Hey all - if this doesnt strike you as strange, then I must be doing something totally wrong! I have been "given" a 1993 F350 ext cab (very nice), long bed. Needs trans and bed fender is damaged. It is a 7.3 diesel, auto. 2wd.

It is the correct year, price and with the diesel engine and ext cab, is exactally what I need for a certain project. What I DONT need and cannot use is the duel rear wheels and ton front end. So - the questions. Single wheel bed - what years will work? Will a rear axle swap be needed (no I havent measured yet to compare). That should be the simple part. Now, for the front end. To go to a standard hd 3/4 ton, would we be talking a simple brake rotor swap (simple??? Ford?? he heh ) spindle swap or more? It looks like the spindles are recessed into the hub on the 1ton, so maaaayyyybe?

I can fabricate and have access to parts reasonable to free. (I may have them in the yard!) What I need to see is if this is worthy, as in, has someone pulled this off before myself?

Any info would be apreciated before I tackle this possible project. The other possibilty is to move the diesel engine to the motorhome.

 

If the dually is inconvenient and unnecessary then by all means get rid of it. But it is going to require an axle swap; if you swap to a 10.25" full floating sterling from an F250 you'll still have a very stout axle and be able to keep your 8 lug pattern.

As for the front, I suggest you keep it unless you're really worried about having a better ride. The Dana 60 that you have on the front is a highly coveted axle (people buy from used for $1000+, because it is a straight axle and very strong! If you wanted to swap to an F250 HD setup, you'd be swapping in a Dana 50 twin traction beam (some F250s also had Dana 44s with 8 lug setups). Overall, a straight axle is a much better setup on a heavy truck than the twin traction beam setup... I'd advise against swapping it out.

 

As Chris stated, I suggest you swap the rear end and forget about the front. There is little difference in ride quality between of any of these trucks, especially the HD versions.. thay all ride like... well.. Trucks.

 

The bed should be a simple matter of unbolting the finders and just plug weld the holes in the bed side. Paint to match...

 

I would say the 2wd f350 frontend would be the same as the 2wd f250 frontend so its not worth swaping out

 

He would have to swap spindles to run normal rims I think . I dont think the dually type has the extension that is separate . There r F350 single wheel truck in 2x About only diff other than possible spindles is heavier coils /brakes . Keep what you can .

Any year from 87-96 (97 Hd trucks ) Will work . the older 87 down will bolt on line up at cab but have different well shapes.

Good luck

 

Whoops! Didn't realize he was talking about a 2wd My bad.

 

Thank you for the help! It sounds like this may have possibilities. I have changed a Suburban from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton, which involved swapping crossmembers, springs, rear axle + springs - eh, you get the point. But, there IS a reason for my maddness! I run (often with trailers) between Illinois and south of the border, and into some places where most would be uneasy to take a well-equipped Jeep! I also run through some places where it is difficult to get a VW Bug!

Alright, with that useless tidbit of information out of the way, I am going to fire a few more questions your way and confirm some things. I do need to let the ton front end go - the rims are the problem. Need matched rims. So, looks like a spindle swap is in order? Would this inlude brakes also? Just looking, they look the same - but...?

Moving on to the back of the truck, I take it the duel bed has the wheel well lips like a standard bed, just holes for the wide fenders? Really, I havent been able to see up in there, and the truck is several miles away (soon to come 'home'). That wouldnt be a problem to fill the holes and fog it. I have seen some trucks with the duel bed that has the wheel well lip cut out to clear the larger tires. They look awful with the fenders off. So, I figured I would need to change the bed.

Ok, to the rear axle. I had a feeling the duel axle was wider than the single. Do you know if the rear axle from a 1 ton VAN will work? They look the same, but the frame of the van gets in the way of trying to measure spring perches, and it is sitting in mud and water - so for now, I aint laying down under a sinking jack to try and measure. It might even have the rotors and brakes I need for the truck (year is 1989 E350).

I am sure I could BUY the truck I need, but I have much more time than money, and this will also put a good vehicle back into service that would probably otherwise be scrapped. Also by doing this, not only is it less expensive, but it makes me go through things and fix minor problems before they become major.