I bought a 73 Ford from a friend and its in pretty good shape. I got it for a tow rig and as another toy but don't want to go too crazy with it. It has a monster 460 in it, C6 tranny and Dana rear end. Only thing is... it's only 2wd. How difficult would it be to convert it to 4wd? Not so much for off road use but I'll be using it to tow my jet ski and boat and the wet inclines can be a bitch sometimes for rwd only vehicles as far as traction is concerned. So... would it be a pain and dumb expensive?

-Fred

 

depending on how much that boat weighs i doubt you will have traction issues. if anything, get an adjustable reciever for the hitch. the lower you go, the more tongue weight you will add which greatly increases traction.

 

if ya do a leaf spring up front probably wouldn't be to hard . . . then again ya got coils and radius arms already up there right? . . .not sure if the 4wd radius arms sit back further or not . . but it might be an easy swap . . if ya can find a donar truck and pull a c6/205 t-case or just the 205 and adapter along with all the front end parts and stuff . . ya probably have to make a rear drive shaft unless ya can find the exact same truck just in 4wd

 

I'm pretty sure a 73 is a solid axle dana up front, which means alot of cutting and welding to remove the front IFS and fab up spring mounts and the steering. If you're not experienced, then it'll be a good learning experience, but sourcing the axle can be expensive unless you have great contacts. Definitely the easiest way would be to do a complete swap of the whole drivetrain, if you can find it. It still might cost more than he truck is worth though. Your choice though! Good luck.

 

if you can't find a donor jut buy a 4wd in your price range. Headache if u ask me. but it would be a good learing experience.