I have a 1956 F350 dually with flat bed that I would like to fix up to use on our ranch and maybe use to tow a few trailers. But without front disc brakes it is not usable for this purpose. There are no disc brake conversions available for the F350's, so I have been doing some research and have found a donor truck in a 1987 F350 dually cab and chassis with a carbureted 460 with auto trans AND it's a 4 wheel drive to boot! The 4X4 makes it VERY usable for our ranch and I think gives it more resale value.

The donor truck still runs good, the trans is good, new radiator, it has nice aluminum wheels and good tires, and no accidents. And I can get it for just $1000.

I am looking for ANYBODY that can give me an idea of what all this swap will entail and if there is any shop that specializes in this kind of thing where I can go for help? What I read here is a lot folks chiming in without fully reading the question and they get off track. There is little help for owners of an F350 verses the very popular F100.

From what I can see so far is the 1956 cab should fit on the frame using the old mounting brackets from the original frame. Just reposition them on the 1987 frame. It is mounting the fenders and radiator support and maybe recessing the firewall for the engine that I need to figure out. I am not looking to make a low riding truck, after all this is an F350 4X4 that I am looking to create. So I don't see the need to start channeling the cab or start chopping things up.

Any help would very appreciated!

 

This is like any swap, anything is possible. If your skills and abilities are up to it.
The changes between 2nd generation trucks and 8th generation are huge.


You present a vague question like this!

Then you shut down any likely responses with a statement like this!
Sometimes you have to sort out the responses.

This is a very ambitious project. You need to start whittling down questions in to more specifics.
What do you want the finished truck to look like, how will it be used?
How do you deal with
track width differences You want the wheels inside the fenders?
wheel base differences?
Chassis layout differences IE engine bay/cab. May have to adjust the firewall
Front axle much closer the end of frame rail
This is very much on the darkside. I doubt that you will find a shop that specializes in this swap.
Start with a tape-measure between the two trucks to find the deferences.

With a list of specific questions you can search this forum or the Eighth gen forum and start coming up with solutions.

You will find plenty of help here. There are plenty of dark siders who have achieved great results either from catalogs or scavenging parts or a combination to get the job done. Many of us started with little skills but good attitudes, and asked a lot of specific questions.

 

What I noticed that I found frustrating is when questions are being asked specifically about the larger F350 and people would chime in with advice on how to do it with a F100. I find that of little help since the models are so different and many mechanical parts are not interchangeable. There are many problems that are very specific to the F350. For instance, the threads on possible disc brake conversions for the F350 always get people telling you how to do it for the F100, which doesn't help you at all. Either people don't read the question carefully or they don't know the difference between the F350 and F100. Which is scarier? But I have also found LOTS of good information here, that's why I registered!

I have just been frustrated trying to find credible information to help me decide what to do with the truck I have. My family has owned it since 1970 and I would like to make it usable again because the body is in really good shape.

 

I can really appreciate this concept of keeping the truck on the road and usable.
Don't get discouraged.
If your research shows the the 87 chassis requires to much fabrication and modifying. It may be more realistic to find a different donor.
If it were me I would check with the pre-79 Axles that are closer to the same width. Your frame if it is solid should be plenty strong enough!
Its much easier to change axles than entire chassis.
If you want a newer electronic engine, you may need two donors.

 

Wow, that didn't take long! See here (and yes I do know the difference between a M/F3 and an F350, but such a swap is rare enough that you'll have to take what you can get, the issues are similar. ):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...reckoning.html
There is another member on here, excuse me but his user name escapes me at the moment, but his truck's name is Abbey that successfully did a 56 F350 4x4.
I'd guess that questions on the big jobs are answered with info on the light duties because a lot of people buy a big job but don't need the load capacity and a lot of the F100 parts do interchange and are much easier to find. IIRC there is a guy on ebay that sells disk conversions with 8 lug hubs.

 

Great link AXE!
Dave it looks like Nathan's research may provide you with plenty to think about!

 

You are also going to have to get picture posting in your threads down to just a few clicks. So much of what you are going to do is things we will need to see. A pic is worth a thousand words as they say. To do it in a few clicks I have found that being a supporter so ya can get them right of your hard drive or getting an album up so they are stored on here. Or one of the picture accounts off the web. So maybe start with some pics of yer "56.


Could we see some pictures? Here is how.


But I got ta say becoming a supporter is the fastest and easiest way to post pics right from
your whatever pad/cell thing or home computer.
Few of us look in the users Gallery or album as you can see by your recent visitors.


Quote:
Originally Posted by 76f350spercamprspeal

Welcome to FTE, Best Damn Forum EVER!
------------------------
Here's How to Post Pictures:
1. Login to FTE.
2.Click User CP (In the Top Left Hand Corner)
3.(On the Left, There will be a list, The 5th Option Down, will say "Pictures & Albums) Click That.
4.Then, Click Add Album, Enter a title, and description, if ya want to.
5. Click Upload Pictures, Then click Browse, Locate the Files of your truck. (You can add 3 files at a time)
5. Click Upload.
6. Add a description to the individual pictures, then click save.
7. Add more files if ya want.
8. Click The Picture you want to post, it will give you two codes at the bottom, Right Click The Second one (It say's BB Code, Then Say's [IMG]http:blahblahblah...[/IMG])
Then, Once that is highlighted, Right Click, Then Copy, Then Paste it into your post.
You can add up to 30 Images in one FTE Post.
If, Ya need any help, Don't hesitate to ask.


Quote:
Originally Posted by old_dan

You can also go to the "Garage" tab and start an album right here on FTE. After you post pictures to an album, we can look in your album, but you'll also be able to "insert a picture" by pasting in a link to the picture in your album.

It seems awkward, but whenever you "insert a picture" to one of these threads, the forum is looking for the picture somewhere on the web (which is always available) rather than from somewhere on your hard drive (which isn't always available).

Quote:
Originally Posted By Jolly Roger Joe

Welcome to FTE!

Go to Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and sign up for a free account. Then create an album for your truck. Upload any pics you want to post on FTE to that album. Have this album open on your computer when you want to post pics on FTE.

While you're making a post on FTE, select the pic you want to post from your Photobucket album. When the large version of the pic is open, right mouse click on it and select "View Image Info". The image info will be highlighted and will look something like this:
The best photos and videos | Photobucket

Copy that highlighted info (right click / copy).

When you have the spot in your post where you want the pic to be placed, select the "Insert Image" icon at the top of the post (looks like a mountain) and paste (right click / paste) the image info you copied in the highlighted box (just shows "http://" when it opens).

Your pic will be placed in the post.

Hope that helps.

Here's a tutorial Bob put together: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/67...-pictures.html

 

Posting photos is NOT a problem for me. I have my own server, since a dabble in web design on the side. In fact I run a couple forums myself, so I know all the ins and outs of posting to forums.

I know that I have seen mono beam axles under later model F350s but for the life of me I can't find much info about them in my web searches. No photos so far when searching Google Images. No diagrams for parts either. I did read one reference to late 70's mono beam axles used in the Ford super duty model trucks and the newer F450's, but they use 10 lug wheels not 8 lug. If I can find a donor truck cheap enough I would even try swapping the F350 twin I-beam suspension. I can weld and am not afraid to try something crazy. I just want to make sure it will work before I trash our 1956 F350 in the process!

 

The server hosting this forum has a few glitches... it gave me a database error when posting my first reply. I checked to see if it went through, but it didn't show when I refreshed to page. So I had to rewrite my posting and submit it a again. Then I find that it did go through, belatedly, and I can't delete my duplicate. So I can only edit it so you all have something new to read.

 

This forum software drives me crazy, I have only posted 4 times and twice it has screwed up when I clicked submit!


BUT.... I have a NEW question! What if I grafted a 1974 F350 Twin I-Beam suspension onto my 1956 F350 frame? That way I can keep the ride height close to stock and gain the front disc brakes that I need. I am sure some body has done this, how well does it work out? Thanks for any input...

 

have you seen these? 1849

I have a set for my 56 F250, not installed yet, but there are a few here that have them. just do a search for 'the street rod manufacturing'

 

Damn nice kit. I could stick with stock and buy a lot of gas though.

 

That would be Stephen67, but his truck is not 4WD, it's an F-600 that has been shortened.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post12194777

Davfe, the bottom line, if you've read the linked threads, is that you're going to be breaking new ground on most aspects of a build like you are contemplating, so you need to get out the measuring tape and get under these potential donors, compare everything to your F-350. The Twin I-Beam swap has been discussed here before, and never went anywhere AFAIK.

Your truck in stock form is very desirable, very capable, and I'm not sure why you want to throw most of it away. You don't need disc brakes or IFS for ranch work. Search on here for pictures of Raytasch's '56 F-350. It's a gorgeous, capable truck, used nearly daily for actual work.

 

One of things I want to do with the truck is tow a livestock trailer to take cows to auction every now and then. Without really good brakes, as in front disc brakes, do I really want to do that?

Yes I could restore it back to original, all the parts are there, but how many folks here actually do that to their trucks? I see all these postings here about upgrading this and changing that!

I still haven't made up my mind what to do and I have to now put it on hold because my hip went out again and now I have to get hip replacement surgery in two weeks. Oh well...

But here are photos I took today of the old beast as it sits behind our warehouse wasting away. One of the hood hinges won't retract after I inspected it last month, so the hood is stuck open. All the chrome goodies, bumper, grill, headlights, mirrors and emblems have been removed and stored inside the warehouse for safe keeping. It used to have a flatbed and a 300 amp Lincoln welder mounted on the back. I used to work off this truck and drive it occasionally back in high school and college (1970's) when my Dad's construction company built dairies in SoCal.