I have obtained the front suspension from a 1978 Ford Truck which I will use on my 1965 F100 restoration. My question is; Can I use the Radius Arms off the 1965 with the I-Beams and disc brakes from the 1978 Ford Truck? The 1965 Radius Arms are in better shape and look to be better made.

NEXT QUESTION: The I-Beams from the 1965 Ford F100 have a Metal Bar attached to them that hooks onto the truck frame (don't bolt on, just hooks onto the frame). The 1978 front suspension does not have these "hooks" attached to the I-Beams (and no way, that I can see, to attach them) am I going to be OK or have I messed up?

Hopefully someone can help me.

 

Hey Coopster, either set of radius arms will work. If you think you might want to add a factory sway bar at some point, go with the '78 arms as they have a notch in the end that holds the sway bar bracket. Otherwise, it shouldn't matter which ones you use.

As for the "metal bar", I'm not sure what you're referring to....my '66 didn't have one to my knowledge and therefore I certainly don't miss it. LOL! I used '78 suspension in my disc brake conversion, too. Good luck with it. It's a fairly simple upgrade.

Where in OK are you? I'm originally from there and headed there for a visit next week.

 

37 Ford Guy;
Thanks for the info. This will definitely help me. The "metal bar" I was trying to explain bolted to the I-Beam and the hook on the end of the metal bar hooked onto the frame. Like I said, the 78 suspension does not have that.


I live in the OKC area.

 

I have family just north of OKC in Crescent. Will be making many trips to OKC while there. I'm still not sure about the metal bar you've described unless it was there to keep the beams from dropping so low that the springs fall out when jacking it up. Not sure about the 65's but 66 and later had little brackets that bolt to the top of the spring hat to hold the springs in place when raising the truck. Maybe someone else can confirm for '65.

Randy

 

Here's a photo of the "Metal Bar". You should be able to see it between to the two coffee cans. See how it bolts to the I-Beam and then how it hooks into the frame?

 

Watching as I'm planning on doing the same upgrade.
Looks like you are working on your truck in the living room :-)

 

Frame with rear end & springs


LOL
No, that's some used carpet that I came across. Makes for a nice area to work on instead of cold cement.
I uploaded a photo of the frame and rear end and leaf springs. Frame has POR15 w/ a top coat on it. Rear end and leaf springs have been powder coated. Working on getting the front end fixed up now. That's why I'm asking my questions.

 

I'm not sure what the extra 'appendage' is on the I-beam. I've never seen that before.

I have a '69 F100 that I converted from manual 4-wheel drums to '77 F100 front discs/I-beams/radius arms. I also switched my truck from manual steering to power steering and from manual brakes to power brakes.

My front suspension before.



After. (also note the flexible caliper hose to hard line frame bracket was changed to the frame brackets from the '77 F100).



Difference in brake hose-to-hard line frame bracket. (photo in following link courtesy of HIO Silver).

http://i42.tinypic.com/vnjhgj.jpg

My brake booster is a factory Bendix dual diaphragm unit from a '75 F350. The input rod of the booster was a direct connection to my '69 brake pedal, with no changes or modifications.



My power steering gear box is a Saginaw unit from a '78 F150.



The Saginaw PS gear box will require a shorter length steering column, a shorter column bracket on the engine side of the firewall and the seal at the base of of the column tube inside the cab. I installed a tilt column from a '78 F150. --automatic transmission NSS is mounted on column on '77-earlier trucks. '78-up NSS is mounted on the side of the transmission.



My stock '69 fixed column firewall seal on left, '78 PS tilt column seal on right.



Manual steering or Bendix PS firewall bracket on left. PS column firewall bracket for Saginaw steering column on right.



My Ford C-2 power steering pump/brackets came off of 300 inline six that was in an '82 Ford F150.



Front sway bar from a '78 Ford F250 Camper Special.

 

Ultraranger;
Great, Great, Great photos, thank you very much. This is good info that will help me tremendously. I think I can quit worrying about the "metal bar" or "appendage" as you called it and go with the '78 suspension. Please keep checking for my name as I am sure I will have more questions. Your frame and suspension look real nice. What did you use on them; powder coating or POR 15 or something else? Excellent job on everything in the photos. You've motivated me, which help, believe me!

 

Thanks.

I have only spot painted the frame (only clean and rattle can painted in the front area where I was installing the front suspension). The paint is Dupli-Color Ford Semi Gloss Black DE 1635.

All suspension, engine brackets, etc. that are black were painted with that specific paint.

The frame/body won't get 'properly' cleaned and painted until some time later.

 

I swapped out the front drums for discs back in October of last year, along with numerous other changes I made to my '69 F100 short bed Ranger. If you're interested, you can read about the details of it at the following link.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ont-drums.html

 

The appendage just keeps the I-beam from dropping to low and letting the spring come out. It was used in '65 only. 1966 and up use a retainer on the coil spring which is held in by two bolts on top of the spring tower. You can eliminate them or if you want to keep them you can use later spindles on your existing I-beams.