NOW THAT I HAVE MY TRUCK AT A LOCATION FOR WORK, I HAVE DISCOVERED I HAVE AN 8 LUG 250 (A 66) CAMPER SPECIAL. I WILL NEVER BE PUTTING A CAMPER ON IT, AND WILL BE UPGRADING THE DRIVETRAIN TO A 428 GT/ C6 OUT OF A 68 TORINO (WITH ONLY 90,000 ORIGINAL MILES AND NO PREVIOUS ENGINE WORK). I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT F250 PARTS FOR SUSPENSION AND BRAKES MAY COST AS MUCH AS 5 TIMES MORE FOR SOME PARTS AS OPPOSED TO A F100 FOR 65/66. I KNOW DISC SPINDLES FROM A 73-79 F100 WILL GO ON THE FRONT (MAKING A FIVE LUGGER), BUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE REAR?

1. DO I NEED TO COMPLETELY SWAP THE AXLE?

2. OR COULD I JUST SWAP THE COMPONENTS TO MAKE THE REAR A FIVE LUG?

3. OR ANYONE HAVE A BETTER IDEA?

I FOUND A COMPLTE 75 ABOUT A MILE FROM MY HOUSE TO HELP GIVE AN IDEA OF WHAT I WOULD BE TRYING TO SWAP. I HAVE FOUND BRAKE PARTS AND THE LIKE ARE READILY AVAILABLE, EASIER TO LOCATE, AND MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE FOR A 75 SUSPENSION / BRAKE SYSTEM. I AM GOING TO STAY WITH THE 66 FRAME.

(THE ORIGINAL 352 IS NOT THERE AND WAS PREVIOUSLY REPLACED BY EITHER A 351 OR 400 WITH A C6 PRIOR TO MY POSSESSION, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE A CUSTOM ROD PROJECT WITH MODERN UPGRADES THROUGHOUT, NOT A TRUE ORIGINAL SPEC RESTORE EXCEPT FOR THE BODY WILL REMAIN. SO EVEN EXOTIC SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. A 2"-3" DROP MAY ALSO BE FORTHCOMING IF I CAN BEAR TO PART WITH THE $$$$ FOR DROP IBEAMS)

THANKS

 

There are so many f100 guys that would love a f250. You should try to find someone too trade with or take the body off and put it on a 72 and up chassis and have disk brakes and five lugs.

The f250 chassis should be easy to move in the classifieds here.

44Dwarf.

 

I ACTUALLY CONSIDERED THAT, BUT...

IT IS A CALIFORNIA TRUCK AND HAS SOME SURFACE RUST BUT HAS NEVER BEEN WRECKED. IT'S STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW. EVEN THE IN BED TOOL BOX IS IN FACTORY ISSUE CONDITION. I WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND SUCH A SWEET STARTING POINT AGAIN, ESPECIALLY A 38 YEAR OLD ONE. SECOND MAJOR POINT IS I KNOW THIS FRAME WILL HOLD TOGETHER WITH THE 428GT PUMPING THROUGH IT. ALSO, THE PULL OUT BUMPER WILL NOT GO FOR A CAMPER, BUT HAS POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER "CUSTOM" FEATURE I'M MULLING OVER (BUT WE WILL DISCUSS THAT ONE IN AN LATER EPISODE!!. CAN'T LET OUT ALL MY SECRETS)

I MAY JUST GET A REAR DISC CONVERSION AND GO FOR BROKE WITH THE EIGHT LUG SYSTEM. I WILL BE PARTING WAYS WITH THE 351 / C6 AS I AM POSITIVE IT IS NOT THE 352. I WILL ALSO HAVE ALOT OF THE ORIGINAL PARTS TO DOLE OUT TOO AS I REMOVE THEM.

 

Cpt. Welcome to FTE. Converting your F250 Camper Special to F100 1/2 ton with 5 on 5.5 lug pattern is as simple as un doing a few bolts and swapping out the front and rear suspension. I'd convert the front to Disks with power steering and the rear to Ford 9 inch with your favorite ratio. I rebuild the I-beams, spindles, king pins, bushings, radius arms and all tie rods and steering links. Then jack up the truck and swap it all out in a easy weekend. Lose the all CAPS! It's consider3d shouting and is hard to read. Please post back and let us know how this project goes. You are right about the rust free body.

 

thanks William.

Iam definitely going front disk, power steering, and power brakes up front. Already have a booster and pedal for the brakes and may have a tilt column to install. until i decide if i am going to drop it, i am just going to knock out the king pins and set up the front.

still undecided on the rear. i am going to crawl under it later and get the numbers to see what the rear is and maybe that will help me decide.

heres an idea, tub out the back with the 8 lug and put 13" 5 lug on the front... hey that wasn't kool aid in that cup??

 

Well now that I crawled under the truck, I think I have a Dana tucked under the back. However i could not find the numbers stamped on it. any sure way to tell?

I also found that the underside and frame was previously cleaned up and painted prior to my aquisition (I am not optimistic enough to believe its the factory job), and I could not find any rust. Looks like I really made out like a bandit. Even the body mount bushings show minimal wear.

 

CPT. You could convert the front to disk brakes using F250 disks. These are available I think they are not common but they are available. King pins are a real PITA! It will be easier if you pull the I-Beams and spindles as a unit and have the pins and bushings pressed out. Then reassemble everything, add new rubber I-Beam pivot bushings and radius arm bushings and slide all that back under the truck. I always do it this way because working on the bench gets better quality work and those thin shims are a real challenge. You could do a lot on the building of this truck and convert it to F100 later.

 

hey William,

going to stick with the 8 lug as I found a 70's F250 to donate the discs.

Do the IBeams interchange from the 66 and 75 years? If they do, I am going to have the scrap man unbolt them there as i am also taking the steering linkage, ps gearbox, and maybe the column. Be alot easier to build everything up and then I could swap everything in one swoop. Then I could leave the truck whole and not need to prop it up until the swap. Would save a lot of greef on the king pins as i would not have to mess with them.

thanks

Ron