I Am Thinking Of Purchasing A 1978 4wd For Parts And Turning My 1978 2wd Into A 4wd. I'm Sure There Are A Lot Of Things I Need To Know Before I Attempt This And I Am Pretty New To The Car Modification World. Have Worked On Motorcycles For Years But I'd Like To Do A Nice Job With This As I Have A Strange Attachment To My 1978 2wd F250. I'm Sure There Are Plenty Of People Out There Who Might Be Able To Give Me Advice. One Question I Have Is Which Motor Would Be Better To Rebuild. The 2wd Has A 460 In It. The 4wd Has A 351 In It. Let Me Know If You Have Any Advice. Thanks In Advance.

 

if i were you i would just take the 2wd body and bed off and put the 4x4 frame under it if you like the 2wd better, easiest way in my opinion

 

I've done 2 2wd to 4wd conversions and it's really not that bad as long as you have a welder, drill press, torch, Uni-bit, Right angle drill, cut-off wheel and some other tools but thats the majority of the necessary tools. If you have a front 4wd axle and springs, 4wd 77.5-79 4wd Steering box, & Shock mounts.

If you have a lot of mechanical skills and have good welding skills you can do this fairly easy... It takes me approx. 18 hours converting it from pulling it in my shop and putting it on the lift... my first took me about 29 hours but i can cut a lot of time off of this second one....

The only thing about the conversion is it sets about like a 2" higher than a factory highboy.... Because of the 2wd motor crossmember... you can change it if the height bothers you but it's really not worth it. If you want pics i'm in the middle of a conversion right now....

I personally would rather convert the suspension than the whole body and drivetrain...

 

I am doing this swap too. I would like to see some of your pics please. I have a 4x4 frame for all of the suspension parts. Do you have to have a different oil pan for the motor out of the 2x4?

 

Um if you guys have a 4wd chassis for a donor its alot easier to do a body swap. If your dead set on a conversion i just started my build thread in the offroad section where im doing a 4wd conversion with pics

 

Sorry, i just saw this thread and was just starting this conversion. My 4x4 frame is a reg cag and I am swaping it into a exended cab so a frame swap is not really an option unless I lengthen the frame. Was just looking here for advice but I guess I will figure it out myself.

thanks.

 

Just so you know I have a 4x4 ext cab. F150. The front end is the same as an f250 4x4. (leaf springs) This I was told was done because of the increased weight on the front end of ext cabs that the 3 link could not handle.
Just my .02
Matthew

 

Thanks guys. I am putting the f250 front end into the f150 frame too. I found a good deal on the extended cab frame and body. There is no rust on it at all. just a bent front fender and grill gut the guy gave me a new ford fender and grill. I am going to use the truck for pulling so i am going to swap in the 4 spd and transfer case and 460 i got. I have a pretty good idea on what I have to do but I was just looking for some ideas.

Do you heed to remove the 2x4 crossmember in the front and weld in the one out of my 4x4 frame?

What oilpan will i need for the 460? it was originally out of a 2x4 too.

Will the 4x4 rear susprnsion just bolt up?

 

Mine is the 3 link.

 

If you have the F150 4x4 setup already-check out this link;
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...0-highboy.html

Or if you want leafs up front-and keep it simple, just convert your outer ends to the F250 8 lug setup-still a Dana 44.
Altho for a pull truck, I would think a Dana 60 would be best for the front.

I would have to say a rear sump pan works best, unless clearance is an issue.

Some ideas for ya.

 

Well last night we came up with the idea to cut the front half off of both frames and just weld the 4x4 front end into the 2x4. I think this is the rout we are going to take.

 

Certified welder? If not your just lookin to get someone killed. If you or your buddies havent had the training and experience to do this then dont.

 

Actually yes. The frame will be braced on the inside too. The same way they do when they lengthen or shorten semi frames. Plus this truck will never see the road. It is going to be for pulling only.

 

I've done this too, always check thread dates, years, etc.