I have a 85, straight 6, with a 4.9 in it. Runs great and I've put some cash into it. It's only 2w drive. What would it probably cost to convert it to 4wheel drive? What has to be done?

 

IMO, from a straight $$ point of view, it would be cheaper to sell your truck and buy one with 4x4 already on it. Less headaches too.

Now, from a purely hobbiest point of view where $$ and time is not an issue, it would be a cool project.....

It's been done a lot and I've seen conversions of this type in most of the 4x4 mags and they make it seem pretty easy...... They do have to fab up a lot of stuff and always seem to have better tools and shops then the average Joe has however.......

If you found a doner 4x4 truck that still had decent axles and trans case and was around the same year as your existing truck, you could "almost" bolt the 4x4 pieces in place for the most part, but I'm sure you would still need to do a lot of trial and error stuff along the way too...... That's why it would be "fun" for someone who enjoys doing that kind of stuff and had the proper tools and knew how to use them.....

Good luck!

Mitch