a mild off road build
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Senior User
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a mild off road build
This highboy has been in the family a long time. My parents moved so they gave the truck to me if I came and got it. Since I left home the truck has only been driven one or two times a year at most, no real maintenance done. It got 8 mpg for the 300 miles I brought it to its new home.
1977
F250
4wd
390fe
4speed
I went to turn around in my field to get a load of wood and the truck sunk... 5 stuck trucks latter we got or neighbor with his skidder to pull us out. An older chevy showed up and pulled out a few trucks. It was a fun weekend, but I want my truck to do the pulling out.
To start with I would like new tires off road mud I don't drive it on the street much at all. Maybe a locker kit for the rear or limited slip diff.
What are your opinions on making this truck handle my farm mud.
1977
F250
4wd
390fe
4speed
I went to turn around in my field to get a load of wood and the truck sunk... 5 stuck trucks latter we got or neighbor with his skidder to pull us out. An older chevy showed up and pulled out a few trucks. It was a fun weekend, but I want my truck to do the pulling out.
To start with I would like new tires off road mud I don't drive it on the street much at all. Maybe a locker kit for the rear or limited slip diff.
What are your opinions on making this truck handle my farm mud.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 685
Likes: 2
What is your budget on this build?
There are two main ways to get more traction in mud. Lockers and tires.
As far as lockers go, you can forget limited slips. In really slippery situations you are essentially left with one drive wheel per axle. A locker "locks" both axle shafts together giving twice the traction. There are manual selection lockers like ARB and OX lockers that let you manually change from open diffs to a spool.
Automatic lockers like Detroits and lunchbox lockers automatically lock when in low traction situations. In the detroit, no wheel is allowed to spin slower than the ring gear. But in a corner one wheel can spin faster and "ratchet". If they were locked full time it would cause excessive tire wear and poor handling characteristics.
Find out what your truck already has. If you have open diffs wth spider gears, lunchbox lockers can be installed in your drive way for less than $500 front and rear. If you have a factory limited slip, you will need something like an ARB or Detroit to replace the stock carrier.
Aggressive mud tires will help out quite a bit too!
There are two main ways to get more traction in mud. Lockers and tires.
As far as lockers go, you can forget limited slips. In really slippery situations you are essentially left with one drive wheel per axle. A locker "locks" both axle shafts together giving twice the traction. There are manual selection lockers like ARB and OX lockers that let you manually change from open diffs to a spool.
Automatic lockers like Detroits and lunchbox lockers automatically lock when in low traction situations. In the detroit, no wheel is allowed to spin slower than the ring gear. But in a corner one wheel can spin faster and "ratchet". If they were locked full time it would cause excessive tire wear and poor handling characteristics.
Find out what your truck already has. If you have open diffs wth spider gears, lunchbox lockers can be installed in your drive way for less than $500 front and rear. If you have a factory limited slip, you will need something like an ARB or Detroit to replace the stock carrier.
Aggressive mud tires will help out quite a bit too!
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Im pretty sure I have open diff's. I guess I need to pull the pumpkin cover to see and find out how many splines my axles have. The detroit auto lockers seam like a good point to start. I found some 35x12X16.5 bfg mud terrains I might get with wheels.
Do 35" tires fit this truck ok with out a lift?
Do 35" tires fit this truck ok with out a lift?
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From: Wingo, Ky
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I found the solution! I bought a good running 79 f250 4x4 lifted on 38's with a 429 for $500. It yanked out the 77 pretty good. I also made a few passes through the mud/lake in my field. I broke a u joint but got it fixed and played some more. 
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