Slick 60's

Since its been about 30 years since I driven a 60s 3/4 ton very long and found out my back could not handle the bouncing like it did when I was in my 20s so I am toying with the idea of converting my 66 to a 1/2 ton,I have a 78 that could donate the front suspension and a local junkyard has plenty that could donate a rear end and springs. I planned on driving the 66 long distances but there is no way I can so has anyone converted their 250 to a 1/2 ton,I wish I would have driven it further then I did before doing all the work on it.

There are way fewer 250s than 100s. Why not sell or trade the 250 for a 100?

I might just try to find a nice late 80s or early 90s F150 XLT for my road trip truck and leave the 250 for a toy.

I used to convert them the other way; just be aware the '77-up rears are considerably wider. Might just try removing a few (or a bunch) of the leafs in the rear and utilizing half-ton coils in the front. A set of good shocks and some P-series tires in place of the LT's will make a considerable improvement. Beams may require re-alignment due to the changed ride height.
Paul

If you want some improvement on ride quality, I would get rid of the beams entirely and put a mustang 2 crossmember in or a crown vic crossmember.

A set of MOOG Cargo Coil variable rate springs for a half ton and a set of Edelbrock IAS shocks will definitely improve ride quality.
Paul

Just throw a dozen or so anvils in the bed!

I had 350 lbs in the back of my F100 LWB on the interstate today. What a smooth ride.

I have all winter to think about it but most likely will convert to 1/2 ton next spring after I get a 65 or 66 f100 9 inch and rear springs,I will rethink this if I can get a NV4500 trans reasonable as it will need o/d even with 3.54 gears if I drive alot on the highway which I want to do. One thing nice about the 9 inch rear ends are you can have plenty of gears to change when the need arises and easy to do with plenty of center sections in stock,since I have a complete 78 front suspension the change over to a 1/2 ton will be much cheaper then getting overdrive behind the 460 so with a 9 inch I can experiment on different gears to get it where I like it and wont have to go to the expense of a o/d trans.

Like Paul said 250 are less plentiful. When I redid the suspension on my F250 I learned that the frame and I beams, spindles and springs are the same as a half ton. I don't know about brackets on rear though. Wish I had a half ton to trade you.

Before You Spend $$$ Changing Over To The 9" You Might Just Try A Set Of Different Rear Springs. The Camper Special Leaf-Packs Are Really Stiff & Ride Like A Stage-Coach. I Ditched The Stock Spring Packs And Put Reverse-Eye Mono's Front & Rear On Mine. It's Still An F-250 Only The Stance Is Greatly Improved And It Rides Like A Cadillac Now. Why Not Embrace The Fact That You Own An F-250?

If you swap to a 1/2 ton rear end how about one out of a 73-79?

You will have to move the spring perches but you will also even out the front and rear track, that should improve cornering and looks.

How much weight can you carry with a reverse eye mono?

The ride is not the only concern,even with the 3.54 gears it is still going to need overdrive so I can go on the highways for long trips but there is no cheap way to get o/d behind the 460. I should have put a 351-w and AOD but got the fresh 460 cheap so I could not pass it up,I can change it over to a 1/2 ton and fix the ride problem and not tall enough gears at one time for much less money then a trans with o/d.

bmcgc wrote:How much weight can you carry with a reverse eye mono?

If You Are Planning On Hauling A Lot Of Weight I Wouldn't Recommend The Mono's. I Haul My Bikes And A Couple Ice Chests Without Any Issues. However, I Think The Mono's Are Rated Higher Than A Stock F-100 Leaf-Pack And They Sure Ride Nice. ...

Lots of 73+ f100-F150s had 2.75 gears. I have a set on my garage floor I pulled out of a rear end I bought for $50.

Lots of guys here don't like the 2.75s but Ford put a bunch of them in trucks and they know more than I do.

Im going to try taller tires first, if that doesn't improve the highway ride I will drop the 2.75s in. At the worst I wasted my time and $50 if I don't like them.

When did F250s go to the twin I beam?

bmcgc wrote:Lots of 73+ f100-F150s had 2.75 gears. I have a set on my garage floor I pulled out of a rear end I bought for $50.

Lots of guys here don't like the 2.75s but Ford put a bunch of them in trucks and they know more than I do.
Im going to try taller tires first, if that doesn't improve the highway ride I will drop the 2.75s in. At the worst I wasted my time and $50 if I don't like them.

When did F250s go to the twin I beam?

While I agree with part of your statement; please provide some data as to Ford putting 2.75's in a bunch of trucks, particularly slicks or bumps./color]
As to your question; my guess would be about the same time as they were put in the F100's.
Also, based on my fuzzy calculations, (which you are welcome to challenge),dropping to a 2.75 numerical ratio, even from the next ratio offered in the slicks, is considerably different from a roughly 2 % change in tire diameter!

Paul

Paul look around in the salvage yards. Ive seen 5 or 6 2.75 rear ends in dents at the P-N-P. The one I have came out of a 75 with a 390 and a 3 speed. A guy down the street from me has a 83 F100 with a 300 and a 3 speed and 2.75 gears. He has had it since new and is getting ready to do a resto on it. It needs it.

As far as how many Ford put in trucks, I have no idea but the 2.75 geared 9 inch in a F series truck is not rare or unusual, there are plenty of them out there if you look around.

Might want to do a little more research before you "drop" the 2.75's in.
Paul

What research is that?

Yes I will lose some low end.

99% of my driving falls between 5-45 mph or 70 mph.

I never tow.

I occasionally haul up to 400 lbs in the bed for short distances, that's maybe once or twice a year.

We like to travel to swap meets and car shows up to 3 hours away 3-4 times a year, all interstate. I often go to Atlanta, that's about 1-2 hours on the interstate.

My current tires are 27.4in tall. That's 2780 rpm at 70mph. 1793 rpm at 45 mph.

265/70/15: 29.65 tall. 2578 rpm at 70 mph. 1657 rpm at 45 mph.

Swap out the 3.25s for 2.75s and run a 235/75R15 which is the tire I would really like to run because it the tallest tire in a whitewall for under $100.

235/75/15: 28.9 tall. 2238 rpm at 70 mph. 1439 rpm at 45 mph.

Whats your take on these numbers, considering the use of the truck?