1950 4x4 conversion
 

Ok here is the deal. I have a 50 that I want to build into a 4x4. I was considering a ranger frame swap but from what I have read on here it may be a little more than I care to tackle. So here is the question, what would you guys recomend for a donor vehicle as far as suspension goes. I think that just swaping out the front suspension and rear axle may be a better route to go.

I am not building a full blown mud slinger or rock crawler, I just want a good hunting rig that will be used on and off road often.

Thanks for your input.

Mr.T

most fullsize truck axles are alittle wide (in my opinion)
that said, i think the older ford bronco's front Dana 44 axle with Radius arms and coil springs would be a good swap.
it's more difficult than a leaf spring straight axle swap.
i'm sure some other will post, any solid axle/leaf spring swap would be simplest.

I'm in the process of doing this very swap myself on my 52 F-3. I'm using the engine/tranny/t-case out of a 1979 Ford (460, C6, NP205), rear dana 60 out of a 1969 F-250. For the front axle I'm building a custom Dana 44 using the housing and internals out of a 72 and older Bronco, then swapping in a set of 1978 F-250 knuckles, spindles, hubs/rotors and brakes to give me the 8 bolt hubs.

I'm using the early bronco axle because its within an inch or so of the stock axle width. I will however be cutting off the c-wedges (which are welded on in the smaller broncos) and welding on spring perches and using leaf springs. I'm also planning on using a hybrid of the late 70's fullsize truck and the early bronco steering parts. I am also debating about trying to find a 1972 or earlier leaf sprung F-250 4x4 to pirate the leaft springs and hangers off of.

I don't have anything assembled yet, but I am collecting the parts I will need and will hopefully start putting it all together soon.

66-77 bronco track width is too narrow for the F1, though not by much. A local here, used a ranger frame to great success....I just wish I could get a hold of him. (schedules ya know) My guess would be to try a full size truck from 59-72. With an Atlas t-case that is indexable for clearance issues.

i like the sound of your build, cutting them C-wedges could be iffy, i've hear that some of those cast radius arm mounts don't have a tube all the way throught (it's like 2 short pieces, pressed into the cast from both sides)....

have you considered just getting a full width 8-lug dana 44 from and older 4x4 and just narrowing the long side tube? it's not as hard as it sounds to cut the inner "C" off (ball-joint pivot) press out the the section of tubing/cut to size and press/weld back on.
then you cans set the caster/pinion angle perfectly also.......
here's a link to one i took pictures of awhile back http://www.geocities.com/yj3qtr_ton/dana44front.html

I've done a bit of homework on the dana 44 axles and all of the early model broncos used welded on C-wedges that can be cut off. The axles that would be an issue are the 78-79 Dana 44's used on the full side broncos and F-150's that use a cast type C-wedge that it pressed on, those are the ones that don't have a complete tube.

As far as the width of the early bronco axle, from my homework I've seen that the EB bronco Dana 44 front has a width of 60 inches WMF to WMF (WMF = wheel mounting flange). My stock axle on my 52 F-3 has the same 60 in width.

I've toyed a bit with the idea of having a wider Dana 44 narrowed to fit, but I want to see if the EB bronco will work first. I'd rather not have to mess with custom axle lengths

Pre 1990 SWB Regular Cab SuperCab Front Track Rear Track
107.9 113.0 125.0 55.3 54.1
92-94 108.2 114.2 125.4 55.3 54.1
95-97 108.2 114.2 125.4 56.6 57.3
98-03 111.4 117.4 125.7 57.3 58.5

Pre 90 4x4 front axles were Dana 28's then Dana 35 in 90 if it was a 4.0L
1997 and prior are TwinTrack front ends and 98 and newer are SLA suspension.

I have some other specific body frame dimensions if you find something that will work for you. The track width looks like you would be better off using a early-mid 90 F150 SWB .