Well I just finsihed up my project goin on with truck. When I bought it, it had 4" blocks in the front and 10.5 in the rear, not to mention the stacked springs that rode like a dump truck. Since then Ive swapped in a 8" SD spring in the front and a 10" for the rear. Had a couple issues with this. The front was easy, It bolted right in all I needed was longer shackles. Got them in and finished at that. When I went to start on the rear I didnt know what I was getting myself into. The spring was 4-5 inches longer than the original one. So we went about relocating the mounting points. NOw I dont know if it is just this spring or what but after we moved the rear hangers and lowered the truck down the spring flexed so much that the hanger was all the was back into the frame. So we had to unbolt it again, pop the rivets out of the front hanger and move that one forward also. After much measuring and beers we finally got in lined up right and lowered it down. Problem though, like before the spring flexed so much that the rear sat about 5" lower than the front. Now i went and got a 5" lift block from Summit. Then after we finally finished with this I take it out the next weekend and break my front axle. So I went ahead and spent the money to get the Moser Chrome-oly shafts for the front. Put those in and the very same day took it out to the woods again. It did ok but as I was leaving something was locking up on me. It broke free and I drove it home and a block away from my house my rear locked up and actually split the carrier in half and shot all my gears including the pin that holds them together through my diff. cover. Great...so I found a Sterling 10.25 rear out of a 88 F350 on craigslist for $200. Bought that and started the newest project. Every mounting lockation needs to be changed so these will fit. I had to move the spring perches in and move my shock mounts. I just finished bolting it in and drove it all day today with no problems, no clunks or werid noises. Finally I think everything is good. Its been extremely frustrating but in the end I think its worth it. Let me know what you think.
This is when I first got the truck....






And the 10.5 blocks



After the fronts finsihed





And here it is now

 

That looks awesome. Love the truck. Where'd you get that front bumper??

 

I actually found it in the junkyard off a 80's f150. Rewelded the brackets to fit mine. And the best thing is it was only $40.00

 

Looks cool

 

Looks good man.

If I may add a few constructive criticisms. In no way ment to be offensive.

I wouldve flipped the shackles in the rear for an added 4" lift and ditched the block all together.

Your next move should be crossover steering. The crappy push pull setup is fine for stock or moderately lifted trucks but deffinately not one lifted as high as yours. You can see my crossover tech thread in the offroad and 4x4 tech folder.

The D44 even with moser shafts (moser makes the worst D44 shafts btw) will not stand up to the tire potential this lift has. Even for moderate wheeling you will have problems.


Otherwise great build. What are your plans for it?

 

I too, have only constructive comments. First, great job. Second, have you considered a ubolt flip in the front? I don't know if you can, but if possible, it would eliminate something else to snag under the front.

 

Way to go, Looks good. The fun is getting all of the little bugs worked out.
Teds suggestion for a u-bolt flip (chebby style) is a good idea.
Looks like front shocks are gonna be in order.
Which manufacturer did you use for your springs?
How long did you make your front shackles? (The spring looks as though it has met the frame once or twice before. I am having this problem at full flex right now.)
Plan on some brake lines. Even re-located stockers get tight as a banjo string at full extension, provided the shock is long enough.
To completely benift from the exceptional ride of these springs, change, or install new pivot bushings. This makes a big difference.

Still looks great!

 

[quote=STGFordCrazy04;6255242]

The D44 even with moser shafts (moser makes the worst D44 shafts btw) will not stand up to the tire potential this lift has. Even for moderate wheeling you will have problems.


Yeah....I realized that last nite when I snapped my shaft again god damnit. I'll get some pics up soon. So...possibly lookin at a Dana 60 front now, always something huh??

 

check these threads out.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...pics-pics.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...sp-outers.html

 

holy lift blocks batman! It scares me that people actually get in and drive around with stuff like that. 5" lift blocks are bad enough, but 10.5"??????? Who the %@&* would ever do that.

Anyways - it looks like you are cleaning up the suspension a bit. I too would look into a different shackle setup and loosing the blocks. All in all you seem to be making decent progress.

 

First off nice work!!!! You brought that thing around from being a rolling death trap to a wheeling machine!!!!!

Like Stg said, filp that beast (sky manufacturing, check my gallery for info) and loose the 5" blocks in the back.

As to the ubolt flip on the front axle, I've been wanting to do this on my 79. Easy procedure on the passenger side but the drivers side seems a little troublesome with the cast holes in the pumpkin that the u bolts run through. Or am I over analizing it?

P.S. I dig the poor mans shackle reciever!

 

Lee,
you have to grind the hole out and knotch the ribbing in a D44hd to flip the shackles. Its much simplier on a D60 but I havent got off my lazy **** to do it.

 

I got the springs from a company out of California, competition spring. They were the best price I could find. When i first put them in I used the factory shackles, that is why they seem that they rub. Every little bump they hit until I changed to the new ones. Now they still hit sometimes, but only on some serious bumps. I need to fix my front shocks too, the original owner did not lengthen them, just dropped the mounts down to avoid using more expensive shocks. Damn half-*** from hell. The 10.5 blocks arent as bad a the 4" that were in the front, atleast I dont think so.

 

With a 78/9 D60, the u-bolt flip is gravy. Just need to grind the lower portion of the casting web to clear the u-bolt. This will mean that 1 u-bolt is alarger diameter, and a different length, so you will need 3 that are one size, and 1 that is slightly larger.
Spring plates are easy to make. I used 1/2" 316L SS plate.
Image of u-bolt flip - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

 

75F350,
got any measurements on the u bolts? 3 - 3 1/4" and 1- 3 1/2" ?