I have a 72 ford f250 2wd, and a 79 ford f250 chassis with dana 60s. The plan is to put the drivetrain including the NP205 in the 72. The major problem I have is that I have no money. So I'm trying to do it as cheaply as possible. Here's my ideas:

I'm planning on putting leaf springs up front, and the final lift will be about 6" or so, depending on how things turn out. I was wondering if there is any problem putting the rear spring pack from a 1 ton on the front to gain some lift. I will have to reuse or fabricate new spring hangers, so I can make the spring lengths whatever I need. Provided the front mount is still on the frame rail.

For the Rear, I'm planning on using a front shackle from another truck, since there's kinda a weird deal with the rear springs anyway, and I can flip the shackle and get about 6"?? there too?

The only other concern I have is the steering geometry. It costs about $250 for a drop drag link from superlift, but I found a drop pitman arm for about $50. Is there any disadvantages to the dropped pitman arm instead of the drag link? Are there any different drag links that are cheaper.

Obviously, I don't want to sacrifice safety or reliability for cost, but I know there are plenty of cheap tricks out there. I will research every possible alternative since I still have a month til I can actually bust out the torch and go to work.

Also, with the 2wd crossmember, how much lift would I need to avoid having to cutting it out and having to do more fabrication?

You know what would be a hella lot easier? Swapping bodies? May have to move some mounts, but in the long run it will be cheaper and easier than trying to swap all the 44 stuff onto that 72 frame.

I thought about that too. But I would still want to go up 6". And the frame on the 78 is a little worse for wear, as in you kick it and chunks or rust the size of baseballs fall off (the bed came off years ago, so its a pretty simple to assess its condition). Also, I still want to do the shackle flip, so that would still require replacing some hangers. I think It would turn out to be pretty expensive anyway, with all the nickel and dime stuff you tend to break when you tear into truck that much. I am still definitely considering that route though.

I don't blame you for wanting to do the swap on the 2wd frame. I am in the same boat, only with a 76 F100.

I have a 4wd frame preped it, cleaned it, painted it, even installed the suspension but after looking at it for a few weeks and figureing up all the small stuff you have to buy new(ie bushings, brake lines, fuel lines, clips,stuff like that) I decided that I was still not going to end up with what I wanted.

my plan was to make a truggy with the front pushed out 11" and the rear moved forward.

if you decide this is what you are going to do please post up some pictures. I couldn't find anything other then everyone telling people to swap the cab to a 4wd frame or a z cut.

Will there be any problems running the rear springs on the front? I don't see anything obvious, but then again I'm not that experienced and I don't really know...

I don't know, but if I were to guess I would think they are going to be too stiff.

IMO, I would not try to get 6" of lift that way. mabe 2"-3" from moving the hangers around but 6" is a little too much.

have you thought about what size tire you want?

The springs on the front of the 78 have no arch whatsoever, while the stock 3/4 ton springs have about 8" of arch to them. Plus I will be putting a pretty heavy bumper up there, so either the 1 ton springs or the 3/4 ton springs. Idk yet. As for tires I think I want to go with the 36" R16.5 Humvee tires from a military surplus dealer, cuz their cheap and bombproof. I'm not really worried about ride quality, I have my car for that.

The chevy guys commonly use rear springs on the front for SAS, I see no issues there, with that amount of lift crossover steering might be your best bet.

Brewchief:D

What is crossover steering? I'm not familiar with the term.

Instead of the draglink going straight back to the knuckle like it is now on the 78 it goes across to the pass. side, this will help with bump steer and is a better setup all around.

That's what I would have guessed it was. Actually that's the way it is set up now on the 78. Would you suggest a drop pitman arm as well, or will the crossover be sufficient?

That's what I would have guessed it was. Actually that's the way it is set up now on the 78. Would you suggest a drop pitman arm as well, or will the crossover be sufficient?

It will depend on how much lift you end up with, try to keep the draglink as flat as possible, for a budget trail rig I would get it together first, as long as it doesn't bind during travel it will work, you may end up with some bump steer though.

How much lift can I expect from the shackle flip in back. I searched this one and the only ones I found who did this are bronco guys and they said to expect about 5-6" putting 3/4 ton springs on a bronco.

What angle should the the shackles be when I put in the new spring hangers? I searched and found some toyota threads that said 30-45* is ideal. Does that number still apply to a bigger truck like mine?