So those of you have noticed that I have been busy. I have been working on my orange truck, tinkering with the read one. Messing with my Crew Cab, and buying up dentsides left and right.
Somwhere in the mix, I have found (made) time to upgrade the 94 Bronco to a solid axle, and increase some strength aspect to 1 ton gear.
Follow along:
Day one, includes removing the old 1/2 ton junk and calling the local scrap guy to come haul it off:
28 minutes later:
Removing the old buckets. Wont need those anymore:
Prep the dana 60F, because a dana 44 is still a dana 44:
Square up the new hangers:
Hang the stock "V" code 99-04 Super Duty front leafs:
Bolt up the axle:
Take a break and finish the other parts:
Tighten it all down and measure for drivelines:
Thats one day of work. One guy, no special tools. A floor jack, and some stands. I did have all of the brackets made up before hand, so that was not an issue. Springs are bone stock. Rear hangers are factory hangers from the same era F250.
I have the Sterling 10.25 already built, and has a disc brake conversion already done.
Steering components still have to be made:
Tomorrow, I will install this rear axle, build two drivelines, plumb the brake lines, Cycle the suspension to determine where the front shock mounts go, set up the steering and fire it up. Couple of shake down runs up and down the street, and it should be ready to hit the road.
So after an early morning breakfast, I get after it.
Rear axle goes in just fine, but the pinion angle is quite severe. Make a mental note to pick up a veriety of blocks from the shop so I can figure out the rear suspension.
Not a problem, so I wonder over to the front and finish up the steering.
Stock pitman arm, no drop and a flat steering arm. No lift / rise.
Verify clearance at full lock and what do I see? Binding? What the heak is all of this nonsense?
What do we do? How do we fix this? I dunno. Must have made an error when I made up the front hangers. I dont have tires yet, so there is no telling yet.
Clearance the crossmember because at full lock and full suspension compression, the drag link strikes the x-member.
Whats next? I have several banjo bolts and of the many that I have, none are the correct ones for my rear calipers.
After making driveshafts, and getting this whole thing together, I am help up by some nickle and dime items.
To top it all off, my beadlocks did not come in, so I have my tires mounted on stock wheels.
The culprit:
Waiting to go:
All in all a nice little build. Have to work some bugs out, but it will come around.
37" Coopers. First time on them. This B-350 will see quite a bit of street time, so I felt these were a decent compormise.
Boggers are nasty on the street and I wanted something a little more civilized.
Thank you. Its not a bad ride. Looks about like I had pictured. Nice conservative rig with some trail potential.
Not much chance of breaking any drivetrain comonents, so this really bumps up the reliability. I want to make sure this truck gets there and gets back. As civilized as it appears, it is all business, and will see some pretty extreme situations.
When I set my mind to build, I do it, and do it quickly. I spent many hours deciding what to do and then I jump in with both feet.
I was going to run a coilover up front, and a modified radius arm system.
This would have required compound bends in the arms, and would have still relied on a tac bar to locate the front axle. I was concerned about the strength of this set up. Since this truck will also see some mud, it may recieve some boggers and get burried to the doors. I dont want to leave the front axle in the mud during a recovery attempt.
I just needed something that was simple to fabricate and very effective as well as strong and reliable. Leaf springs provide all of this, so I wen this direction.
These springs did not offer the lift I was after so I must make some modifications. More lift and I have to move the axle forward a bit. Not much of a problem.
My shackle angle is great. Offers just the right amount of compression and some mad extension. I was limited on resources to cycle the suspension completely but from what I could tell, it will be impressive.
I shall tackle the rear with a shackle flip and some long chebby leafs. I like those, and I have room for them.
In the near future, the B-350 will be upgraded with a Np205, twin sticked of course, and I will complete the full cage.
Meanwhile, I have to look at the little things that were flaws in my design and address those.
Do you have the dimension for your front spring hangers? I need to have a set built. That's next on my to-do list. Thanks. Looks awesome by the way.
Are you looking for a CAD file? Maybe just a dimension for the amount of drop versus the shackle length?
I can help you with both, but with respect for those that make a living building this stuff (I dont make a living doing this, its a hoby for me) I might suggest the Sky shackle reversal kit. These lits are spot on, and you cant beat the price. They only charge 300 bucks or so, and I can run the CNC machines for that kind of money.
If you can find an owner / operator of a CNC table and lazer / plasma machine, then you can try, but then you still have to brake the steel, and weld it. WHile it can be done, I think the few dollars that this company charges is real cheap. You wont be disappointed with the quality.
I believe they have stepped up the gauge of the materials, and have a better product for less money than the ORU kits.
I copied an ORU unit. Notice the thicker construction of mine VS what appears to be some rather light weight material from other manufacturers.
I do not sell to the public, but can help if you decide to make your own.
Sky's kit is hard to beat though.
wow, that is impresive to get it done that fast. how do the leafs ride compared to the TTB that was there before?
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1970 F-350 Crew Cab long bed
06 Focus ZX3 5 Speed (DD)
Thinking the Government stimulus plan is working is like thinking that taking water form the deep end of a pool and dumping it in the shallow end will raise the water level of the pool.
SoCal FTE Member
so what do you got for lift on that? i was just curious ive seen your trucks with leafs and they flex out pretty damn good so i was wondering what you used to lift these leaf spring beasts?
nice build man
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PROJECT and DD---95 ford f150 4x4, 300 INLINE SIX!, 5speed, SAS, 4" lift, 35x13.50 ground hawgs (sooner or later)
PARKED---91 ford f150 lariat, 302 v8, auto, 2wd, rust
PARKED---92 ford f150 xl ext. cab short bed, dual tanks, 302 v8, auto, 2wd, LOUD!, very little rust!
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