I have a 1977 Ford F-150 standard cab, longbed, 351m, D44 and mile marker hubs. I would like to build it into something a little bigger and more trail ready. I have learned a bit from your existing posts but would be welcome to any suggestions. one other thing was opiniond on Super swamper ltbs for my 93 work truck.

 

How much bigger do you want to go and what is your budget?

 

Like Ivan said, we need more details on what you are planning on doing with this rig.

 

You might be interesting in something similar to the buildup I'm doing on my '79 F-150, although mine might be a little more hardcore than your looking for.

As for the normal stuff, I'm running the factory D44 and 9" axles, with 4.10 gears and lock-right lockers front and rear. 4" skyjacker lift coils on the front with extended radius arms for better flex. Tires will either be 33x13.50-15 Swamper LTB's, or 33x12.50-15 Swamper TSL's. I'm building a 351w with GT-40 heads to replace the tired 351m, which will also save a bit of weight.

Thats about where the 'normal' stuff stops. I cut the frame off behind the cab, building my own flatbed/tube bed setup, with a spring over, shackle over, leaf spring setup. The rear leaves are mounted directly under the frame rails (greatly inboard from stock location), and are mounted with 8" custom shackles. This setup gives me roughly 20" of rear travel.

I'm also running dual transfercases, a NP203 range box stacked with a NP205, which will be twin sticked for front only drive ability. I'm going to run line locks on the front and rear brake circuts for better turning ability combined with the twin-sticked T-case.

Rock sliders, a full interior rollcage, and winches front and rear top out some of the other things.

If you have any specific details you want to know about my buildup just ask. Oh, and I'm building the entire rig for under $5,000, so you don't have to have a huge budget to build a fairly capable little rig.

 

A front lift and a rear shackle flip is a good cheap choice. A wristed radius arm may be another choice if you are handy with a welder. Doing a twin stick conversion to your 205 case costs basically nothing.
Like the other guys said, it depends on your budget as well as your mechanical ability.

 

I have thought maybe a grand to start with outside of tires, have thought about losing some length on the rear of the frame and have also thought about the flatbed option with integrated roll bars. I thing maybe a lift to get away with 35 14.50 R15 and buy some beadlocks. I am proficiant at most with a wire feed and stick welder. I already appreciate the ideas any more would help a lot. P.S. Ivan I have chlorine for your gene pool. Thanks

 

Well slide the rear axle forward 23" and shove a ranger body on it then loose the 351 and shove a big block into it and you got a good start.

 

Check out the trails you're going to be riding on. Take some notes. If there are sections with low hanging branches, a four inch lift with 33's might work better than an eight inch lift with 38's. If there's a water crossing, you might need to do some water proofing and an electric fan set up. You'll be able to determine the ground clearance and gearing you'll need to tackle the trails you'll be on. The last thing you want is wasted time, money and effort just to get high centered or stuck on something so ridiculous the first day out.

My one suggestion is to check out overkill engineering's new atomic axles built for trails and rock climbing. I'm going to throw a pair under my '85 flareside that I'm building for the trails. www.overkilleng.com is their site, the axles use a Ford 9" center section and provide some awesome ground clearance. I found them in a publishers off road magazine, so you could pick up a couple of those mags and flip through it. If you find something in there you like, I'm sure there's some people here that's done the same thing and can fill you in with the details. Happy wheeling.

 

He said "trail ready" not "Mud slinger"

 

A lift and tires are a good place to start. then start on a new or built engine

 

Those are some sick axles!!! anybody know anything about them?? how they hold up to large tires and abuse??? wonder how much those cost, i didnt see any prices on that webpage.....

 

I saw yall talking about shortening the frame and bed, and I drew this up a while ago while I was bored. I think it would be entirely Bada$$

 

Other than the striking similarities of a Hummer that thing would be bada$$

 

Based on my experience, the LTBs are the FASTEST wearing tires Interco makes. Probably faster wearing than any other tire out there too. Expext no more than 10,000 miles out of a set on your '77.........if your lucky

 

He could wait for the new 47 inch LTB to be released.... Lets see,,, more rubber on the road and larger diameter means less revolutions per mile,,,,,, YEAH!!! they should last forever. OK, maybe not.