Hello friends! I've been debating new wheel and tire combo for over a year now and looking for some input. 1979 F250 Supercab 4x4. To start off, previous owner removed the stock Kingpin dana 60 and swapped in a 74 44HD front suspension with drum brakes. So I believe it sits higher than it should have with the stock D60. It came with 16" steel wheels, and I have 16" wheels with 33" tires now. Id love to go 37's but dont think they would it without additional suspension lift. I think 35's would be the biggest I could clear without fender modification. So in the mean time, ive picked up 2 sets of 16..5 wheels, Jackmans, and Turbines. I would love to clean and restore the turbines, but cannot find a decent 16..5 35" Tire.

Any help or links would be appreciated. I only put 1000 miles on her last year, so a new set would last me awhile!

Thanks!

 

I did not take my mind reading drugs today so you will have to tell us what they would be for?
For street, off road, road racing or drag racing?
Help us help you
Dave ----

 

I would keep this truck 100% street, live in the NorthEast, so sometimes record setting snowfall. I would like something I could get around all year long, and be able to tow/recover other vehicles if need be. Will not be off roading, or racing of any kind.

Thanks

 

Speaking of drugs and or crazy ideas that make me ask why did the PO do that? Anyway, you could try and locate some military take offs that are the older Goodyear Wrangler R/T II, they are 36x12.50x16.5. An old school gen 1 HMMWV tire, the 36" should fit ok. FYI they are a BIAS ply tire.

https://www.easternsurplus.net/Parts...k-Tires-Rims/1
https://www.easternsurplus.net/PartD...-RT-Boas-hmmwv

Other wise the next military take off option is a gen 2 Goodyear MT 37x12.16.5, but at least it is a radial tire.
Then the gen 3 Goodyear MT/R and the Goodyear Baja TA, but also 37" but again at least a radial tire.

The newest is the Goodyear Wrangler Enforcer MT is crazy $$$$$$$$$$https://simpletire.com/paid?v=1&tire...IaAo4oEALw_wcB

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26520673887...0aAnXHEALw_wcB

https://www.boyceequipment.com/hummer-tires

Other wise to get any other 35 X ? X 16.5 tires are going to be $$$
https://www.4wheelparts.com/b/tires-...yzjbtdZ1z0wqys

As cool as those Jackman and Turbines are, they sure limit your tire selection since they are 16.5.

 

Thank you ^
You have given me quite a few options. I guess my choice would be the Turbines...I have a set of 37 Treadwrights I need to do a test fit with. I think my best bet would be the military take off's from Boyce if it fits. Do you have any experience with the old Humvee radial tires? I thought I read somewhere that they weren't worth it as far as quality/effectivness goes?

Thanks

 

I ran the 36" bias plys on a farm truck. Not really a good daily driver pavement kind of tire. Bad handling on wet roads, but they're cheap. Bias ply means flat spots in the morning, until they get warmed up. Also if you find some of those, check the manufacturing date they're probably pretty old.

Second gen 37" tire weighs 82 lb a piece by itself, at least a radial and again can be found for cheap.

If you can get the 37" to fit, try to get some Goodyear Baja TA. Shop around the web, military take offs are all over the place as far as availability and cost.

 

Cool looking truck!
I'm sure the PO pulled the original axle for another truck they wanted to keep, and then sold this one. Nothing wrong with a 44 in general, but it's certainly going to get stressed a bit about 37" or larger tires if used hard. Luckily your intended use does not sound like it's going to cause too much drama with the smaller axle.
Does limit your choice in brakes, but it's not the end of the world.

I think the reason you look taller is not the axle swap itself, but the front springs look like they are already lift springs. Standard '79 springs would have been "reverse-arch" or "negative-arch" type, whereas from what I can see yours have a more normal positive arch like the rear springs. So there's at least a good part of your lift right there.

Very cool truck. Even has the early style grille swapped in. Very popular swap back in the day. I like them all, so no plans to change my '79 grille or lights. But it does lend an even more interesting look to a Super-Cab.

As said, good luck with 16.5 tires. The industry started getting away from them pretty much starting in the '80's and never looked back. Military probably kept them for their easier trail fixes maybe. No safety bead, so tires can be removed with tire irons and muscle. LOTS of muscle!

Good luck in the search. Keep the pics coming as you go. Let's see what you have underneath and under the hood too sometime.

Paul

 

Yea PO was a very cool dude, I wasnt a huge fan of the early grille but man has it grown on me! I rebuild both front and rear axles and breaks all around before I got it inspected so I'm pretty confident the 44HD will handle my needs with 37's. I only put 1000 miles on it last year Its a pieced together 460 bored .030 over, stainless valves, forged pistons, mild lunati camshaft. Oh and he mentioned an indexed timing set...I need to read up/learn more about that.

I'm going to test 37's before I buy, but If it does rub I would rather go small lift instead of cut/mod fenders. So suspension lift kits would make my truck a pain, because of the not matching axles, or would I just "classify" it as a 74 for the online looking up parts? And then my worry is driveshafts....or would a 2/4" lift not have much change?

Its a shame it is spray paint flat black for now, but I had to do something quick to get the whole truck matching.

When I got it home, to how it sits now

Wife was pregnant, she needed a step. Still havent decided on permanent ones

Me and my bro in-law taking our families to ice cream. He got me into these beasts

cruising


I may start a build thread, I love documenting and sharing what I do with all projects.


I appreciate all the help, comments, and feedback. This is a great place!

 

You'll need to compare some other measurements with other trucks before you'll have any reasonable idea what any kind of suspension lift will give you. As I mentioned, it's not normally the axle swap that would have lifted your truck. It's the new springs in the front.
For choosing a lift you would normally go with the model year of the truck like normal, so that's probably what you'll end up doing. Most do not swap '79 springs for an earlier model, but there are a few here that have swapped their '70's vintage front springs for later model Super Duty truck springs. So basically you just want to confirm what you have.
Maybe some good shots of the springs and mounts would let some of the experts see and tell you whether you have stock style mounts, or if they were modified for later springs. Probably not, but it will be nice to know for sure.
Or you can check with the one that did the swapping to see what was done. If they just used lifted springs for a '79 then you're good to go with taller lift springs for a '78/'79 truck.

But as with any modifications to suspension stuff, the taller you go the more you have to do to make it drive nice and safe. Lots of steering linkage stuff you have to think about. You can't just install springs and go.
Post up a shot of your steering linkage as it sits now. Not sure what all the differences were (if any) in a closed knuckle front end, but the usual suspects for a lift are:
1. Lift blocks under the steering arm at the axle.
2. Lifted steering arm on the axle.
3. Dropped pitman arm on the steering box.
4. An "S-shaped" draglink.

Sometimes only one of the above is used, sometimes a combination of 2 or more are used to compensate for the amount of lift. The higher you go, the more of those you have to use to keep the steering linkage in some semblance of order.

Paul

 

If they swapped the '74 springs with the front axle, wouldn't those be highboy springs and give it a 3-4" lift over the '79 stockers?

 

these trucks are going for some pretty good coin now days. me.... that truck would be kept out of the salt for sure.