Ok folks, I have a very strange question...such that I don't really know how to ask it.

I have a 69 F100 131" wheel base. The truck is all original and in very very good shape, great patina, etc. 2WD. I've had two different friends tell me on two different occasions that something doesn't look right when they are following me down the road. It almost looks as if the front driver wheel sticks out past the rear wheel when tracking down the road a couple of inches. Now, I don't mean the truck is tracking crooked...I've seen vehicles like that that seems like the whole rear of the vehicle is off to the side. The best way I can describe it is image if someone put a wheel spacer on the front driver side but no other wheels. I don't mean the front wheel is laying out at the bottom...it's like the whole wheel is out. The passenger side lines up fine with the rear. All the wheels are the same (same backspacing and all that), and it does not appear to have a different spindle on the driver side.

The truck travels down the road very straight, doesn't road walk (no see-sawing of the wheel to keep it straight), etc. I guess I'm not too worried about it, but it does bug me a bit.

I know it's hard to diagnose, especially since I can't get a pic (looks like it sits straight in the driveway ) Maybe both of my buddies are just nuts.

 

When the "Center bolt" for the leaf pack breaks or bends, your leaf springs shift. This is called "crabbing" by most folks. Looking out your side mirrors, do you see equal amounts of your truck on each side?
You might want to take a look at your leaf pack. You'll see different discoloration from shifting packs. If this is the case, you'll need to put in a new center bolt.
I would suggest looking at hangers, rear end mounting area's and anything else concerning your leaf springs.

 

Ok, thanks for the tip!

 

'Could be that the cab and bed are square to each other but not to the frame.

That, coupled with the visual anomaly of these things crabbing down the road due to the narrower rear track, could be exacerbating their visual perception.

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The front track width is wider than the rear track width on these trucks... sounds normal to me, unless I'm missing something.

 

Nope.. don't think so. I think we're all on the same page.

A way to "correct" the visual funkiness is to spec the rear tires to be wider than the front... meaning, staggered tire sizes. I chose 225/70s in front and 275/60s in back.

 

Have your buddies in the lane to the left of you and see if It tracks the same

 

This is what I believe to be the issue with my truck. I tried to ream the hole in the front cab mounts so precisely that I didn't make them large enough and didn't leave myself any slop to shift the cab around much. Cab to bed is good, but I can see that my front wheels are not centered in the wheel wells. My father in law said that it looks like it is dog tracking a little bit even though the frame is straight.

 

X2 I've always called it "dog tracking". Rear end walking off to one side.

 

Me too. I notice it fairly often, just followed a 2 ton mail truck yesterday that was dogtracking a good 6 inches. But from the OPs description as I understand it, the truck seems to run straight but just has one tire that sticks out. Pictures might help.

 

One tire sticking out means other tire same axle is sticking in!!
all these fixes are simple please do your due diligence on safety. you'll be rewarded in the long run. A center bolt on spring pack is crucial, most people over look this fact and it cost them $$$$ so look closely at what your doing. simple mistakes can cost money.