I know it’s stupid but I have a 1991 f150 with 26k factory miles and it’s been in the family since 91 it was my moms first car. It is now mine and I like to go up the pass for snowboarding often so I was going to swap this truck to 4x4 I have read a few forums but everyone is swapping with different engines and transmissions then me so just wanting to clarify if the parts truck I found will work for me. I have a 1991 f150 single cab with a long bed. In-line 6 with the 4 speed manual transmission with o/d as 5th. The parts truck I found is a 1989 f150 with the inline 6 and 5 speed manual trans but it’s a single extended cab and longer than my truck. Is everything on it essentially swap over except the driveshafts? And please don’t tell me sell my truck and buy a 4x4 I like the 91 body style and it still has perfect paint I’m also 19 and in college I don’t want a car payment from my research it’s only like 1500-2000 if you get the right parts truck and do it yourself which I’m going to be doing. Thank you

My truck

Parts truck

 

The front driveshaft will work fine, you'll need to find a new rear driveshaft. But as long as you have a parts truck, everything else is there. Just hope that all of the ball joints, bearing, diff, bushings, etc on the 4x4 front end are good. And if the transfer case on the parts truck a push button or manual?
Also, 4x4 isn't as useful as people claim it is, as long as you put some weight over the rear wheels, there is plenty of traction to be had. And there is the debate over open diff vs lsd vs locker. My '94 bronco is 4x4 with open diffs and has been stuck in wet grass plenty of times, with one front wheel and one rear wheel spinning in the mud, while the opposite wheels are sitting on a much better surface, and my '89 F150 rwd lsd has driven through the same grass and mud without getting stuck, and even pulling the bronco out, but this is always on flat ground or a mild incline.

 

Shagg brings up a good point.

I'd encourage you to remove the donor parts and have new bushings and balljoints installed. The main bushings would be the TTB bushings. Ball joints will be easiest done while the parts are removed -the alignment shop will need to work on the cam adjusters which are probably rusted in place, replacing them now will make the alignment techs job much easier. Also included should be the radius arm bushings.

You have a vehicle in good shape, doesn't do a lot of good to replace that front end with one that is beat out and/or has subpar components due to age/miles that your truck does not have.

It should be a fun job if you have experience and/or enjoy this aspect of automotive repair. I installed a lift kit on a 1993, had to remove all the front end components, and I delivered the TTB items to the alignment shop for new bushings while it was apart.

Take pictures of the donor vehicle very carefully to see where the hardware is located. Measure the bracket for the radius arm (it may be the same on 2wd/4wd but I don't know. Could be a good time to install a lift, relocated the radius arm bracket will be easy with the vehicle disassembled. Also important will be the brake routing and any other wiring/hoses mounted to your vehicle and the donor.

 

Welcome to the site.
The truck looks in like new shape, only 26,000 miles? What are factory miles? I guess that is original miles?
What "pass" would you be climbing?
My 1999 2 WD has been thru a lot of snow storms, never got stuck when a lot of others did.
Trick is weight like mentioned, I put my weight a over the axle but a little forward of the axle too. And your driving skill helps a lot..
Tire condition makes a big difference, I have passed 4 WD's stuck ,but I guess their tires were worn out, or they spun out by driving crazy.
Depending on the "pass" a good set of chains should get you up.
What "pass" you talking about?
Where abouts are you?

 

Sell it & buy a 4WD.

The front d'shaft will work with its matching transmission. The rear d'shafts probably will NOT (neither).

 

He said real nice,
"And please don’t tell me sell my truck and buy a 4x4".

 

And real nicely, I declined to indulge his plea.

 

Welcome

She is really too nice to start modifying into a trail capable winter 4x4 rig.

Keep it the way it is ...... and get a Ford OBS beater 4x4 to modify, wrench on, and have fun bouncing off trees.

As nice as your truck is ... I would leave it in the garage as soon as salt goes down... and drive the beater until spring.

That way it will be around to pass down to your kids one day. I'm usually not a brick nose fan ... but yours is really nice.

having one older Ford truck is nice..... having two is even better

 

About 20 years ago I had a '78 (Bullnose) 2wd F150 that I converted to 4wd. I bought a complete Bronco chassis from a scrapyard and swapped in the axles in less that a day. It was still a 2wd with just a rear shaft. Then I got a complete auto tranny with transfer case swapped that in. Then I drove around with just the front driveshaft from the Broco hooked up because the old rear shaft no longer fit. I took measurements for the correct length and had a driveshaft shop make up a new one and I was good to go full 4wd. This was the second time I had a custom shaft done and have found they do a great job, building and balancing them on a machine that duplicates what the factory suppliers use. The shaft shops do most of their business for shafts used in semis, etc.
While all this was going on I used the truck for work trips of up to 200 miles each way and did the swapping on weekends after I brought the parts home with it. It's not a difficult conversion and everything just bolted in place. Eventually I swapped out the 351W with 4 barrel carb for a 302 Mustang fuel injected engine with TFI ignition and EE4 computer, first with the injectors wired in 2 groups of 4 but eventually for full SEFI. I actually drove a whole Midwest winter the injectors wired in 2 groups, with an ECU from a 4cyl Ranger. Eventually I found a Mustang SEFI computer and rewired one last time. All the parts I used were scrounged for scrapyards because you couldn't even buy plastic fuel lines from the parts stores in those days.

I just acquired a 1991 F150, 4wd, inline 6, 5 spd manual that has survived 31 WI winters while still looking almost like new but doesn't run. I'm new here now and look forward to help in fixing that.

 

I hear you on that conversion. I imagine the solid front axle from the Bronco wasn't that bad of an install .... probably a lot easier than a TTB.

My 1993 is a California Bronco and is almost completely rust free. The E4OD has been acting up... and instead of doing a rebuild ... I'm looking for a 4x4 1996 F150 stick shift to use a doner for a tranny swap. I will probably have to lose the 5.8 in the 1993 and replace it with a 5.0 from the 1996 .... but for the stick shift, OBDII, and mass air .. it will be worth it.

I really dig the OBS Fords with 1996 being my absolute favorite year. Maybe in the future I can add a 1996 Ranger .... and a 1996 F250 .... or even a 1996 Explorer with a 302 to the stable.