Hey guys I have the below truck

1983 F150 4x4 4spd 3.55gears single cab long bed.

I am planning on putting one of my spare 3.55 10.25 sterlings under it and changing the front d44 spindles to the 8lug. that being said I know the rear axle with the f250 leafs are going to boost the truck some.

The question is will getting a set of F250 2wd front spings lift the front to bring them back to even? or close to it?

IF so will the amount of lift from the F250 springs mess with my steering or alignment? I will get the truck aligned after the swap of course but do i need any additonal parts besides the front springs?

 

I doubt the 250 coils will lift the truck much if any.


Why exactly are you swapping springs in the rear?

 

Getting rid of the 1/2 ton rear leafs and 8.8in rear. Replacing with F250 10.25 sterling and F250 leafs in rear (not sure if F250 leafs are overload springs or not...). and then swaping the spindls up front so I have 8lugs to match the rear sterling axle. I figured putting the sterling and f250 leafs in back would give the 1/2 ton a 1.5-3in lift which would put the front end sloping down (ie a more extream "raked" look). I just want it to sit level when done.

 

Hey, the TTB isnt as easy as a spindle swap to get 8 lugs up there from what I remember... It requires some Chevy parts, some cutting of the knucle and so on...

 

what dave said. i don't even think the hd d44 ttb parts are swappable to the half ton d44 ttb. pretty sure there was a guy here in offroad that's also on fsb that did the 8 lug swap and sterling to his 80's bronco, but i can't remember his name....

 

really???

I was on the 80-86 forum the other day and someone told me I could put the 8lug D50 spindles from my 88 F250 (parts truck) on the 83 D44. They said it was a bolt up swap! Grrr... I have 2 new sets of tires for the 8lugs and thought it wouldn't be a bad upgrade after i sup-up the 300 I6 to swap the 10.25 into the rear but then I would need 8 lugs up front...

So i guess I was told wrong and there is more to changing my D44 into an 8 lug...???

 

I'm almost + that guy is wrong. One way to find out. Try it. Lol.

 

give this a read, i just skimmed it, but i believe it'll give you some answers.
Ford ½ Ton TTB to ¾ Ton 8-Lug conversion - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest

 

thanks guys I'll give it a read... seems like they were doing the same thing I am... have a spare parts F250 and a 1/2ton f150...

 

Seems like youre going to be looking for a 3/4 ton Chebby 10bt.

 

why not just buy a 3/4 ton D44 and do a SAS? or a D60 seems it be about as easy.... and i know it be stronger

 

on a serious note, not everyone can weld or fab, some are smart enough not to do it and realize that a simple hand tool part swap is way more their speed and ability. look around the web, a lot more folks should take this route, yet instead they choose the booty fab half *** "fab" route. <---this post will come back to haunt me

 

Like the above guys said, you can't swap the D50 spindles on. The only thing you can use off of it is the inner axle stub and the pumpkin. Also, here's another link about the Chevy conversion.

For what you're looking to get out of it, why not just swap in the F-250 leaf pack with the stock lift block and leave the 8.8 in? This was my truck back in the day with HD progressive front coils and JY F250 HD 5-leaf packs (no overloads) in the rear with the factory blocks. It was a cheap way to net a couple inches of lift.


Before:


Hope this helps you some.

 

Thanks guys... The 83 has been in my wifes family since it was new and the inlaws want to see it salvaged for some good... I'm in the process of doing some power additions to the 300 I6 right now ! But was looking ahead to see what I could expect to be doing in the future if I wanted to go the HD 8lug route with a little lift. We really don't need the extra "heft" of the 8lug axles but 2 of my trucks will probably be going to the crusher this summer and wanted to know what I "might" want to save before they go. Thanks guys for the links I will save them and start making parts lists so we can see what it might cost us to do something like this.

As for the d44 or d60 SAS... I thought about it and I might check into it. My buddy has a 79 with a solid front axle but not sure what it is... He told me he's waiting for the next "push, pull, drag" sale that will give him $2000 for it. UGH!!!

Dan,
You are definatly right about this... I only have about 20-30hrs behind a welder so I am by no means a "PRO" at welding. Before I start doing any kind of structural welds than need to hold weight I will definalty be practicing a lot more!!!!! I am pretty good with the mig now and can lay flat beads around corners and get good penetration... I definatly will not be "booty fabing" one of my trucks! If I'm ever in need my brother has a couple hunder hrs behind a welder and is really really good at it... Case of beer and I should be good to go that way. Until I am a little better with a welder I will stick to the nut and bolt additions...


Thanks for all the help guys!