Here's the plan: Take my 1970 Ford F-250 2wd and make it a 4x4.. and not just any 4x4; I've got a 1976 Ford F-250 "Highboy" in my collection for this.

The goal is to make a bomb proof workhorse truck that would last forever, pull anything, and go anywhere.

There are three schools of thought as to how to go about this.
First, hopefully the easiest; take the rusted hulk of a body off the '76, and bolt the '70 F-250 body on to it.

If for some reason the body moounts on the frame are different from 1972 to 1973, then I can torch off the original mounts and fab new onces. That's plan 2.

Plan 3 is the most involved.. sorta. I'd remove the entire rear suspension from the '76, as well as the divorced case. put it all under the 2 WD frame, then take the front axle, convert it to disk brakes (which will happen no matter what), then spec out and buy custom length coil springs for the truck. design, and fab up some custom drop radius arm mounts for the frame, as well as fab up spring buckets and radius arm mounts for the front axle. Sure, I could just swap out the front leaf set up, but if I'm gonna go through that much effort I'd rather have the smoother ride of the coil springs... as well as flexibility.

I'm pretty lazy so of course I'm rooting for the simple body swap.

Has anyone done this? ANY tips and tricks would be helpful.

actually, with all the donor vehicles I've accumulated, the cab will be 1970. bed and doors will be either '70 or '72. Front clip will be '72, as will the engine (360 for now- the '70's 360 burns more oil than gas). the '70's 4 speed, with the '76 t-case, frame and axles. disk brakes from god knows what year, and a stroke of luck- the '72 parts truck (an F-150 2wd) had a '67 front grill assembly put on it at some point in it's life, so that will be on it too. maybe even a rear Dana 80 off a '74 stake truck I've got, but not sure the 8 lug pattern is the same.. and the floater 60 should be plenty. got like 6 of them anyway.

 

Plan #1 will work.

John

 

plan #1 will work .i have done this swap already[71 f-100 sheet metal on 74 f-250 frame. the only problem is the gap between the bed and the cab will be larger than normal

 

Thanks, guys. I once had heard the cab mounts had changed, which had me worried, but I've looked both cabs over closely over the years and just couldnt see the difference.. bolt pattern-wise.

As for the body gap, are we talking inches here? a noticeable gap over normal? I mean if it's too bad the box mount holes could be redrilled and there'd be maore frame sticking out of the tail, as well as a rear axle location issue, but barring no rubbing I'd think that would be less noticeable than a body gap.

A friend of mine put a half ton Chevy truck body on a 'burban frame and he had the same problem- so the bed was set for the extra frame to stick out the back and it wasn't noticeable unless you know it was wrong.

If it's not too noticeable, I don't care. It's not gonna be a show truck. Hell, I will deal with the rust, but the dents are gonna be left alone. I hate bondo, and then comes the rattle can paint job. Farmall Red, anyone?

 

Igor, The cab & front clip is bolt hole exchange, I would also suggest lifting the cab/clip in one piece to avoid fitting everything back again. Play around with the bed and find what works for you. You may want to clip the end of the chassis rails, you have choices. The wheel openings will be more forward but it may or may not be a problem for you.

John

 

I probably won't be able to do the cab/ clip in one piece.. it will probably be done in three major pieces; clip, cab, and bed. I'll want to do some prep work before each goes on, as far as blasting, and coating the belly pans with bed liner.
Living in the rust belt requires lots of protection.
Also, the cab needs new mounts, and beefier ones. seems the stock mounts give and flex when you ram things... but the 3/8" plate steel bumper doesn't have much give.

also, the cab will probably ultimately be moved by either a few friends I've been feeding beer, or a ratchet strap run through the cab and a big tree branch.

As for the extended frame out back, the rear bumper can just have a larger step, which would make a good work bench in a fix... It's just gonna be a 1/4" piece I'll design myself modeled after the drop bumpers like ya see on ranch trucks.

Don't suppose you know if the steering column from the mid '70s Fords is interchangeable with the '70? the '70 column is roached, thanks to a bearing going to hell at some point inside it and sawing through the shaft over I'm guessing years until it finally snapped while I was parallel parking in the city of all places.. the '72 has a column shift automatic column, but I have quite a few '73 and up columns, including one with a dent from a 20 gauge shell that would make for a conversation piece. It only dented the column because it blew through the door look and door first before hitting the column, then in magic bullet fashion, headed into the dashboard.

Yeah- this truck is gonna be quite the Frankenstien.

But them are the best ones.

 

Igor, The column will work, I run a 76 in my 66. The cab floor pans and firewall are the same from 65 to 79. In 73 there was 4" added to the rear of the cab behind the rear mounts (that is why there is an issue with bed alignment) as well as widening the rails and axle so that the rear track would again match the front.

John

 

Sweeeet- this project is getting cheaper and easier by the second- thanks :-)

I love the interchangeability of older trucks! you just can't get that today.

I'm presently putting a '76 300 I-6 in my '86 F-250 4x4, cause I actually managed to kill it's 300 six, but it has never run good since I paid too much for that truck anyway. whatever died in it, the antifreeze came out jet black and full of oil, but the truck drove into the shop to remove the motor..

What's great is that I am swapping needed stuff off the '86 block onto the '76 and it's going on with no issue- 10 years between the engines.

Thanks for all the help man :-)

Eric

 

Don't suppose you know if the steering column from the mid '70s Fords is interchangeable with the '70? the '70 column is roached, thanks to a bearing going to hell at some point inside it and sawing through the shaft over I'm guessing years until it finally snapped while I was parallel parking in the city of all places.. the '72 has a column shift automatic column, but I have quite a few '73 and up columns, including one with a dent from a 20 gauge shell that would make for a conversation piece. It only dented the column because it blew through the door look and door first before hitting the column, then in magic bullet fashion, headed into the dashboard. Igor1973

Don't suppose you could tell the story on the dented column? Sounds interesting! I guess I could make a safe bet it involves too much of an adult beverage. Dan

 

Well, for this particular event, we weren't drunk.. maybe a little buzzed, but we were just shooting our guns one afternoon at various targets (empty oil bottles on logs in a field, empty beer cans, airliners flying overhead, etc.).

We got bored of the simple ****, and wanted to be more destructive. Well, I have a rather large collection of trucks and such in the back of the field and many have good running gear, but the bodies are worthless, and plan to tear them bodies off to take in for scrap once I get the '86 done. This includes the Highboy.

I only load my 20 gauge pump with slugs.. I don't hunt, so I don't need buckshot- it's only for fun, and home defense. Loaded her up with five rounds, and started shooting at various things on the truck- nothing I planned to save. Well, going for a little challenge, I drew down on the passenger door, door lock, from about 30-40 yards away. Hit it dead on, if not just a hair to the right- there was a quarter moon crescent section left of the outter lock ring. The bullet tore right through the door, then bounced off the column, putting a great dimple dent in the housing, before slipping into the dash between the gauge cluster face, and the edge of the steel dash opening, nicking the metal slightly.

Guess I'm glad I don't plan to use that gauge cluster.lol the steering wheel still turns nicely, so it wasn't hurt mechanically, but you can't miss the dent.

None the less, I have better columns, but that one now has 'character'.