Ok this build was started new years eve, in an attempt to get another rig on the trail & another person interested in the sport,
We have an annual run on new years day & we wanted to get the rig going for that run,
So when I got home from work (6:00PM) we rolled in the rig that was chosen for this project,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash003.jpg

The truck was one that I got in trade from my brother,
Specs are
78 Ford F-150 long wheel base,
351M, NP435, NP205, D-44, ford 9"


The engine hits on all 8 cylinders & the motocraft 2 barrel seems to work pretty good,

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash004.jpg

First task was to remove the flat bed,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash006.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash007.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash008.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash010.jpg

Then the rivets were ground off the spring hangers so the axle could be relocated forward,

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash011.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash014.jpg

While the boys were working on the back I got started on the front,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash015.jpg

I even had some decent help
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash017.jpg

Getting closer on the back,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash018.jpg

The cab and front clip will get a 2.5" body lift,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash019.jpg

The reson for 2.5" was because thats what the pipe fittings & washers end up being after they are welded together,

Drilling the new holes & bolting up the spring hangers in their new location,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash021.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash024.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash025.jpg

Removing the body bolts on the front half
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash027.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash029.jpg

After getting the body lift on & the rear diff bolted back in, we pulled the rear 3rd to see what was inside,

(in this pic you can see the rear shackles are now reversed)
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash032.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash033.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/12-31-09thrash031.jpg

Turns out the diffs are loaded with 4.10 gears & the rear has a factory limited slip, so we shimmed up the springs in the LS & put the rear back together,

No pics but while the other guys were working on the rear, I pulled the cover off the front, cleaned it up & installed a fuzzy locker (welded up a few teeth in the side gears so the spiders can only rotate about 180*,

At about this point we decided we simply were not going to make the deadline.
The to do list still included,
Shorten the driveline,
Install fuel cell,
Install muffler,
Relocate radiator,
Drop front spring buckets,
Bleed brakes,
Hook up fuel lines,
& refill diffs with oil.

So we called it a night, went wheeling on new years day,
Then sadurday (day after new years) came back & finished up the listed items above,

Unfortunatly, I don't think we got a single pic from that days work,

However, We did get pics from the 3rd, when it was out on the trail, :D


http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010008.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010005.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010010.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010011.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010021.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010022.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010023.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010028.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010029.jpg


The 38" boggers are barrowed from another rig, but once the new oner pays off the truck he'll be buying new treads, I'm sure many upgrades are on the way, but at least now he has something to wheel, & that makes it easier so spend money on parts,

A few more pics,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010030.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010032.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010034.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010035.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Truggy/Smalls%20truggy/wheelinjan32010036.jpg

Thats it, if the new owner makes any upgrades I'll try & post them here.

Cool idea. Looks like a fun low buck project.

pretty sweet

2 tings...

1) we need more pics of the "decent help" from new years eve.
2) is the person you were putting the truck together for hooked on the sport?

fuck yeah I love this type of shit the only parts I see on there that were not there from the beginning are the tires and fuel cell.

we need more pics of the "decent help" from new years eve.

I'll see what I can do there

is the person you were putting the truck together for hooked on the sport?

He is now

fuck yeah I love this type of shit the only parts I see on there that were not there from the beginning are the tires and fuel cell.

The tires are borrowed from another rig, It will be up to the new owner to get the tires of his choice

The fuel cell was one I had laying around, & had served it's porpose many years ago, so we just tossed it on this truck to use it.

I like the build, thanks for posting. I am doing a similar thing, but I got overzealous once I pulled some parts off and now it is becoming a bigger project, but it is still on a small budget and the main thing holding me back right now is not having electricity in my shop. I will be running a generator now and I will post mine soon. Thanks for the post.

To the OP....great job on the build, and getting another member to join the wheelin fraternity. The fact that you did the build with parts on hand, and didn't spend ass loads of money on it should be inspiration for a lot of guys(and gals) that want to wheel, but are on a budget.

Great project like the old school look

Cool build. What did the wheelbase end up being?

Kick ass Leroy, Looks just like my old 79'..

i need to come hang out with you - i might just finish my shit in a weekend :flipoff2:

Fuzzy locker? Seems like one hell of a way to strip/snap axle shafts or explode spider gears inside of a carrier.


Other than that, awesome super cheap/quick build... Sawzall those front fenders about 2-3" higher along the same radius & cut the "front hangdown" off & you'll make a TON more room to stuff tires into.

What sort of wheel base is that?

Fuzzy locker? Seems like one hell of a way to strip/snap axle shafts or explode spider gears inside of a carrier.


Other than that, awesome super cheap/quick build... Sawzall those front fenders about 2-3" higher along the same radius & cut the "front hangdown" off & you'll make a TON more room to stuff tires into.

What sort of wheel base is that?

x2 what he said on the trim and please elaborate on the "Fuzzy Locker" a lil more sounds eh interesting

Man I've got a 79' F150 with a 460 sitting in the yard rusting away and the bed is almost non-existant that runs great.

Makes me think.....:smokin:

i need to come hang out with you - i might just finish my shit in a weekend :flipoff2:

Your build is a fair bit higher quality than one like this, when yours is done, it will be a nicer rig,

Fuzzy locker? Seems like one hell of a way to strip/snap axle shafts or explode spider gears inside of a carrier.

The fuzzy locker is no worse on axles than any other locker or welded diff,
The only thing that makes me a little nervous is the carrier, when the spiders run into the welds on the side gears I would emagine it puts a fair bit of pressure outward on the carrier,

The three rigs you see in the pics (79 f-150, 81 toyota, & 94 F-250) are all running the front diffs welded the same,

This is by no means as good as a real locker, but is a lot better than an open diff,

x2 what he said on the trim and please elaborate on the "Fuzzy Locker" a lil more sounds eh interesting

It's deffinatley going to need bigger tires before the fenders need trimmed any more, but if the time comes, they will get cut some more,

A fuzzy locker is when you simply weld up a few teeth on the side, or spider gears, that way the front is allowed to rotate some, (handy for steer axles)
I like to weld up a tooth on one gear, then roll the meshing gear up to the weld, get an idea of where the other teeth are starting to hit, then weld them up, that way there are 4 contact areas,
One down side is if you allow enough rotation, one tire will have to spin some before the other side starts to pull, at times this can be a pain, but for most of the rigs that I have done this to, it is just a temporary traction aid used to get by until a real locker is bought or installed.

Wheel base on this rig is right around 110"

2 tings...

1) we need more pics of the "decent help" from new years eve.


This a tough one, She's usually the one behind the camera,

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/skipped_link/Wheeling/1-3-10/wheelinjan32010015.jpg

Had any breakage with welding the fronts like that yet??? the thought has crossed my mind to try it that way, but I figured that allowing some play in it would inevitably cause a situation where one wheel would have way more traction than the other, causing the gears to rotate quickly and slamming the spider gear tooth into the weld rather violently.

No breakage yet, the first truck we did it on was the toyota, with 32" tires it has been going strong for about a year,
Next was the 94 truggy with a 60 in the front, no problems with the front, the rear of that truck (10.25) did knock a couple teeth off of one of the side gears, (not the same type of gear as a dana axle)
When the rear did that I just welded it solid & have had no more problems,

The main thing I don't like about the "fuzzy" locker is some times one tire will spin until the weld stops the gears, then that tire will stop & the other will spin, so the spinning will jack from one tire to the other,
Makes for a smooth driver though, if you squeeze the throttle nicely you can get them to both to spin,
It's good training for these new guys :D

Must be northern Nevada thing, lots of "fuzzy" front diffs here. Dana 60s don't care but seen many 44 break. Rubicon and Moab tested.

My waggy HP60
J20 GM 60
CJ-7 GM 60
80 ish F150 SAS d44
79 Bronco d44

Must be northern Nevada thing, lots of "fuzzy" front diffs here. Dana 60s don't care but seen many 44 break.

Hopefully this D-44 has a real locker & some good shafts/joints fairly soon,
He has only been out on one trip & already has a pretty big wish list going.

Lower gears, f/r, spool for the rear, locker, shafts, & joint for the front, a cage, ect.

Hopefully this D-44 has a real locker & some good shafts/joints fairly soon,
He has only been out on one trip & already has a pretty big wish list going.

Lower gears, f/r, spool for the rear, locker, shafts, & joint for the front, a cage, ect.

Do him a favor & don't let him waste the money on the D44. Find a 60, even if its a balljoint 60 out of a SD, and put a real axle under that thing. I've got a 44 under the Screwball, and hate that POS axle more than anything.

Do him a favor & don't let him waste the money on the D44. Find a 60, even if its a balljoint 60 out of a SD, and put a real axle under that thing. I've got a 44 under the Screwball, and hate that POS axle more than anything.

I hear what you are saying, but my job of getting him hooked is done, I will make the suggestion though,

I hear what you are saying, but my job of getting him hooked is done, I will make the suggestion though,

LOL! Friends don't let friends run D44's in full sizes. As the wiser & more experienced friend, it is your moral obligation to make sure he knows that D44s bring the suck under a fullsize