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what should be stock on a 73 ford 1 ton?

blazin_blazer

blazin_blazer

1/2 ton status
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I've been looking for a ford d60 to do a SAS, well i found a complete 73 ford 1ton truck for a grand/$1000...i haven't seen it in person yet, but i had my uncle go look at it, as its close to where he lives and he said it is a d60 front end(i told him where it would say d60f in the casting, as he's not into trucks & cars much) & what a full floater rear-end looked like, he said it had both.

I'm going to go look at it next weekend, prolly going to bring it home, so I'm going to take a trailer w/me. its a 73 model, what should i expect to see if its still all stock? its an automatic trans truck, they don't know what engine or trans is in it, other than a big v8 w/ an auto, my uncle said there was nothing to indicate engine size but he said it was a v8 and it looked to be a big engine. would it have a 460 or possibly a 352 or 390 or maybe even a 429 or 428(man could i be that lucky) he also said the truck didn't seem to have alot of rust on it, would i be tearing up a rare or unique truck just to get the front end?

I'm not sure about ford trucks? what yrs did ford make the high boy 4x4's and how can you tell if it is a highboy truck??? should it be a high pinion d60f in 73? any info on what should be in a stock 73 ford 1 ton would be greatly appreciated as I'm not very knowledgeable on fords, especially 1 that old, i was 1 yr old in 73. thanks for any info!!
 
In '73 Ford didn't make a 1 ton 4x4, an F250 would have had one of two different Dana 44s. The 2 different 44s were both closed knuckle and drum brakes. Ford made an open knuckle 60 for some F250 crew cabs in '76 iirc but that one was low pinion and small axles. The first hp 60 was the '78/'79 and I think that one was available in some F250s as an option and standard in the F350s. The V8 engine in a '73 F250 would have been a 360.

The Ford that your talking about is now more than 30 years old and could have just about anything for axles, emblems, engines or anything else compared to what it came with.

Gus
 
Speedo hit the nail on the head on those comments. Ford did offer an open knuckle disc braked D44 for the '76 and '77 F250's but those are a 50/50 mix as some I've seen in those years still ran closed knuckles. And these 44's in the Highboys would all be low pinions.

Get pics of this said F350. Lets see the front axle, an overall shot of the body, and the frame area under the cab. I want to see if it has a divorced t-case or not.
 
how can i find the yr of this truck? i know on most GM stuff the 8th digit of the vin is the year...where can i find a definitive yr on a ford?
 
Just get the whole VIN and post it up here. I have books somewhere and would need to dig them out.
 
OK..i still haven't made it to see this so-called ford 1 ton. i have talked to the lady who owns it. it seems, her husband bought the truck 7-8 yrs ago to restore and he fell sick & is now passed away and she wants it gone, and she gave me what she thinks is the vin, she said it was the only # she could find on the truck. she said it was on the drivers side door jamb.

I've tried to find a vin decoder, but most all of them say i need 17 characters for a vin and she only gave me 11 digits. i found on 1 ford truck sight it gave me a yr model of 79 and engine size of 400 cid & which plant assembed the truck, but no other info, no reg cab or king cab, no 4x4 or 4x2, no srw or drw. this is what it listed for the # given to me:

Your VIN number: F36SNEA6984
Your Model Year is 1979.
Truck Series: Unknown, Please double check VIN number
Engine: V8 - 400cid, 4BBL carb, 167-177 HP
Assembly on: Norfold, VA

can anyone decode this vin:F36SNEA6984 ...is that a complete vin for a 78 or 79 ford truck? can anyone tell me if this is indeed a 1 ton 4x4 w/hpd60 in the front of the truck, it is still all original. will it have a divorced t-case? any info is greatly appreciated!
 
F36SNEA6984
Click to expand...
My book shows:

F36: '79 F350 4WD

S: 400 CID 2 BBL carb

N: Norfolk plant

EA6984: consecutive unit number



Go back to the tag and get the rest of the numbers. Not just the VIN, but the other numbers below the VIN.
 
OK, next I'm bringing it home...lol..then we'll look @ the #'s, I've seen enough info w/the # she gave me off the truck & that k30guy decoding it & my uncles word says its d60f front-end casting marks w/f350 ranger emblems on the fenders......i think it needs a new home quick =)

they have filled the bed w/trash..anyone ever dealt w/that problem? what did you do? I'm thinking maybe rent a big trash bin for a month or so b/c i have a few other trucks w/a bed w/trash bags in them, that's how i spot em..if they filling w/trash, usually they consider truck trash too,they look at it as getting rid of garbage, & i get it, 1 truck stacked full of budweiser bottles empty put back in boxes..got it for a 12 pack of Busch..i took him a 30 pack when i returned w a trailer..lol
 
An F350 of that year should have the HPD60 front but the rears are a crapshoot since most of them, AFAIK, have D60's instead of D70's.

Cleaning out the bed is easy. Just empty the crap into trash cans or bags and set them out by the curb to be hauled off.
 
yea..i live where there is no trash pickup..a buddy told me its close to $400 everytime they empty 1 of those big dumpsters..dam
 
Do you live in the country or what?

Why not get a 55 gallon drum and burn the trash instead? Do it at night when no one can see it. And do it in the back yard, too. Wait for the wind to blow slightly and away from other homes so no one smells the smoke, etc.
 
i live on 20 acres out in the sticks, i've had raging bonfires here not scared of people seein a fire really...if i burn it i may dig a pit and burn it and cover it over..people do it all the time, as far as my local health dept says that "if you own over 10 acres, it is legal to do this w/household refuse''...we have no landfill...i just really didn't want to do it on my land although by all the crap(some cool old bottles)that washes up in places on the hill...i pretty sure its been done here before..its a 100+yr old homesite i own...1st house in this area for a looonnngggggg time
 
Save your money. Burn it and have a weinie roast.
 
only thing about just burning it, the tin cans & glass don't burn up, that's why most people dig a pit and burn it thoroughly and then cover it up...the thing about 55 gal drums..what do to do with them after they are full of bottles & cans?
 
blazin_blazer said:
OK, next I'm bringing it home...lol..then we'll look @ the #'s, I've seen enough info w/the # she gave me off the truck & that k30guy decoding it & my uncles word says its d60f front-end casting marks w/f350 ranger emblems on the fenders......i think it needs a new home quick =)
Click to expand...

The high pinion kingpin style Dana 60 is the most desirable Dana 60 front axle assembly. Those axles usually sell for upwards of $1,000.00.

They were first available in 1978 on F-250's with the factory "Snow Fighter" package as well as on crew cab and I believe some Supercab trucks.

1979 was the first year for the F-350 4x4. (I own a '73 "High-boy" F-250 as well as a '78 F-250 Snow Fighter.)

Ford made the High-boys in that body style from 1973-1977.5. 1973-1976 V-8's were the FE series 360 2 bbls. (390's were NOT available from the factory in 4x4's). In 1977 they switched to the 351M and 400 engines.

Mid year 1977 they made some major changes to the F-250 4x4's. A new frame, a new steering system which used an integral power steering box instead of the Rube Goldberg inspired "power assist" ram. They also went to the married transfer case and started using high pinion Dana 44 front axles.

Ford built a gazillion of those trucks (often referred to as "dentsides") and in my opinion the best were the 1977.5-1979 versions. I'm partial to the split style grilles and I like the High boy look, but the later trucks drive better, handle better, etc.

Congratulations. You are buying a great truck!
 
yea, i have a cousin w/a 78 f250 and a 351m/auto/t-case=?-added, it only has 4.88 gears w/a detroit in the rearend & 8'' lift on 39.5 tsl's and he goes where everyone else goes w44'' tires on built rigs, his truck is stock except those few additions.....that says alot about a truck + i kinda like the 79 bodystyle so i kinda hate to get this truck & start just tearing it apart-1st thing is frontend is coming out to find itself in a SAS'd 92 gmc.

are the spring perches the same width on the ford & gm axles..who builds the kits to bolt 73-87 leaf springs into the.newer ifs trucks? anyone know wheres a good thread about the differences in the ford hpd60 & gm d60? i think i read some where that said the ford d60 has 4 u-bolts & no studs on axle like a gm d60 is that correct?

edit:sorry several questions in 1, but you know...
 
Last edited:
blazin_blazer said:
are the spring perches the same width on the ford & gm axles..who builds the kits to bolt 73-87 leaf springs into the.newer ifs trucks? anyone know wheres a good thread about the differences in the ford hpd60 & gm d60? i think i read some where that said the ford d60 has 4 u-bolts & no studs on axle like a gm d60 is that correct?

edit:sorry several questions in 1, but you know...
Click to expand...
Only the '78 and '79 D60's share the same spring perch width on the fronts. The '80 and newer Fords have a wider perch mount, somewhere around 36" or 37".

Off Road Unlimited offers a kit to mount to the GM frames to mate either axle to your rig. They offer a kit to fit whichever D60 you have. Both narrow and wide perch widths. Be warned, their kits are not cheap.

All Ford front axles use 4 square-bend u-bolts with the threads and nuts pointing down. No studs or anything like the GM or Dodge uses.
 
Wasatch K5 said:
The high pinion kingpin style Dana 60 is the most desirable Dana 60 front axle assembly. Those axles usually sell for upwards of $1,000.00.

They were first available in 1978 on F-250's with the factory "Snow Fighter" package as well as on crew cab and I believe some Supercab trucks.

1979 was the first year for the F-350 4x4. (I own a '73 "High-boy" F-250 as well as a '78 F-250 Snow Fighter.)

Ford made the High-boys in that body style from 1973-1977.5. 1973-1976 V-8's were the FE series 360 2 bbls. (390's were NOT available from the factory in 4x4's). In 1977 they switched to the 351M and 400 engines.

Mid year 1977 they made some major changes to the F-250 4x4's. A new frame, a new steering system which used an integral power steering box instead of the Rube Goldberg inspired "power assist" ram. They also went to the married transfer case and started using high pinion Dana 44 front axles.

Ford built a gazillion of those trucks (often referred to as "dentsides") and in my opinion the best were the 1977.5-1979 versions. I'm partial to the split style grilles and I like the High boy look, but the later trucks drive better, handle better, etc.

Congratulations. You are buying a great truck!
Click to expand...
I'm impressed on your Ford dentside knowledge. I'd be interested in hearing more stuff from you. My first love of all trucks are the Highboys, even before any GM truck. I've got a '75 F250 in the shop that I'm converting over to F350. I got a D70 rear from a Super Camper Special and now have been looking for that elusive HPD60 front. Gonna 460/C6 it along with L&L Products headers. Already have the remote 205 still under the rig. Plans are to restore the whole truck and paint it blue to match Bigfoot. Also plan to put all the Ranger XLT trim pieces on it, too.
 
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