Thread: 1941 Ford truck 4 Wheel Drive possibilities

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So, I've been thinking about making my old 1941 Ford an all wheel drive. I plan to drop a low key 350 in it, but haven't picked out a transmission yet. Thinking that colder, snowier climates might be in my future, I'm considering the possibility of putting in a 4 wheel drive setup. Has anyone ever seen one in these old trucks? I guess the big question is, will there be room for the front gearbox? Online info seems to be pretty sparse, so not really sure what I might be getting myself into. Any help is more than appreciated. Thanks!

If you choose to convert to 4wd the frame will be significantly elevated from 2wd configuration. A front differential means that the frame has to be raised to clear, period. Will it fit? Heck yes, you'll make it fit! The choices are what type of suspension are you looking at?

For me, I'd go with a long arm suspension with coils in front. Wheel & tire size will drive your true ground clearance, so you need to decide what you're building? Do you want something that's truly trail ready, or are you just looking for 4wd for cold climate, snow driving on moderate roads? It makes a huge difference in approach. Decide up front is this just a driver, wanting 4wd to be able to handle a big snow, or are you wanting an off-road rig.

Honestly, I don't think a '41 Truck would be my choice for conversion to 4wd. There's too many other candidates out there that make more sense. Fat fenders and running boards don't equate well to sitting tall on a set of 35's or bigger. Still, it's your truck....

Thanks, rspears. Not looking to go off roading, just want that extra security in the colder weather and on moderate dirt roads. We're looking at heading to Wyoming, and I'm building this truck as a daily driver, not a show car. I'm ordering the frame from Progressive, so iI believe they can customize as much as one needs. I want to make sure I have my ducks in a row before I order it though.

Check out the guys over at Pirate4x4. They've done just about everything related to 4WD - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum - Powered by vBulletin

I think a fat fendered truck can wear 35's and look just fine! It's a matter of personal preference IMO. Off road design just came out with a front 4 link coil over kit. It is pricey though.

Offroad Design - GM GMC Chevy 4x4 Crossover Steering - Dana 44, 10-Bolt, High Steer Hi-Steer kits

If you want to stay half ton, maybe consider buying a jeep donor vehicle and transplant the suspension from one of those to your frame. It would take some doing, but the parts would be cheaper and you could walk into a parts store and buy replacement parts as well. You might even be able to use a newer S10 4wd front suspension. They are IFS with CV shafts. That would help ride out but would require some engineering to get it all installed and work properly. Or to keep it all Ford, a Bronco II might be a candidate for a donor. There are definitely a lot of possibilities out there. It really depends how much you want to spend. There are even 9" ford front diffs now. I've seen pics of independent ones in rock buggies too. That might be a bit much for what you're planning though.

Thanks for all the inputs. Plenty to research and think about. Now I know it's "possible" but have to decide if that's the look I want. I was hoping to hear a fwd gearbox would fit at normal ride hight, but it sounds like I'd need to lift it up a few inches to get it in there. Not sure I want a lifted '41 Ford, haha. But thanks again for the advice and insight.

I'd look at a Ranger 4Wd chassis. If I remember correctly, some of the Ranger chassis were very easily adjustable for wheelbase, and I'd be surprised if there is not off the shelf V8 conversions. As far as ride height goes, that can be adjusted a bit with wheels and tires. Back in the '80s, a friend had a street only beast of a CJ7 with an AMC 360 that road on 14" rims with low profile radials. It looked like a go-kart....LOL

Originally Posted by Zandoz

I'd look at a Ranger 4Wd chassis. If I remember correctly, some of the Ranger chassis were very easily adjustable for wheelbase, and I'd be surprised if there is not off the shelf V8 conversions. As far as ride height goes, that can be adjusted a bit with wheels and tires. Back in the '80s, a friend had a street only beast of a CJ7 with an AMC 360 that road on 14" rims with low profile radials. It looked like a go-kart....LOL

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of dropping a classic body on a "new" chassis. Some people like that approach, but to me you destroy the whole "Classic" approach. In this example you end up with a XXXX Ranger 4WD that has a '41 Ford body on top. It's the worst of both worlds, to me. I'd much prefer to adapt the Ranger drive line into the '41 chassis, keeping some semblance of the origin of the truck. Just my $0.02 on the approach....

Originally Posted by Littleport22

Thanks for all the inputs. Plenty to research and think about. Now I know it's "possible" but have to decide if that's the look I want. I was hoping to hear a fwd gearbox would fit at normal ride hight, but it sounds like I'd need to lift it up a few inches to get it in there. Not sure I want a lifted '41 Ford, haha. But thanks again for the advice and insight.

Are you sure you wanna make this a daily driver in that kind of environment? I'm no expert on 4x4 but I've know a lot of people who've navigated a variety of weather conditions with 2 wheel drive. I agree that a lifted 4x4 41 Ford might not be the sleekest of streetrods but it would definitely be unique....sorta like those 4x4 Mustangs, limos, etc...


If you're intent on some type of 4 wheel traction I suppose you might also explore some of the late model All-wheel-drive cars to see how they work. They don't seem to require the vehicle to be lifted to accomodate the underpinnings. Anyway, keep us posted.....

In either case, (sitting the truck on a new frame OR sitting the frame on new running gear) is going to take a significant amount of fabrication so you must be honest about your fabrication skill AND the depth of your pocket book. Most of these conversions are abortions at best, worthless junk usually. Assuming you give a damn about the look of the vehicle (so you wont have to drive it with a paper sack over your head), the best route is keeping the frame that matches the body and mate the suspension to that. Realize that a 41 Ford didn't get designed with room for a transfer case nor clearance for a front differential, some compromises will be necessary.

Regarding the front differential, the front crossmember hitting is a worry OR the differential hitting the engine is another worry. I have a rock crawler with 40" Goodyear tires and 15" travel shocks and I can still hit the axle snubbers on a large drop. However, the differential solution is fixable. Regarding the transfer case, most people doing the sway go cheap and use some chain drive case. These things are usually huge and take up a lot of room under the floor, requiring the installation of a lump in the floorboard. This, in turn causes other stuff to be relocated.....crossmember, potentially seat frame, etc. The shifter can be a problem if a manual tranny is used. Most go with a 700R4 auto because of the low first gear. The best setup you can probably have for a street truck is a 700R4 with an Atlas transfer case. This pair shouldn't set you back more than $5000. IF you do this right and don't go el cheapo (equates to el crapo), this could be a neat setup. ..... kinda like a period style 4wd.

Well, you can say what you want to about these, but I think they're sweet....
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5523/...652554c62b.jpg
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-co...om-H-Ford.jpeg
http://s286.photobucket.com/user/tru...001-1.gif.html
http://picolio.auto123.com/art-image...marmon-i01.jpg

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Originally Posted by rspears

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of dropping a classic body on a "new" chassis. Some people like that approach, but to me you destroy the whole "Classic" approach. In this example you end up with a XXXX Ranger 4WD that has a '41 Ford body on top. It's the worst of both worlds, to me. I'd much prefer to adapt the Ranger drive line into the '41 chassis, keeping some semblance of the origin of the truck. Just my $0.02 on the approach....

Actually, in most cases I agree with you. But in this case, with the amount of surgery that would be required on the original '41 chassis, I'd prefer saving the original and cutting up a Ranger chassis.

I like the trucks TechInspector posted!

Originally Posted by Zandoz

Actually, in most cases I agree with you. But in this case, with the amount of surgery that would be required on the original '41 chassis, I'd prefer saving the original and cutting up a Ranger chassis.

In all reality, I can't see where you're going to be chopping much of anything besides the X member. The front suspension would be under the frame or if you went with an IFS, the diff assembly can go in with maybe some notches in the lower rails to acheive a closer to the ground stance. On the rear use outboard springs instead of the factory spring set up. And if a guy uses leaf springs front and rear, major cutting would not be needed. When I was in high school we took a 40 Ford truck right out of a junk yard and made it 4x4 and stuffed a 390 C6 NP205 combo in it and that truck had 33's on it. My friend mud raced it until he moved on to swamp racing. I wish I had some pics of that truck. It was pretty sweet.

img_4933.jpg
Here is a picture of a 4x4 1940 Ford Pickup in Norway that have four wheel drive IFS from a Chevy S10 pickup.