3/4-Ton Pickup Converted to 6-WD

3/4-Ton Pickup Converted to 6-WD PICKUPS Miscellaneous 26-5-18 "It wasn't easy to put together, but I'm glad I did," says Jerry Ewell, Jackson, Tenn., who converted a 1964 International 1200 series 3/4-ton, 4-WD pickup into a 6-WD model that's equipped with walking beam rear axles and a 12-ft. long steel flatbed. The flatbed is equipped with a headache rack with chain hooks for easy binding of loads. Ewell built the pickup after reading a story in FARM SHOW about a Wyoming man who built a heavy-duty 6-WD pickup from a 3/4-ton model (Vol. 22, No. 1). "I built it as a challenge. It's not designed for heavy-duty work, but it makes a great all-around truck for general purpose work." Ewell already owned the 1964 pickup. He also had a similar 1965 International model which he had bought for parts. He removed the bed and cut the frame off the 1965 pickup in front of the axles and welded it to the back end of the 1964 model. The 1964 pickup's original rear end chain-drives the add-on rear end via a jackshaft and sprocket that mount on the main driveshaft. Ewell used 1 by 3-in. heavy channel irons and 2 by 4-in. heavy rectangular steel tubing to build a frame for the flatbed. He used 1/8-in. deck plate to make a floor and 1 by 2 rectangular steel tubing to make stakes that support 2 by 4 wood sideboards. The pickup is powered by its original 6-cyl. gas engine. "It does the work of a new 1-ton 4-WD pickup that would cost $30,000 or more," says Ewell. "I spent about $1,100 to build it, mostly on brake parts and machine work on driveshafts. I added another set of shift levers inside the cab to engage or disengage the far rear axle, which allows me to put the pickup in 2-WD, 4-WD, or 6-WD. I use 2-WD on the highway, with only the mid axle driving. When I switch to 4-WD I can have either the two rear axles driving or the front and mid axles driving." Ewell started working on the project five years ago and just finished building it this spring. "The biggest problem was that the two rear ends had different gear ratios. The 1964 model has a 4:77 rear end while the 1965 model has a 4:11 rear end. I finally figured out the proper combination of sprockets to get the two rear ends to run them together." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Ewell, 1533 Cotton Grove Rd., Jackson, Tenn. 38305 (ph 731 422-6955).

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