Slick 60's

Converting a uni into a 4x4 ....
Finally figured out a name for this contraption
Pulled it into the shop the first of the year
It's rough with a lot of rust...
It's just gonna be a farm truck
Sticking a 300 i6 with intake & headers c6 auto in it
Already got the front & rear axles swapped out
Just about got the transfer case under it
Plans are to paint also..... not fancy.. just a smidgen better than rustoleum

A reupholstered seat & mat will make the interior look decent
Radio & possible AC might sneak in there eventually
I think I have a repairable headliner somewhere
And a rednek steering wheel repair (wrap it with tape) job

Cool project. Did you use highboy running gear? From the pictures it looks like it's mostly surface rust.

Running gear out of a 61 4x4
Engine from a 67
C6 from a 73-76 F250

Non-Uni doors...

Yep.. on the drivers side

Truck must have been sideswiped
Bed has bondo ... door replaced ...fender repair

On a good note .. transfercase is hanging from frame
Now to do some measuring for driveshafts

slick4x4 wrote:Running gear out of a 61 4x4

So axles bolted right in then and steering connected right up?

It's been almost 40 years since I did it so I don't remember all of the details, but I took the running gear from a '59 4x4 F100 and bolted it into a '60 shortbed 2WD. I think the axles bolted right in and steering hooked up. Transfer case just required drilling holes to bolt the crossmember into the frame. I had a 460/C6 in it so I shortened the intermediate shaft but I think I may have still had to slide the transfercase back a little.

Yep.. exactly right
Transfercase has to set back some
The intermediate shaft & rear shaft shortened
The front shaft will have to be made because it's about 5" longer
There is a shop near me that will do all 3
For around $2oo & that includes balancing & new front tube

Pretty much bolt in ....
The shock mounts will have to go backwards instead of forward
No big deal ... swap em side to side & they'll work perfect

Engine , Transmission , Transfer-case all bolted in tight
Motor probably sits a little More forward & higher than some
But the c6 with divorced t-case gets cramped

Had to tweak the headers just a smidgen
Will get the intake bolted on & throttle linkage figured out soon

I would have never Guessed the 1961 transfer-case handle was a direct
Bolt on to a C6 automatic trans .....

IF.... you weld a 5/8 bolt head to head with a 9/16 bolt

Rear driveshaft installed
Intermediate driveshaft installed
Front driveshaft not made at this time

Tomorrow's agenda....
Install starter
Intake & headers
Install rear shocks
Bleed air out of brake lines & adjust shoes

How tall are the spacer blocks in the rear?

I know when you go from the old straight axel in front, to a live axel in front, the rear needs leveled up.

I can't remember if it's 4" or something less... believe it was 4" for level and 2" for the stock 'nose high look'.
I know I need to watch for a set so I can swap in a front axel.

I used the factory lift blocks out of a 61 4x4
But they aren't enough to make it level...

The springs on a 2 wheel drive
are more arched than what were on a 4x4

But my 6 doesn't weigh as much as your diesel
To get it level with the existing leafs on your uni
My estimate is 5"-6" blocks on rear to get level

Finally got to hear the engine rumble !
It's been sleeping for a good 7-8 years
I have no idea how long it's been since the truck shook
The propane setup has been sitting a long time
Bolted on & hooked up to a BBQ bottle of gas
Engine idles & revs like it was tuned for the 300
More boring stuff now ... got to build an exhaust system

Was going to get an exhaust shop to build my exhaust pipes
But after talking to 2 shops & getting estimates (around $500)
I decided to build my own
I had some really good used mufflers , clamps , hangers off another vehicle
So I bought a 10' chunk of pipe & went to work
After getting under the truck & up to cut, weld , bend , about 20 times
They are under there ... not as pretty as what a shop could do..
But they will definitely do the job !

Had a miss on number 5 I couldn't get rid of
Did a compression test ... crap !
Thought maybe I left water in it & froze & cracked something
Pulled head & found this ...
no damage any where else

At least it wasn't in the bottom end.

04sd wrote:At least it wasn't in the bottom end.

Very very true .... this just set me back a little
Come to find out it's board .060 over , new pistons
The head looks wonderful.. this is a fresh engine
The auto stores couldn't locate a valve
Its stock, but the stem is .015 oversized
The engine shop I went to found a set of 6
He said that break was probably caused by open headers
Or bad seal between headers & head
Will put in all 6 new valves & give it a run time
Of at least an hour , before bolting on front clip

Will just do some sanding & bondo till parts arrive

Tell us more about the carb and propane setup.

Is that offenhauser intake a dual plane or single?

Can the engine run on both gasoline and propane, in other words can you use a shut off valve and cutoff gasoline and turn on propane, then switch the other way?

I like what you are putting together.

Bradshaw

I'll be 100% honest and will tell you I'm definitly no expert on this
But from what I have learned from the internet & talking to guys
The intake is a 4bbl dual plane
The impco propane is a 425 model
What is equivalent to a very large 2 bbl gas carb (460 cfm)
I am strictly on propane only (I have a 47 gallon tank im installing)
The 300 i6 has been known to run lean on the outside ( 1 & 6 )
The intake & propane should eliminate that completly (my thoughts)