Traded a scrap motor for a 1989 4wd 300 i6 5 speed f150. Paid 300$ for a 1978 2wd 300 i6 4 speed. The 89 the body is rusted out and dead and the efi is jacked up. The 78 the trans is going out. This is going to be a work truck no lift no big tires. Got a set of 285/75r16 for it. I'm not doing a body swap. I don't care about how good you think a straight axle is. If I have to I will just swap the trans in.but I could use the 4wd.
Thank you
Brian

 

So I want to swap the TTB into the 78 coil spring for coil spring.

 

Ok. Start fabricating and we'll follow along. Post lots of pics and detailed descriptions.

 

It is not as simple as just swapping in the front end. The 2WD and 4X4 are different frames entirely on the 78. Add in the fact that it was never designed for TTB, you got yourself a hell of a fabrication job in the making. Anything CAN be done, but it sounds like you are not looking for an extensive project.

 

Was hopping that the dual I-beam would be similar to the TTB. Or close enough to make it easier. If I can get time I will start measuring and get some pics . Hoping someone would have some knowledge about the TTB.

 

The similarity of the axles is somewhat irrelevant. Read this thread if you want to find out how much work is involved to convert a 2WD frame to 4x4. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...on-thread.html


Then when you are done with all of that, you still have to worry about the TTB after that. However, to most directly answer your question, the TTB to straight axle conversion on the newer trucks is not that hard from what I have read, so the reverse should be more or less true. (Sorry, no direct experience). It looks way easier than converting the frame I would guess. A quick Google search for "TTB to solid axle swap" gives you tons of options for reading material, but I am not 100% of the off-site linking rules here and I am too lazy to look that up too.

 

Oh heck no. It seemed with all your determination above that you were familiar with what is needed to be done... Tons of fab work and home engineering.... get under there and take a look.... tat massive x-member has to go away or significantly clearanced..... plus: t-case, driveshafts, trans mount, TTB, shock mounts, and yes, steering.

 

I have all of those parts. I have a whole 4wd truck but the body is bad. I have a friend that builds custom 4x4s. The TTB can be upgraded to 8 lug easy.but I don't need super 4x4. And I have a whopping 300$ total in both trucks.

 

Low buck cost don't matter none if the project is still borne at the outset. Gotta do lots of pre-planning even before torching off the first part... and what might be a good deal in the beginning might not be a good idea in the long run.

IMO, yer better off doing a body swap.

 

The TTB beams are quite a bit shorter than the dentside I-beams. I know that much.