2wd to 4 with coils

[stenbrin]

a long time ago i read an article in petersons or 4wheeler about a 71ish chevy that had been two wheel drive and converted to four. they had used mid 70's ford radius arms, the factory 2wd spring buckets, and coil springs. i didnt pay any mind to it really, just thought it was cool but the other day i stripped my 2wd 1968 c20 down to the frame and have started to build it back up. i found a 1972 c20 4x4 frame that i was going to use along with a hd dana 44/14 bolt and an sm465 with a np205 to make my truck 4wd. however i remimbered this truck and it got me thinking. did anyone else read about this truck? would the diff be in the way if you used a stock gm axle? has anyone done this or is there a thread on it? i will probably just use the 4wd frame but it would be cool to have a stock looking 4wd 68 that had coils in all the corners.

[tymbom]

I remember reading about that truck. It was white wasn't it?? If its the same one it had 38's on it too. I remember he used the trailing arms too, he just flipped the rearend underneath. You better build another.

[stenbrin]

yeah thats the truck. i would like to know more about the fab work involved before i scrap the 4wd frame idea

[sandking]

You need the obvious:

Rear mounts for the arms

Pan hard bar

Coil mounts on the frame and axle (coilover would be ideal)

A small garage fab person could knock it out for a couple hundred in a weekend.

[stenbrin]

i just dont know if the springs are to close together to use a stock gm axle. it seems that the coils would have be wide enough so that the radius arms could be bolted to on axle on the outside of the leaf spring pads. the stock coils are something like 32.5 inches, i am not sure what the outside of the pads on the axle is but i think it is wider than that so could you use smaller diamiter springs like from a bronco.

[drbyrdman]

Autofab in San Diego could help you do that setup.

[sandking]

Originally Posted by stenbrin

i just dont know if the springs are to close together to use a stock gm axle. it seems that the coils would have be wide enough so that the radius arms could be bolted to on axle on the outside of the leaf spring pads. the stock coils are something like 32.5 inches, i am not sure what the outside of the pads on the axle is but i think it is wider than that so could you use smaller diamiter springs like from a bronco.

You might be able to squeeze them in there. Again, you would save room by using a 2.5 coilover instead of just a coil. Here is a pic of my stock Dana 44 with fabbed radius arms and coilovers for reference. In the 2nd pic, you can see the leaf springs in there in relation to the rest of the new parts. Hope that helps.....

[tymbom]

I would try and find a F@#D Dana 44 with the correct mounts for the beams. Then a divorced 205 or F@#D drop married 205... seems easy enough

[manimal]

WOW! I just asked this question.."Ford front axle????". These are the answers I was looking for. I was going to convert my 2wd to 4x4 using the whole front suspension and spring bucket from an F-150. Then I wasnt too sure if I was gonna use the front knuckles form GM or just switch to a 9" in the rear for the same lug pattern. Good Luck
-Lance

[FormerMember]

I'd cut the old spring pad off the Chevy front axle and weld on Ford radius arm brackets to use those arms you have. the axles from a F150 are about the same width as ours, so there should be room to spare. Pan hard bar mounts for the axle and frame can be had from www.Ruffstuffspecialties.com or www.Bluetorchfab.com. Tell either Dan I sent you.

Jeff's Bronco Graveyard should be able to help you with the stock Ford brackets. If you stay with minimal lift, those radius arms will work. Go for too much flex and they will bind like no other.

[stenbrin]

well i think im going to go for it. if i mess up anything its no big deal because i pretty much have all the parts i need to try it and i have a 4wd 72 frame and another dana 44 to fall back on. i want to cut the rear of those radius arms off and weld on a couple of heims joints for better travell. i just wish you could cut off the spring pad on the pass side.

[manimal]

Good luck and POST PICS!
-Lance

[Jtrux]

I saw a LWB converted to 4x4 a while back, it was pretty clean but he was trying to sell it as a original 4x4 so he was a crook. But it was neat all the same.

[ERASER5]

I like this idea too. The F250/350s are now using this type of front suspension to give a smoother ride. The newer Jeeps as well.

I am just looking for 4X4 to get through snowy roads, not wheeling.

Bags might be nice too. 4X4, smooth ride, not too high, comfort and joy. Hmmm, now to find the money to pull this off.