dually conversions
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dually conversions
anyone on here ever tried converting a 73-79 3/4 0r 1 tone styleside in to a dually using arrow craft bed flaring kit. i was thinking about buying another 77 3/4 ton and converting it into a dually and have not seen any pictures of 73-79 styleside bed with wheel flares and dual rears.
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From: Jersey Shore
Check on the springs, the 3" need the conversion kit to keep the inside rim/tire away from the spring or change the rear or if it has the 2 1/4" wide springs it may bolt up w/ the proper rims. I just un duallized my 77 crew cab and sold the arrow craft dual wheel fenders, which are no longer produced, but my set up could have been contained w/ a set of bushwackers. pm me if you are looking for the conversion kit
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im sure if someone wanted a 3/4 or 1 ton shortbox they could build one but it would be pointless. i have a 77 1/2 ton that im turning into a 3/4 ton by adding more leafs to the stack.
does any have any photos of a standard cab longbed dually with a styleside bed with the dually flares
does any have any photos of a standard cab longbed dually with a styleside bed with the dually flares
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Laughing Gas
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Unfortunately, adding more layers to a f150 leaf spring set doesnt come close to making a 1/2t into a 3/4t. Leaf spring dynamics are very precise and are adversely affected by modifications. Even doing add a leafs shortens the life of the leaf packs significantly. Do some more research on the subject. 
Back to the topic at hand. I have plans to turn my 79 f150 4x4 into sort of a f200 dually possibly with a flatbed. I know the the wheel conversions are easy to find.
One way of doing it is you can use dana44 8 lug hubs off an f250 and get an 8 lug rear dually axle. Then find dually wheels. You will have to check clearances, but it can work. I cant remember if the driveshaft u-joint series are the same so check that too.
As for fenders, I decided if I keep the stock bed I will use bushwcker flares or some other flare. You can find dually rear ends of many different widths. Most cab and chassis duallys have narrow rears to keep the tires under a flat bed. As for matching up u-joints, there are "adaptor" joints that are 2 different sizes to join unlike series joints. Too much info?
Back to the topic at hand. I have plans to turn my 79 f150 4x4 into sort of a f200 dually possibly with a flatbed. I know the the wheel conversions are easy to find.
One way of doing it is you can use dana44 8 lug hubs off an f250 and get an 8 lug rear dually axle. Then find dually wheels. You will have to check clearances, but it can work. I cant remember if the driveshaft u-joint series are the same so check that too.
As for fenders, I decided if I keep the stock bed I will use bushwcker flares or some other flare. You can find dually rear ends of many different widths. Most cab and chassis duallys have narrow rears to keep the tires under a flat bed. As for matching up u-joints, there are "adaptor" joints that are 2 different sizes to join unlike series joints. Too much info?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 851
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From: Elkton, MD
you might have trouble using a narrow dually rear, they used alot narrower frames and springs then the f-150's did, I have a 77 dually, only about an inch or two between the inner tires and the springs. it is a narrow frame truck. It has 3 inch flares on the bed that cover the tires, but anything wider would need a dually fender. for my project 78 I might make dually fenders from fiberglass flareside fenders, I saw them done that way, looked pretty nice.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 851
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From: Elkton, MD
and on the crews, all f-350's were longbeds, except the 79 4x4, ford never built a 4x4 crewcab long bed, but alot of people have done conversions, some even look to be factory if they are done right, I have 2 of them.
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ive seen people add leafs to stacks all my life and never had premature spring failure. a buddy of mine took a mazda b2200 and added leafs to it and pretty much mad it a 1 ton truck as we haulled many of vehicles to the scrap yard along with haulling an old massy furgeson tractor on the back and never had a problem except for the motor struggling from the weight. it was the biggest littlist truck id ever seen. we had just under 1 ton on the back of it i think it was like 170 lbs under a ton. but any ways the drive train (motor and transmission and rear differential) gave way before the springs did. i under stand about the spring clearance but if i had to i could take and put 1 inch spacers between the wheel and the drum to keep them from rubbing. or just get a dual rear axle and do it that way. my biggest question is did for ever make a dually with the style side bed
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 851
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From: Elkton, MD
they never made a 73-79 dually with a reg. bed, some of the 1 tons and the crew's, at least 2wd had the narrow dually frame, all the f-350 crews with a reg. bed have a dually frame and rear axle, but they just put single wheels on them. All the 70's dually's have the narrow rear. In the 80's they started making dually pickups with beds, and the wider frame. A dually rear from a newer truck should bolt right in. just measure the spring mount width to be sure.
Posting Guru
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From: Jersey Shore
Check out this crew cab duallie short bed chassis/wheelbase w/ a 9' flat bed and a 3' frame extension that I added to my crew cab fleet and dentside collection, strictly for parts. I converted my 79 f150 4x4 s/c from a 1/2 ton to 3/4 by swapping out the hd44 outers, but the 78-79 150 4wd s/c were actually equipped w/ a d44 leaf spring front axle w/ the 5 lug single disc caliper...ford called it a Y200 suspension. I too am going to build my other 78 f150 4x4 to the 3/4 set up w/ the outer from the blue crew and the rear d60 my 78 f250. The dual wheel conversion set up is available if someone needs it, the 78 crew cab has the 3" wide rear springs, the bl/wt crew has the 2 1/4", it did not need the conversion set up.
