will fit the bill for me. I don't plan on getting too crazy with it.

 

Nice! I was planning on doing the same thing with Dodge axles and spring buckets with longer arms, but after seeing what you've done I might have to beg borrow and sell off stuff to do the coil overs. Thanks for mentioning the clearance issues too as now I can plan for a body lift in the budget.

 

Thanks Turbo.

 

It's definitely a lot a fabrication work for the front suspension, but it's worth it now that it's pretty much finished. And a body lift isn't required, if you mount the t-case a bit lower in the frame and make a little different design for the shock hoops.