Welcome! Just a thought, before you buy springs, consider reversed eyes to achieve part of your drop. 4" is a lot of drop IMO, maybe the streets are glass-smooth there in Hoosier Land, around here you'd be leaving parts behind...

 

Perhaps you are right, maybe 4" is a bit much. The axle I have been looking at is a 3.5" dropped axle from Sid at www.droppedaxles.com. I figured the axle and better leaf springs would set me right...if I wanted much more drop I could remove leaves. I don't have the cash flow right now to get new springs...maybe later. Decent shape used ones are right in my wheelhouse though.

This is basically the thread I was going to follow for my lowering/bed rebuild. 1951 Ford Truck Project Pics - THE H.A.M.B.
Page 4 shows the end result which gets driven often.

 

Heck, if you're strapped for cash then start out by going the tightwad route; pull a couple of leaves out of the front spring packs. Its easily done in an afternoon and won't cost you much more than a couple of new center bolts for the leaf packs.

I'd start out with removing the 1st and 3rd leaves (counting from the smallest leaf) and see what that looks and rides like.

Bobby

 

Very good advise Bobby. Not that I have not thought about pulling a few out, I was leary due to the de-arched main leaf. The front shackles are almost fully extended when the truck is not moving. Me standing on the bumper puts the shackle close to bottoming out, meaning about 80% (give or take) of my suspension is in the springs themselves flexing (this thing rides ROUGH). Mildly put, my front springs are shot. I know I can lower it about an inch, maybe more from removing leaves which is what I intend to do over the winter once I can get my hands on some decent front springs. I think the majority of my issues are caused from the poor front suspension.

Over the winter, my goal is to source and purchase an affordable pair of springs for the front, pull a few out of each pack, and remove a few from the rear. I saw an older gent this past year with a '51 F-1 that was knock out beautiful with a few leaves removed...it sets it down for sure...a lot more than I expected it would. His truck was recently sold from his estate because he passed a few months after we met. I probably spent 2 hours talking his ear off about his truck and mine.

 

Welcome to FTE!
while you are waiting for money and such, take a look at my albums. I have a 49 with a jag front end. its cheap and easy to put in. With a 289 you shouldn't have any steering shaft issues like me with my 351W. Just food for thought, I bought mine for $300, haven't driven it yet and won't be for a long time but there are many here that are using it. at this time my bottom of the frame(at the front bumper end)to floor measurement is 9.5" and there are a few more to drop if i want to. but its too early for me to drop anymore right now.

 

You have to have a rear sump oilpan with it. but anyway welcome!
Oh I keep rambling on, but you would end up with a power rack and pinion with the jag setup also. If you decide to look into it more then let me know. I will be glad to share what I know, and I will be the first to say I DO NOT know it all! LOL

 

Thanks for the info. I want to stick with the solid axle though. Somethin about me likes it.

 

I'm running the stock front end also. When I dropped my 500ci Caddy in I thought I'd need stiffer front springs so I had mine rebuilt and a leaf added. It was too much and I ended up pulling the extra leaf out.
A couple of years ago I broke a main leaf....basically I forgot to reinstall the bump stops and over over stressed things when I was driving the truck hard:


Albuq-F1 gave me a set of front springs that he had removed from his truck. When I put them on I removed several leaves but it ended up being too much and caused a lot of bump steer so I added them back in. Here's how my truck sits now;


Bobby

 

Cool looking truck. I like those wheels. What were those called Ansun? or Something like that?

 

Thanks, those are just your ordinary Cragar SS mags, or Cragar 5 spokes
I think Ansun usually refers to the old 5 hole mags, like this;

I still have these wheel and I think I'll clean them up and put them back on the truck
Bobby

 

Cragar SS! For sure that's right. I had some. Forgot what they're called. Thanks

 

Yup, I'm with you on this. Once upon a time I had visions of a high tech front end in my truck and the more I thought about it the more realistic it became to keep the solid axle. Only thing is, when I started to rebuild all the worn out parts I discovered that the front springs were two totally different springs. There was a difference in height of about 2 and a half inches between the two. I bit the bullet and got a pair of new mono- leaf springs. I have read about several conflictings stories on these but they were less expensive than new replacement springs. They are suppose to lower the front about two inches and ride better than stock. Time will tell though.

After making this decision I have noticed a lot of trucks and especially the big trucks all running solid axles so I don't think a person can go too wrong by keeping it solid axle.


Mono springs on the left, the ones I took out on the right. Far right all snugged in.

 

Nice lookin effie Bobby!

Heavy trucks run a solid axle due to the strength and overall reliability of the front end. They can carry a load, and alignments are a snap. The sacrafice is ride quality with a slight steering side effect. While I may be running a late(r) model mill, I kept everything about it as old as I could. I would have rather dropped in a 390, but the 289 was already half built when I found my FE. In keeping with the vintage-ish feel, I want to keep the straight axle. No offense to anyone with IFS, but I don't want my 60 year old truck to drive like it was built in '96.

I am going to snag those springs locally for $50 this weekend. I can get new U-bolts, and tie rod ends which will make for a fun weekend of wrenching on the old beast...and hopefully lower it a little without causing all the problems it currently has.

The main cause of worry with mono-springs is the failure. If you loose a leaf in your pack, you know it but you won't collapse. With a mono-spring...if it breaks it breaks. Granted, I have never personally heard of such failure, but it is the common fear no less. I personally stayed away from the mono-leaf because the horror stories. However, my clutch is cable driven...despite all the horror stories! Go figure!

 

Thanks,
I too had thought about a high tech front end, but then I decided that I wasn't going to be entering my truck into an autocross or anything. Basically a weekend driver, something to roast the tires in occasionally. I did upgrade to power disc brakes and steering though....stopping is good.

When you get those replacement springs make sure to check the bushings, they will probably be worn out. If you have a spring and suspension shop anywhere close to you they might even have the bushing and pins in stock. I was able to get mine locally. There were a few parts of the shackles I had to order but most of the bushings I got locally.

Bobby

 

Nice truck and i like the breather. I got a 289 in my 51 also.