I have a thrown-together '73/'76/'79 F250 4x4 that I'm working on to use as a bale-hauler. It currently has a regular flat bed (which is for sale) which will be replaced by a Winkle bale bed.

It has a decent-running 390, though the engine is nothing special. Two-barrel carb and DS-II distributor with GM HEI module. 4-speed manual transmission seems to be in excellent shape. Power steering came off a '79 4x4. There is no rust anywhere on the cab.

Currently it has a few problems -
1) It has pretty bad "bump steer" due to a mis-aligned steering drag link2) Fuel tank pick-up tube (behind the seat) leaks at about a half-tank which effectively cuts my fuel capacity in half.3) Missing fuel level float4) Sagging head-liner5) PO installed a CD player and cut up the cluster in the process6) Drivers window is difficult to roll up/down7) Clutch/brake linkage under the dash is wore out

8) No Sway barsHere are a few pics:

 

That is one heavy duty looking front guard.

 

Yeah, it is - though I'm not a real big fan; I'd rather have a factory chrome bumper and maybe a front bull bar.

 

Really cool truck, can we get more pics of the bed?

 

Yeah, I'll get a few pics showing the details. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?

 

Does anybody have any pics of the front sway bar for a '77-'79 F250? I can't seem to find anything online.

 

D60 setup

 

If you could get a good shot of the underside, like mounting brackets, the bottom frame of the bed and such. Also, what size tires and how much lift (if you have any). Going to build my own and I'm trying to get ideas for the frame and how high it needs to set.

 

Larry "advanced search" the 73-79 forum for "flat bed ideas", there a few threads with a ton of ideas.

pinhead nice rig.

Grinner that is a very very very nice underside of a truck.

 

Thanks for those, grinnergetter!

Where did you get yours? I thought I was going to be able to rig one up from a '77 2wd or an '89 4wd but it's not looking promising and it looks like I may need to buy one.

Does this look like the same front axle?




I got a few more pics of the flat bed.

 

pinhead that pic you posted looks like a D44 with ball joints and NOT kingpins.

D60 101 for ya. BillaVista.com-Dana 60 Front Axle Bible Tech Article by BillaVista

 

Nice truck Pinhead, that bumper should be able to keep the gophers in line.
Farmers and scarecrows are always outstanding in their field.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

I was able to graft a rear sway bar from a '78 F250 Camper Special onto this F250. It was too dark out to take any pictures, though.

The biggest difference I noticed was, on the '78, the rear axle has two "pucks" which keep the u-bolt mounted sway bar from moving around on the axle tubes. The rear axle on this pickup doesn't have those pucks.

Will this allow the sway bar to move around on the axle? Or will tightening the U-Bolts down keep the whole thing from moving?

Another thing I noticed, the '78 has 3" wide springs, this has a narrower set, and the '78 has a wider overall frame width.

 

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I was able to graft the rear stabilizer bar (sway bar) from the '78 Camper Special onto the rear of my '76. The frames are different widths but I was able to bend the end links to fit my frame. The ride is MUCH better, even without the front sway bar installed.

The front will be much more difficult but I think I have a plan which will reduce the bump steer by lifting the front by an inch-and-a-half while also providing me a mount point for the '78 2wd sway bar.

To be continued.