Dana 60 swap & F350 parts truck consideration

[Merie]

Today I brought home a fairly thrashed CCLB 1990 F350 IDI with ATS turbo. Frame is shockingly good, body is thrashed, interior on the low end of ok. $2600. Motor runs well, started after minimal effort on old batteries in the mid 30s this morning which was an absolute miracle because of the rats nest of wire nut aftermarket wiring hanging from the dash and DIY'd glow plug relay clicking from the cab. Only drove it a couple miles home but oil pressure on aftermarket gauge read ~40. Shifted well with no vibration aside from firewall flex and likely lack of helm joint showed a little trouble on clutch engagement. Engine ran very well once warmed up but fairly sure the head gasket is out. Milky oil and fluid low in rad. Didn't try 4wd engagement yet.

I own a clean 1993 F250 IDIT which I'm planning on keeping as my main rig. Failing transmission on this truck. Synchros are gone on the ZF5 and grinds half the time getting into gear, pops out of reverse on occasion.

Planning on a SAS with this new parts truck as well as the doner transmission. How involved is the axle swap? Id likely have to swap gearing one way or the other, F350 door tag reads 3.55s and my F250 has 4.10s which I'm not in love with, but ok with.

Planning on harvesting entire drivetrain, front end/leafs, and turning the rear half into a wood hauling trailer. Anything else I should pick before it goes to scrap? Nothing is going to happen fast, working on shop space and some dryish storage plans. I live on a fairly remote Alaskan island so the truck was worth it on trans alone factoring in shipping costs.

 

[asmith]

If you want the 3.55s just swap the whole rear end. They are the exact same axle. If you want the 4.10 for towing then yes you will have to swap out the gears in the front end.

maybe some dash Pieces or other interior pieces. not sure if the colors match between the trucks. gauge cluster.

maybe glass if the windshield is good and you have a place to store it, incase you every get a crack in yours. just some thoughts off the top of my head.

 

[Merie]

If you want the 3.55s just swap the whole rear end. They are the exact same axle. If you want the 4.10 for towing then yes you will have to swap out the gears in the front end.

maybe some dash Pieces or other interior pieces. not sure if the colors match between the trucks. gauge cluster.

maybe glass if the windshield is good and you have a place to store it, incase you every get a crack in yours. just some thoughts off the top of my head.

I was considering just swapping out the whole rear end. We'll see what kind of shape it's in when I tear into it.

Windshield is cracked pretty bad, interior is different than my 93 and beat up pretty good but it may make some good shop art.

 

[u2slow]

Took me about half a day to pull the ttb and stuff in the 60 w/350 leaf springs. That was with a floor jack, and jack-stands on a concrete pad. Had air tools.

What's nice is should be able to take the driveshaft and tcase yoke from the 350. I had to shorten the F250 shaft instead. You may need the trans cross member for driveshaft clearance.

Personally, I'd rather have a crewcab than a super cab. One downside is the longer frame is a bit more 'noodly'.

 

[Nero]

Noodly frame just adds character.

 

[ttman4]

I like my "Noodly" frame CCLB '90 Dually.....Especially when I'm at some of the shopping centers that have "straight in parking" instead of "angled in parking like at WallyWorld"
Straight in parking.....well there's no way to get it done correctly so I just head into my parking spot and push & nudge the cars & trucks to my right, the ones to the left, & the ones in front of me, get done, turn key off, hop out & run real quick to the
store door!!!!

 

[u2slow]

I liked my '95 f350 crewcab. I didn't like noodly. Matters more at 2tons payload.

My 1ton chevs and dodges had beefier/stiffer frames.

 

[Merie]

Took me about half a day to pull the ttb and stuff in the 60 w/350 leaf springs. That was with a floor jack, and jack-stands on a concrete pad. Had air tools.

What's nice is should be able to take the driveshaft and tcase yoke from the 350. I had to shorten the F250 shaft instead. You may need the trans cross member for driveshaft clearance.

Personally, I'd rather have a crewcab than a super cab. One downside is the longer frame is a bit more 'noodly'.

Is it all pretty much plug and play after I harvest all the steering components from the 1 ton?

The body of the crewcab is jacked. Mismatched doors and panels, rust and dents

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Anything else I should pick before it goes to scrap?

When scrapping a truck, I always save everything that I think it might be able to use in the future. Even if it's from a different body style that the one that I currently drive. Down to bolts and interior screws. I use the scrap yard to get rid of the stuff that I don't want, not to make any money off of.

Is it all pretty much plug and play after I harvest all the steering components from the 1 ton?

Kind of. It's still not quite that simple. You'll need to swap the front springs over. The TTB and solid axles use different leaf springs. You'll want to use the axle blocks, etc. from the donor truck for the rear end too. The Dana 60 front ends sit up higher than the TTBs do. You'll have to match the rear lift to the front. As long as you keep the parts truck around until you get the entire swap done, you shouldn't have very many issues.

 

[Cant Write]

That’s a nice pickup!! Too bad you don’t need a nice one and a beater.

It might be easier to ask what you plan to scrap?

Not knowing your storage situation and Being in remote AK, I’d error on the side of pack-ratting it. keep both drivetrains and all electrical do-dads, glass, window motors, non rusty but matching body panels, fuel tanks, ah heck, I would keep the whole pickup knowing me.

I agree with @IDIBRONCO dont let them make money off you.

My advice, when you get to making the trailer, keep the tongue longer than you think. I see so many pickup box trailers with stubby tongue and it must be a bear to back up. I’m sure you know that.

Nice pickup!!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I would keep the whole pickup knowing me.

I probably would too if I had the space. That said, naturally I'm thinking of trying to buy the Old, most likely unlivable house and property that's 1/2 mile or so east of my garage. I'd end up tearing down the house, but there's a couple of sheds on the place plus I could park several parts trucks there. I'd like this, but I'd hate it at the same time.

I agree with @IDIBRONCO dont let them make money off you.

Yes, but I meant that I'm not trying to make money by hauling in junk vehicles. Some people do, but that's not me. Just what I pull off in parts is worth more than what I'd get at a scrap yard.