I haven't forgotten about this thread. I've done a lot of research on this and here's where I'm at.
1955-59
As OrrieG said, it's a straight swap to put a front axle with a 32" spring pad witdth into these trucks. He's got a good write up on it.
My thought was that some people would want to be able to run '73-87 front springs with poly bushings, so it could actually do some mild wheeling. I bought a rough '56 short box frame stripped it down, and started to do some mock up on it. Basically, once the frame is stripped (all the rivets for the factory stuff removed), it's just a thin walled weak frame with a lot of holes in it. It would take a lot of work to make it strong enough for mild wheeling. I did go ahead and design brackets though. But since the frame width is perfect for mounting springs under the frame, someone could easily order generic leaf spring mounts and, with some work and forethought, hang any leaf spring they want under the front. So I sold the frame and moved on.
1960-62?
I believe these 1/2 ton trucks have an X Frame with torsion bars, making it pretty much impossible to convert those year trucks to 4wd.
1963-1972
Despite the body style change, these truck have pretty much the same frame rails. The differences are the front frame horns and the body mounts. So I've been trying to find a truck, but my budget is low and my expectations are high. I'm in no rush so I'd rather wait for a good truck to start with. I'd still like to make some simple brackets to swap leafs into these years of trucks, but don't hold your breate. For those who are wanting something soon, check out these companies websites. They all offer a lot of options for mounting brackets and tabs.
Barnes4x4
Ballisticfabrication
Polyperformance
Bluetorchfab
Artecindustries
Ruffstuffspecialties
Copperheadfab
And
DIY4x
Diy4x has a spring hanger kit listed for '69-72 4x4s. I think it could be easily modified for the 2x's. It's pricey, but it's a nice product.
