1969 C50 4x4 Axle Swap?

[txagincali]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

maybe a even better option is the f450 and f550 axle as there a tad wider and much bigger parts over the f250 and f350 axle . then do a matched pair of axles and be done with it . and at the same time it gets you much closer to the gvw weight spec of th axle as the truck will be so you wont be hurting it as much . also gets you 19.5" rims and tires at the same time .

Thanks k30 for the suggestion.

I had looked at the F450/550 route but the main issues I had with those for my build (being under a suburban):

1. You wind up with the 10 lug bolt pattern and then have to run commercial wheels/tires or get a turned down 22.5" rim to 22" which allows slightly more variation in tire selection. Or an insanely expensive aftermarket set

2. It does have a wider front axle track (2011 F450 DRW = 74.8" vs 2011 F350 68.3") but I'd like to maintain an 8 lug bolt pattern (whether 8x6.5 or 8x170 etc) but with having a deeper (more negative) offset will help allow for the lack of width the F350 axle provides.

Other than adding in the suburban body and a Duramax/Allison, the weight of the truck will be well down from its original >9,000 and GVWR of 15000 won't ever be touched.

Do you think running an F350 axle in general is too weak for this truck's weight to handle? A 2004 F350 ranged from 5400-6900 lbs with GVWR 9900-11000.

[Campbel45]

a couple of options come to mind..

#1. You may check out rtechfabrications and their instagram. He has a couple pictures posted using the original chassis and springs (may have taken some out of the spring pack) with chevy dana 60 and 14 bolt swapped in. If your not hauling big weights I don't see an issue with 1-ton parts.

#2. Swap the body over to a 4x4 chassis. I believe the front clip of the medium duty trucks swap over to the light duty.

#3. If your wanting to keep it medium duty, you might look at a rockwell f106 front axle.

[txagincali]

Thanks for the response Cambel, some good ideas.

Yep RTech is actually the one that has given me inspiration for my original truck build (Drill Sergeant) to something bigger like the Duke until I ultimately landed on the Suburban which he had a rendering made.

I liked the idea of a Chevy 1 ton axle setup but they are a PASSENGER SIDE DROP as opposed to the Ford which are a DRIVERS SIDE DROP. The DMax & Allison are a Drivers Side Drop which was why I was looking hard at Dana 60. Add to that I have the Duramax donor which has the AAM 11.5" rear end in 3.73 but I also have a different 2500 work truck with 4.10s. Both gear ratios Ford F350's have had from the factory (easier to swap, gearwise anyways).

The C50 chassis I have is already setup to fit a DMax and Allison, so I figured it would be easier to figure out the front axle swap issue instead of trying to fit the C50 front end to the half ton 4x4 chassis. I have seen a few threads that start fast but end just as quickly on here when they see the fenders run 6+ inches shorter than C10 fenders and way too much chassis work is involved there after, not to mention the kick up.