I am looking at several f600s some have the 5 lug wheel pattern while others have had the 6 lug wheel pattern. I need the truck to be 4x4 and would like to know how many were made and were all 4x4 f600 6 lug? Oldest f600 is from 1964 and "newest" is 1976.

 

I doubt you'll be able to learn how many F-600s were in general produced for those years, and really doubt you'll be able to learn numbers based on the narrow parameters you've laid out. Add to that the tendancy, as I've seen on my era trucks, of Marmon-Herrington to fit their conversions in some instances with older specification components (such as the five lug wheels) that by 1964 would have been an F-500 feature.

The one cautionary point that I'd suggest you focus on with any 1963 or 1964 F-600 having the 6 lug on 8.75" pattern is their hub piloted mounting system. During those two years F-600s used the hub piloted two part widow maker wheels having Firestone RH-5° outer rims. Service for them is hard to find and they are dangerous, and no hub piloted modern replacement wheel exists. Stu

 

Thanks for that. But before I go look at any of these truck do the 4x4 versions have hubs or are they air lockers. A pic of the wheel on a 4x4 would be fantastic

 

The 4x4 system used on the newer trucks I'm not gonna know much about. The hub piloted mounting will be easiest to identify if you see captive floating washers behind the lug nuts. Pictured.



Here is the hub piloted 6 x 8.75" widow maker.



Cross section of the widow maker RH-5°. Stu

 

The era you are talking about was pre-air locker for that kind of truck. I would expect OEM hubs to be standard hubs. Warn made their fortune replacing fixed hubs on vehicles of that era.

 

Does this appear to be 4x4 then? I'm new to the whole MD trucks thing.

 

Looks like a standard straight axle hub to me, not a drive axle. Drive axle:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...c805639cfa.jpg

This is an image showing the locking/unlocking type hubs:

http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/app/...charger-2A.jpg

 

I didn't know if MD trucks had lockers. Just wanted to confirm for sure. Thanks!

 

Locking hubs are different from what are commonly known as "lockers". Just to help you out, gosh I get keyboard happy after a few glasses of Red Label...
Lockers turn an open differential into a spooled differential so that the wheels on either side of the axle are locked together.
Locking hubs lock the hub to the axle shaft for enabling 4wd, it may still have an open diff with locking hubs.
All 4x4 vehicles have locking hubs whether manual or automatic (vacuum/air).
Not all 4x4 vehicles have a locker in the front.

Hope this helps!

 

Older trucks simply had a stub axle in the hub with a flange cap in some cases. The front driveline turned all the time. Engagement of the front axle was controlled at the transfer case.

Check out this flange cap from an early GMC military truck:

Military G749 M135 M211 GMC Front Axle Flange Cap Assembly 2283039 7411306 Used | eBay

It engages the front axle shaft:

Boyce Equipment)

I believe most axles of the time worked similarly.

Warn got the ball rolling with the locking/unlocking hub:

https://www.warn.com/corporate/history.jsp

 

a 4x4 will stand out as they sit very high over a 2wd truck, like over a foot of fender to front tire clearance. Never seen a locker in one, I have a few 71-79 factory f600 4wd's. some have warn hubs, most just have a drive flange (always in). every one I have seen has 6 lug hugs, marmon herrington conversion at a local junkyard has dayton wheels in back, and dayton adapters up front. but totally different front axle.

 

1971 was the first year that factory installed 4WD was available in F600's.

All previous year F600's with 4WD were aftermarket conversions, mostly by Marmon-Herrington.

Note: Some 1971 and later F600's could also be aftermarket conversions.