Driveshaft question

[mustango]

Could I convert my two piece D/S in my f-100 '71 long bed to a one piece? Would it be strong enought even with today's metals/alloys? I plan on lowering the truck about 4 inches all around. TIA

[68F250]

I don't see why not. Later pickups went to a one piece anyway and used the car style tailhousing made out of cast iron instead of aluminum. I'd look for a '73 and later F100 and get the transmission, rear mount and driveshaft. The shaft will probably have to be shortened a couple inches 'cause the later pickups have a longer wheelbase. As far as strength, it's pretty beefy.

[mustango]

I plan on getting a whole new D/S built. Do I really need an iron tailshaft? My C-6 is in good shape so I'm leaving it in.

[cobraF100]

You can put a One-Piece Drive Shaft in BUT you need to make sure the Rear Geometry (Drive Shaft/Pinion Angle) is right or you could mess up the Rear and Trans.

[68F250]

I suppose you could use the aluminum tailhousing but it still needs to be the car style which is longer than the truck one. Also, the longer car style tailshaft is splined for a slip yoke. The shorter truck style tailhousing uses a tailshaft with a bolt-on yoke.

You can't just make a super long driveshaft and bolt it on your existing tranny, it needs a slip joint somewhere to give and take up the slack when the driveshaft gets longer and shorter. Even if you could, the driveshaft would be too long.