Wouldn't you know it....it turned out to be a "camper special" and had a big fat RC Dana 60! And me, 3000 miles from home! Can't hurt to ask about it though, right? Sure....
So the fellow comes out, we BS a little, and he says he'll let it go for $1200 Cdn ($720 US)....damn...the axle alone is worth that to me...so I hatch a plan to buy it, strip the axle off on Dad's farm and ship it back east on a pallet, then have the junkyard haul away the rest....sounds simple enough.
Then buddy produces a key and starts the thing, and things start to get out of hand quickly! Darn thing starts after 1/2 a crank, and purrs like a kitten. He explains the motor was rebuilt 60k km ago, gearbox rebuilt 3 years ok, everything works fine! I simply must have it!
So Grandma and I hatch a plot! (I have her totally psyched on the whole RCD60 thing by now) When Grandpa's not looking, we swipe the plates from his 90s F250 farm truck, speed back to the place, and I swap $1200 in crisp bank machine 20s for a new rig!! We bolt on the "borrowed" plates and drive it back to the farm. The bloody thing drives great....a couple of loose tie rod ends, and one hot brake, but otherwise all is well.
Well....I can't just let the junkyard make off with all those goodies, so I start thinking about keeping the whole truck! Back at the farm I do a detailed inspection....the body is ugly as hell, and beaten up, but mechanically this thing is in fantastic shape. So little rust, you can still easily read all the tags on the diffs and the gearbox...try that with a 5 year old Eastern truck, much less a 25 year old one!!
So the decision is made....I will keep the whole truck and ship it back to Nova Scotia. I will swap the RCD60 out to use in my buggy project, and swap in the RCD44 I already have from a 79 F250. Now I'll have a cool old tow rig / parts hauler...and an RCD60 to boot! But first---if I am to stand any chance at all of keeping it once it is home, I HAVE to do something about the ugliest 2 tone 70s brown paint job ever! So, on the last 2 days of my family vacation, I actually re-paint my "new" truck....the results were pretty good! I used my standard technique.....wire wheel on the grinder for all the rusty spots, sand with 220 grit, mask, wipe down with lacquer thinner, and spray bomb it. I used Tremclad gloss blue.
Here are the specs:
1978 Ford F250 Camper Special 4x4. 400m, NP435, NP205, RCD60 front, FFD60 rear, 4.10 gears, Extra cab, Long Box, dual batteries, AM radio, and an electronic brake controller! Scoooooore!
Now all I have to do is come up with $1500 to ship it back home!
BEFORE
FUGLY!!
Nice Paint!!!!
AFTER
The Prize!! How to Identify a High Pinion (Reverse Cut) Dana 60 front axle
8 lugs holding the wheel on.
Locking hub is approx. 4 inches in diameter
Solid axle
The kingpins are easily identified by the 4 bolts that hold them on, as opposed to the more traditional one large nut used on a balljoint.
