Nobody has stepped forward and wanted to be project manager, nor work on the acquisition team, so I will get things started. If someone objects and has an alternate plan he should speak up now.

There is a possibility that Mike may get us a truck already set up, or that someone will stumble onto a better deal, but for now we will proceed as we discussed two weeks ago.

There is one change in that we will use my '72 F250 as a base platform rather than Dan's. Mine does not need any bodywork, or even paint, and has good dmv paperwork. If need be we can even run its tires.

I get to keep the unused parts as there is a good power steering and power disk brake conversion I can sell to offset some of the cost.

The engine and tranny have been removed, and the front fenders are off it. I was going to rebuild it myself, but no longer want or need such a heavy truck. It is 2wd so we will need to do a 4wd conversion. There are photos on my website and in my gallery.

We will do the conversion and mount the engine up at Dan's place - I will tow it up there next week. We do need to buy a Dana 44 front for it. My thoughts are to bolt the major components together and do the needed fabrication there, and then move it down to Mike's to finish.

His place is more central, and may have better access to suppliers for the driveshafts and other parts we will need. Plus there are more of us in this part of the state to work on it.

I will move my little camp trailer to a camp ground near Dan's while we work on it there.
Like I said, this is the way I think we should go, and a plan I intend to follow unless someone objects and provides a different one.

Clint

 

You da man wit da plan Clint!
Hey, I'm not sure if you got the message earlier. But there is a 78/79 F250 4x4 sitting at that PicknPull we got the engine from that has the integral steering box and pitman arm still in it. They would be easy to get to as the engine has been taken already. The steering shaft to the firewall is still there too, so all you would have to do is do the frame adaptation/mounting. The rest should all bolt up. I have been told that these little buggers hold a core value at a steering rebuild shop of about $500, and that didn't include the pitman arm and steering shaft. At least that's what a steering rebuild shop guy told me several years ago. I guess it's the popular and most bestest power steering conversion for the highboys, according to him.
PicknPull wants $49.99 for the box and $14.99 for the core deposit.
Let me know if you want to jump on that if it is still there.
T

 

Is there a front axle? We need it all.

 

That one was already gone. They come in there quite often. I will keep my eyes peeled.
So you are looking for a married, or divorced transfer case? I was under the impression you were looking at divorced. That truck with the steering box in it has the transmission in it too. Not sure, but I think it might have the adapter we need to marry the NP 205 to the trannie sitting under there. Skipped_link would know for sure. That guy is pretty darned smart about those trucks.
Lemme know...

I thought you wanted to go divorced...

 

Dan has the tranny - a C6 with a married transfer case. I would keep a divorced one around as I think a double reduction would be neat should we decide to make a monster trail runner, but the married one we have will do fine in the mud.

I hope that with the 460 we can keep it in high range and keep the tires spinning all down the track.

We were considering the divorced case when it looked like we would get the truck nighteyzes found us. It had one, as well as a Dana 44 front. We are going to pass on that truck - just to much trouble and expense to get it somewhere we can strip it out.

The C6 Dan is providing is out of a diesel - I am hoping it has the heavy duty intermediate main shaft.

So, what we need next is a Dana 44 front and a set of 4.10 or 4.56 gears front and rear. We will also need a locker for the rear. My only experience with a traction lock on the front was with a '75 F150, and you lost all steering control when both front wheels started to spin.

Time to worry about the front end now!

 

If there's a front axle at the Pick 'n Pull in Carson, or one comes in there in the near future we should grab it as it's sure to be a much better price than what we would have to pay up here.

Clint, didn't you say that your camp trailer has no heat? It's dang cold up here right now...and to get the truck and your camp trailer up here, you're talking about making two trips. Don't overdo it...our hospital up here sucks!

Give me a call if you want to discuss details, or email if you prefer. I'm home all evening, I'm no party animal. Well, I don't know...maybe you are!

 

Na, we would need something to drive both axles, so it can not be a brownie. But that is a small detal - the married 205 will do all we need done, and the C6 will allow us to creep over rocks on a trail.

One thing we do need to decide now is the lift. Even stock, we will need the blocks from under the rear of a F250 4wd - the 4wd is several inches taller than the standard F250. If we are going to lift the truck we will need to set that up before we start building driveshafts.

Also, I understand the 205 requires the floor of the cab to be modified. We also need some linkage.

 

Reagrding a front axle (I'm 4wd illiterate), but is a D44 the ones used on 3/4 ton 4x4's as well?

Also, Any issues with using a GM or Dodge 3/4 ton front/rear setup? A guy around the corner had both front and rearends from a 72 GMC 3/4 for $350.00 a few months back, I havent been by his place since they've been doing construction alnog the highway and have us rerouted, but they sat on a flatbed for sevral months before for sale.

 

$350 is a good price - maybe his gearset is useable. However, I think GMs have the driveshafts offset to the rightside, Fords to the left.

 

I think I can do MUCH better than $350 at Carson, once one of those D44 Fronts w/ disc breaks comes in.
I have a D60 Rear, w/ 4.10 gears out of a 76 F250 4x4 that I would love to see go somewhere other than the scrap yard too. Maybe Mike can take that along with the engine and trans. No charge. It does need the brake parts though, but I'm sure those would be easy to come up with.

 

We will take the Dana 60 rear - I understand there is some differences in the case when you go with lower gears.

I am not sure waiting for disk brakes on the front is worthwhile - maybe Skip can answer that. I was thinking they would clean themselves quicker and better when packed with mud and therefore be safer.

It is not a big deal on the trail - you can always run in to something if you need to stop fast and your brakes are wet. However, there is less to run into in a race track infield, and more people watching. Plus the race officials that might black flag you if you ran over one of the helpers.

What do you guys think? Drums be OK, or hold out for disks?

 

I'd rather go with disks, both for braking stability and ease of maintenance. I'll go back to the local yard tomorrow after work and check on his front ends, see if he has a 4.10 with disks and get a firm price from him.

The '76 rear end should work, but due to the wider frame on the newer trucks the spring perches are further apart and will have to be relocated. Not a big job, just letting you all know it's not a direct swap.

 

Like you, this is a learning experance for me. I discovered that both the Dana 44 and the Dana 60 came as a front or a rear axle. In addition, there are reverse spiral gears (the 44RS), and a high or low pinion.

All I have really found is:

"In 1977.5 Ford’s new F250 axle now started to appear. Previously, the F250 ran a standard rotation closed knuckle axle (see reference pictures below.) This axle for the F250 44RS is slightly different than the F100 & F150 offered in 1977. The F250 is a little wider than the F100 & F150, for the wider 8 wheel bolt hub. The F250 also has 3" wide axle tubes with ½” thick tube walls, and the axle has many different small changes from the F100 & F150 to include larger brakes."

http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/Dana44.htm

All I can say is that we got a bunch of learning to do before we claim any sort of knowledge on these axles.

 

The perches on your rear axles didn't change till 77.5 with the "lowboy" and a rear mounted fuel tank in the frame rails, thus the reason for the wider frame in the rear and wider spring stance and shock mountings. Also all the F250 4x4 rear springs were 2.25 wide and in 77.5 they changed them up to a 3in spring so make sure you all grab the highboy blocks that are 4in tall and 2.25 wide the 77.5's are only 3in tall and 3in wide and will not fit with the highboy ubolts.

Another thing is the 77.5 and later f250 4x4 rear axles are about 3in wider to match the front axle so the rear axle rides in the footprint the front axle has made. Another reason for this change was so the trucks didn't look like they were crab walking. The later(wider) axles may give a little more stability.

I have the 70 crew and the 77.5 crew both in my driveway if any of you need any info or measurments don't hesitate to ask.

Keep up all the good work.

 

Thanks, 460 Crew. We are not slow or backwards in asking for help or information. I would ask you to join us, but we got to leave someone to rag and compete against in the Nevada Chapter.


btw, did you guys get out into the mud this weekend?