Hello new to the forum. Im looking into buying a 1996 F150 2x4 with the 300 I6, I am wanting to build a prerunner style truck I dont live in an area where there are any places to run like a prerunner but we do have a lot of unmaintained gravel roads and I spend most of my time on gravel. OK to the truck I am wanting to run 35" Master craft courser C/t's I had them on my 97 F150 4x4 and put many mile and mud pits behind them with hardly any signs of ware(?) I am thinking of running 8"fabtech front coils with 4" Fabtech I beams and 4" drop brackets (braced) and for the rear 4" blocks on 6" springs with home built long travel shackes. does this sound like a decent build?

Suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

Oh and would 4.56 gears with a spool be to low for the 300six?

 

sounds like way too much lift for a 2 wheel drive on 35s to me.

 

Im thinking lots of wheel travel.

 

look in the 70's ford section for a user named chasetruck746 or something along those lines. he's a desert guy and can most likely set you straight.

 

most prerunner trucks are low with cut/gutted fenders. Id say 12" lift would bring teh suckage at high speed and jumps.


Wait on Chase for some info before you start buying parts.

 

^^^^^^werd

 

you could also consult the broncospeed forum on FSB. They're obviously catered to the 4wd ttb, but most of the ideas will apply.

 

thanks for the quick replies and to staiten this up a lil, it will be 8" front with fabtech springs 4"drop brackets and fabtech bent I beams for a 4" lift. And on the rear 6" springs with 4" blocks is 10" of lift but with extra long shackes in the rear it will be more like 7 or 8 inches of lift in the rear.
And as far as the fenders I plan to install some prerunner front fenders and bedsides...

And for the gearing question on 4.56 gears eith the 4.9 it is a 5 speed truck. Is 4.56 gears too low

as for my reasoning behind the lift is I run a lot of really rough gravel roads about 70 or so and see air often over bridges and rail road crossings I would like to smooth things out a bit and not rattle the truck appart.

 

I still say its too tall.

4.56s and 35s would depend on the trans and how many rpm you plan on turning. The normal max operating range on a 300-6 is about 3500rpm. Id be more comfortable keeping it 2500ish.

 

Yep, way too tall and too high COG, IMO.

 

I think 4.56 gears on 35's end up being like 3.73 so you think that will bring my rpms too high for the six. I have never had a I6 so I sound like an idiot, I am use to V8's but I want to keep the six in this truck for reliability.

 

something more like a 4.11 or 4.30 would be a little better suited for the I6. they are not into revving. think of an I6 more like a peppy small diesel rather than a gas motor. they make good torque, but it is down low and they suffer at higher rpm's. it's just not what they were built for. figure out what your final gear ratio is in your tranny and use one of the online calculators to find out what rpm you'll be running at your average cruising speed. as stated, try to get it to be around 22-2500 rpm's

 

Eh - it's pretty dead there now as all the guys went over to GoFastBroncos.com - Index page GOOD group of guys there - VERY informative but laid back and don't jump on newbies for asking silly questions. I spend a lot of time on that forum and hang with a bunch of the guys from there (as I said - really good group of guys). In fact I'm headed off to thew Baja 1k in 2 weeks and going down with 3 other guys from the forum. We are pitting for another guy on the forum (Class 3) and then will be meeting up with even more guys from the forum and then John from Autofab to do the compadre trail on the way home. Sorry to ramble but I'm a bit anxious to go!

Good point - depending on tranny I'd say it's a toss up between 4.11's and 4.56's - it will also depend on how much time you spend on the highway, the gravel/dirt roads, and then around town. 4.30's would be a good compromise but I don't know if they make them for the 8.8 rear in your truck. I know they have them for the 9" but they make every combo know to man for those things.

Now back to the abundance of lift you seem to think you need. Listen to these guys when they say you DON'T! Stick with the 4" front and MAYBE 4" rear. Low ride height is your friend in go fast stuff. It is a trade off between ride height and travel though as trying to get decent bump travel numbers out of a beam truck requires a higher ride height. Still with 4" on either end you'll have enough travel to comfortably do what you want.
Stick with the beams, a 4 or 5" coil and then 4" leafs for the rear. The 35's will fit, but there may be a bit of rubbing with stock sheet metal. You can either go to fiberglass fenders/bedsides or trim the stock fenders and pull the stock bedsides. The 35's will then tuck nicely on bump.

Here's a link to some inspiration for you. There was a server change a while back so many of the pics in the 1st few pages are toast, but there are still some good ones in there (bottom of page 1, bottom of page 2, etc., etc.).

Look, drool, get inspired and let me know if you have any specific questions.
1996 and older f 150s

 

I hope to use fiberglass fenders so I dont crinkle the stockers and yes my lap is wet from drooling....

alright 4" lift with beams not brackets.

what about rear would 6" springs with 2" drop shackles give me the susp. travel I want..... I know longer shackles give longer travel but that also means lower height in rear.
any ideas on how to make the leaf springs travel further?