Ive got a 1966 F-100 that I want to make into a hardcore off-roader. Ive got the engine, transmisson, transfer case, differentials, all the stuff, except if I
should use a 2wd fram or a 4wd frame, and how to stretch it

 

Bubba, Since they use different mounting points, me thinks I'd go with the 4wd chassis. It could save you a bunch in fabrication time & money.

John

 

4wd frame, absolutly. You will spend more cash in welding wire and argon to beef up the 2wd fram than a 4wd frame will cost you from a junk yard.

No real need to streach it, Unless you need something longer than a 4 club cabbed long bed. I think the frame for an f450 flat bed or pannel truck is even longer. get an idea of what you want, then find a truck that use that frame

 

well its a 2wd chassis thats on the 66. but ive been thinking what year of a frame i should use. the 66 is a regular cab with the 8 foot bed. and i want to keep it thay way

 

late 70s frame for tyhe same style cab and bed F350 4X4 will be 4 inches longer because of the diffrence in cabs. its easy enough to drill new holes and move the spring perches 4 inches forward for the back axle. Then you can either saw off 4 inches from the tip of the frame, or leave it, and have a bumper that sticks out a little more behind the bed. Not a bad thing if you want to build a serious off road bumper you can hook a recovery cable to, or mount a rear winch to.

 

well the bumper will be a huge plank with a tractor tire cut and bolted to it, and holes in teh tires for my d-rings and wing and license plate. the front will be the same. should i use a 150 frame or a 250 frame? i dont want a frame with a horrible ride to it. also, where can i get a huge lift kit, like 12" plus for it?

 

250 fram minimum for a Truck you're going to bang around off road. 350 would be better. Anything you put a 12 inch lift on is going to have a horrid ride unless you know some engineering and can build a coil link system, or a link airbag system as a suspension. anything over about 6 inches of lift on a leaf spring is bad news. The springs are too curved after that, and they won't flex properly. You might be able to push that to 8 inches by using long springs, but the ride is going to suck. It will either be too stiff, and the truck with throw you all over the cab crossing a pot hole, or it will be so soft the truck sways in the breeze while standing still.

One Idea that might work is to cut up another frame, and use it to make Sub frames with. then bolt a 6 inch lift kit to the sub frame, and bolt the sub frames under the real frame, giving you 10-14 inches lift, depending on how thick the sub frames are.



As for making a hard core off roader, those plank bumpers ain't going to work so well. I've seen many a redneck mud truck with those, and trying to get them unstuck is a pain in the ****. you can't put a rope around them, and I have seen people rip a d ring off their frame rail. you need something solid that disrtibutes the stress. Maybe use a piece of I beam, or channel iron, or even a piece of truck frame left over from making sub frames. put your cut tractor tire over that and have a real tough bumper.

 

bubba, I suspect that you can get much better info about what you are looking for on the Offroad & 4X4 forum.

Generally there isn't much discussion here concerning that, not to say that those guys don't read this forum.

John

 

well ive been thinking and i think im going to use 2.5 ton military axles, with 2.5 ton leaf springs, and rig some drop brackets with air bags on each bracket, but plumb it so the airbags will inflate and deflate at the same rate, eliminating some pinion angle problems, but them im going to have huge shafts that will have about a 75 dgree u-joints

 

Boy, You weren't joking about the hard core. That'll be some machine.

John

 

Sounds like I'll be able to park my 64 under it when it's done!

I've seen some high lift trucks that would tip over in a cross wind, due to the wheel/tire combo not being wide enough for the height. Will the 2 1/2 ton setup have a wide track?

 

it will because, im not going to have alot of backspace, but the tires i want will need a 20x17 or 18 rim. i know the tires that i want, but i dont know who carries them. if you watch Trucks TV on Spike TV (used to be TNN) on saturday and sundy at 12:30. they are going on Seargant Rocks. those are the suspension, wheels, and tires that i will use. and im going to put a heavy duty air bag system on it, 4 bags for each spring (2 in the back, and 2 in the front) and plumb them so they will inflate and deflate at the same rate, therefore minimizing on some pinion angle troubles, but im getting driveshafts that will have 80 degree joints, just to be on the safe side.

 

What do you think you will have in it when you get finished, $12-15,000.00???

John

 

yah, plus some more