I have found a 1978 ford f150 4x4 at the scrap yard but it has no title and I have a friend that has a 1976 ford f250 2wd I have been thinking of buying the 76 from him or trading him out of it and getting the 78 from the scrap and transfering the 4x4 parts off of the f150 frame ontothe f250. and thoughts?
If you have a lot of time, a lot of money, and a good metal shop with a welder you might get the job done. Different frames and different years mean this isn’t going to be a simple take it off one and bolt it up to the other. Drive shaft lengths might be different, etc. You’ll have to identify problems as you go and might need to fabricate some parts in the process.
They may both be Ford F-series, but they are different enough, I’ll bet that the convertsion is far from straight forward.
This will probably cost you more then a mid-80’s 4wd F150…Not worth it in my opinion.
The easiest way to pull this one off would be to swap the 2WD cab onto the 4WD chassis so you have a usable VIN. Way easier than swapping axles, frame mounts, etc. Check your local laws, though, as this may be illegal. I have known of people who have done this, though…
Don’t you wonder why the 33 year-old truck is in the salvage yard? You could be opening up a can of worms. If you want a Ford 4wd, just look for one in decent condition and start from there. IMHO it’s just not worth the trouble you might run into. Rocketman
I don’t think this conversion is worth the bother. These types of projects really sound good at first but go downhill rather quickly. Forget about it.
Do you have the tools and skills to do this all yourself as a hobby?
If no it’s not worth it, and if yes you wouldn’t be here asking about it anyway.
How do you know that the transmission, transfer case, and differentials are OK in the trashed F-150? You might end up replacing everything inside the casings. It might work, but you need to do more homework before taking this project on.
On the positive side, my cousin had an Alfa Romeo Spyder in the 1960s. It looked great, but the engine and drive train were unreliable. He was driving by a farm one day and saw a wrecked Alfa Spyder in the field. Except for the body damage, it looked great. He bought it for a song, hauled it off, and transferred the drive train to his ailing Spyder. Now he had a Spyder that ran well and looked great. But he was a mechanic and know what he was doing. Maybe you could take a knowledgeable friend to the scrap yard to inspect the F-150 for you.
the f150 ain’t trashed I have looked it over and it looks to be ok and I Don’t need a knowledgeable friend I have been working on trucks like this since I was 3 or 4 years old. but if I can me and my friend will be going to drag it home.
Just change the body parts to the F150. Do they have the same motor? 2 wheel and 4 wheel frames are different. Same for transmissions. You can take the 2 and make one. The only way I would do this if the F150 ran good or I could put the F250 motor in it. Then just swap out body parts as need. If the F150 runs, you can do the swap in 2 weekends. With the help of someone who knows what to do. If you don’t know what you are doing and as circuitsmith said you be wound not here asking anyway if you did. It will take months.
the f250 had a 390 in it but my friend has it pulled out and striped down to the block.
If you are doing this for fun, go for it…If you are doing it to save money and end up with a roadworthy vehicle, forget about it, that’s not going to happen…
I think switching the cab would be alot of work with wiring
If there’s a more difficult, or expensive, way to end up with a 4X4 truck, I can’t think of it.
You must have lots of spare time and money. Have fun.
Eric16 After your last post I would say forget it. Here is the hint The wiring stays with the cab and that is the easy part.
I would rather switch all of the conponents and drive train than switch cabs
After that project you can buy this truck for $800 and convert it to 2 wheel drive.
I live in illinois and would like to find a truck close to home
I was just being a wise guy. But the point is there is alot of old junk out there, you shouldn’t have to build your own.