i'm thinking of buying a 1953 f-250 i found. it needs redone and i thought it would be neat to convert it to 4wd using rears from a 1977.5-1979 f-250 and a divorced t-case from a pre 1977.5 highboy and using a 351w 5-speed combo i have that came from an 80's f-250 2wd... i have al these parts eccept the springs, driveshafts and such wich would all be custom made stuff anyway..

now i'm asking for pics of any 53-56 f-250s that members may have and if anyone has one they converted to 4wd id love to see it and maybe get some info from you. like is the track from the 70's trucks close enough that i could use these rears un-modified.

 

'73 and newer rear ends are wider. However, the '57-72 9" (5lug) and Dana 60 (8 lug) rear are easy to install. So finding one with a gear ratio the same as the front, would be the hardest part, and even then, not too difficult.

 

well i have a 1970 2wd f-250 d60 rear here with 410's, but all i have access to is 73-up front rears and id want a 77.5-up non highboy peice anyway becouse id want real power steering on it.. do you know the diferance in width and stuff, i saw in a quick gogle search a 1955 ford pickup on an 80's chassis and the track seemed to work fine on that.

 

I've started researching the front axle myself, and AFAIK the front axle width is the same from '59-79 for factory Ford 4x4 solid front axles. ( I did not include the ITT from 1980 and on) So I would guess the 2wd front axle width should be the same, or really close. All of my parts for this are buried in the snow out back, so I haven't put the tape measure to it all, yet.

Others here have done it, so some searches here may do the trick. A couple I know off hand are 51dueller (2wd, but used a 70's f350 frame and shows the newer trackwidth up front and how if fits the fenders) and 52'F-3.

....and kenjh, and fordman75

 

well here is my 54 4X4..parts are a pain..the bronco axles fit.

 

well i tried searches and found little, hopefully they post up on this thread.

but as for what we know know. your thinking that the 73-79 front rear should be the same width as the 72-back rear rear. i mean this would mean that thae 73-up trucks hae a wider truack out back then they do in the front from the factory, shouldnt that make them drive funny. i'm just geussing, untill i go dig thru 5-6 inches of snow and mreasure this stuff in the morning.

but before i pop on buying the truck id like to know as much as possable. this is a project that rolled around inside my head for years and i never thought id find a good 53-55 f-250 long bed,wich is axactly what i wanted to use in the build and thats what i found.

 

do you got pics, also what year bronco rears??

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...136690&width=2
browse this, and it should give ya some insight, I hope.

 

well i wouldnt get that involved. i'm looking at building a 1953 ford dont those have wider frames and track then the older 52-backs. i asume they do since they have the 3-man cab.

p.s that guy does nice work, wish i had that rig.

 

2" wider frame up front, that's about it. jpb222 is another one who used EB axles.

The 52'F-3 gallery is a bit involved, but if you look closely at his pics, you'll see the front wheels are further out from the disc rotors, than a stock wheel from the 70's would be. I'm not sure if he used wheel adapters or not, but by the looks of it, I would say yes.

51dueller: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...229033&width=0

 

hm, ok. i geuss with my red-necking abilty and you guyses help i could build this rig.

know i have a question about these year trucks. maybe i should just post it in the forum but i'll ask here first. do these year fords tend to hve rust issues in the roof or anywhere tht it is hard to fix. becouse finding another cab wil be impossable beings i'm in pa where **** rusts.. and this one needs floor work, rockers and cab corners.. is ther any companies repoping the parts for these trucks.

 

Here's the pic from 52'F-3 that shows how "inboard" the rotors are:


I could guess he cut the axle too narrow, but that would just be a guess. I just need to measure everything myself to be sure.

One way or another it can be done.

 

i think he has the bud wheel spacers on it in those pics, since he is running bud wheels in the last pic. but those arent in that pic there.

 

He might have cut the axle so that the spring pads lined up??

I have a hard time staying focused on one project, with so many scattered everywhere lol, but tomorrow, I can trek out and get some measurements, and if anyone else can chime in, we can get this all put down as FACT, for future reference for 4x4 conversions.

 

that would be nice, let me post up pics of this truck and you guys can decide if it's a good deal or not.