Truck: 1964 ford f100 292 y-block 3 on the tree, long bed 2wd.

Plan: Go to pick n pull, find an old Dana 44/60 that accepts leaf springs, mount it up, connect the steering linkages, possibly small lift blocks to make the rear match the front for ride height, and drive it.
Not getting transfer case, ring and pinion gears to match the rear, or drive shaft yet.

Reason: eventually ill be getting the transfer case and drive shafts installed, this is just so I can have a straight, unbent axle under my truck, for when I do add the other parts ill have 4wheel drive if and when I need it (i live in snow 4-5 months of the year). Plus the stock setup eats tires, sometimes, I'm not sure when, not sure which direction I turn when it happens, but my driver side tire rubs on the output shaft of the steering box and gouges out the inside of the tire. I haven't had it blow out yet, but only time can tell when that's gonna happen. I'm not worried about replacing tires, as the front two are 70s bias ply tires that amazingly still hold air, and I work at a tire shop.

Concern: I'm not positive on how well, or if my steering setup currently will work and accept the axle and allow it to be drivable. Are there any dropdown brackets available, or a longer pitman arm?? What all else will I need to take from the picknpull to be able to get this set up right??

Any help is appreciated along with advice, and thanked for in advance.
Cory

 

Only trouble I see is the pumpkin coming into contact with the engine unless u lift it a bit for clearance the 2wd front springs are also narrower than the 4wd front springs not sure if that'll be a problem but steering hooks up pretty much the same way may be a different drag link though

 

Go for it. I want to do it to the '64 but haven't had time.

 

Yeah, you might need some lift springs in the front and will need lift blocks in the rear to level it out.
Hardest part might be finding the axle....

 

Is the 4x4 steering box set ahead of the axle? Where does the cross member sit in the 2x4?

 

Nope behind the axle the crossmember in front of the engine just like a 2wd but the truck sits much higher as a 4wd

 

Idk if this will help but this is my 4x after I just test fit the engine it sits pretty high stock

 

Love the crank pulley are you going with AC

 

Well my original plans with the truck were to try to keep it as close to stock height as possible, but from the looks of it I won't be able to do that, how does 4" lift blocks/springs sound in the front and something like 5-6" to level the rear sound?? Too much, too little?? Or am I gonna just have to mount it up stock and see where it sits and go from there?? I've done axle swaps in the past on newer vehicles that came stock with ifs and didn't run into many problems other that steering linkages, but as I know that the steering box in this truck are practically un-moveable that is my main concern. I don't want to run a sky high setup and risk taking a corner with my center of gravity being raised and risk tipping over. And I also don't want to have to install any aftermarket sway bars, or anti roll kits, I want to be able to keep it pretty much stock aside from adding 4x4 for the winters here, as this is my daily driver.

Also for axle choice, I was thinking something like a d44 or d60 from a later model (65-75) ford truck. I have acces to cutting tools and welders, and all the scrap metal and fabrication tools ill need so if I have to chop off some coil buckets and weld up some leaf perches, or relocate existing leaf perches that's perfectly fine. I just don't know the width that's required, nor what year/model to look for it on.

I could go aftermarket and have an axle made and shipped to me, but I'm not exactly prepared to spend thousands of dollars on an axle when there are 4-5 large picknpulls within 100 miles that only charge $250 for the axle (hub to hub) complete.

Thanks to everyone who has pitched in so far, and to who posted the picture, the only thing I cojldnt see was any steering setup, and that's my main concern as of now. That and axle width.

 

The truck was optioned from the dealer with power assist steering and a/c so the pulleys were on there already as for the steering setup I can't help you much there as I'm doing a totally custom setup to get rid of the power assist if you take a look at the picture though you can see where the original steering box mounted right where a 2wd would if your going to swap a like axle front look for one 76-79 for ford or if you want to go with a different transfer case you could run a chevy front axle they both run 31.5" from center of spring to center of spring it all can be done just how much work do you want to do I'll help with what I can

 

Well I think in my head I have the steering setup figured out, I definitely don't want to run a Chevy part in a ford,im not opposed to Chevy, just don't want to mix parts. That's like a Fummins (cummins dodge motor in a ford truck) I just don't think that's right. I want to keep my ford, all ford. I'm planning to take two to three days off of work and hopefully, by myself, get everything mounted up and driving and steering on its own. I want to try keeping it a manual steering setup, but if the axle makes it too difficult ill figure that out when the time arises. I'm going to go pick out an axle two weeks from now and run through it to make sure its all gonna function properly, and then will come to mount it up and see how smooth or unsmooth the process will go.

Thanks again for all the help guys!!

 

Maybe look at the older full size Jeep wagoneers.....I think they used a dana 44 front axle. Used to be lots of those setting around, I suppose they all got crushed. I never see any anymore....

I will try to measure the front axle in my 62 4x4......

 

The engine sits way lower than the post '66 highboys.

 

Do your homework first.

I personally wouldn't be concerned what brand of vehicle the axle came from since it was mfg. by Dana.

Also I wouldn't even consider using the 2wd F100 spring packs or the factory steering, spend some time at the local wrecking yard and look at every leaf spring / straight axle 4wd you can find. I'd look at your truck as just bare frame rails, what will be easiest to transfer from a donor truck?

Long term plans on a transfer case? That will determine if you want a driver or passenger side drop. Willing to swap the rear axle? That will determine / limit front axle choice if you want a matching lug pattern.

BillaVista.com-Dana 60 Front Axle Bible Tech Article by BillaVista


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Good luck on your project, every 4wd drive conversion I've done turns out to WAY more complicated than just finding the correct front axle.

 

The thing is, I'm trying to limit myself on getting rid of original parts, my intention from the beginning when I got this truck was to completely restore it from the ground up, but shortly after, realised that I live where in one night alone it can and has in the past, dropped 3+ feet of snow, and in a week, over 10 feet, and weighed out my options and decided I'm gonna want/need 4wheel drive. By saying Chevy axle, I know that its still a dana, but with the passenger drop, most would see it as a Chevy part on a ford, I'd like to keep the driver side drop as acquiring a transfer case for the application is as easy as getting one out of a truck from the appropriate years. My plans soon thereafter changed again, to wanting to keep the outside looking original, but under the hood, custom, in the cab, majority wise original save for my already replaced stereo system. I'm leaning more towards finding an appropriate size Dana 60 as I'm replacing the engine with a 460 big block, 6 speed transmission, and a Dana 70 or 80 rear axle, both of which I have on hold until I make my decision on which one. I'll have a bigger powerplant meaning I need everything that it touches to either be bigger, or stronger, respectfully. I already have the engine, I picked it up for $200 locally and all it needs is a carburetor and the belts, it was freshly rebuilt and stroked 2,000 miles ago. I'm yet to see his performance specs of just over 500hp as the thing needs what he said at least a 600cfm carb.