Okay, I know there are a bunch on here but I have a very specific question that I hope I can get a decent answer for.

I want to lower my truck a good bit but I am only 19 and am on limited funds and resources.

I know I can use the 4WD spring buckets to lower it about 2 and 1/2 inches.
If I cut another inch out of the springs, that will give me another 2 inches correct?
So that is about 4 and a 1/2 total drop.

Question is, will I be able to shim the camber of that back or will I have to bend the I beams?



I know I should use the dream beams but i do not have 500 to drop on it right now. College comes first and I am putting all my spare money into her.

Not worried about the back. I know I can flip the axle or use hangers and all.


Just not familiar with the I Beams all that much .

Any help with this would be great.


Or if someone has some parts they could hook me up with, that would be great.

 

4WD spring buckets can be made to work. Cutting the coils can work too. However, cutting an inch out of the coil doesn't always equal the two inches estimated above due to spring rates. Cut off no more than a 1/4 coil at a time and then reinstall to check your work. BUT...The problem main with this approach is still the relative position of the spindle to the I-beam and the lack of clearance and travel between the I-beam and the frame.

It'll only shim so far so your mods, in sum, is still waaaay iffy. Read on below...

Gotta have it now eh? THAT's a big problem cuz shortcutting for the sake of getting "the look" will likely result with half-azzed mods. Save up your money and do it right with dropped I-beams.

The ultra low-buck way to lower the rear is a front shackle flip. Grind out the rivets, flip the shackle, and reinstall with a new holes and Grade 8 hardware. Please use threadlocker.

X-mas is coming up. I'd drop some heavy duty hints to the parents and relatives. Maybe they can pool together and get you a set of dropped beams.

 

My main draw back for the dropped beams is that I cant find anything more then a 3 inch drop.
I want more then that. If i have the do the I Beams then i would either have to do the buckets or cut the springs to get the rest of the drop I want and I would still have to do the corrections on it for the camber.
Correct?
Because the I beams only correct for the 3 inches they are made for. Or would they correct a little more then that.

I am looking for about a 5 inch drop in the front.




I wish my family could help out with it for Christmas but they have 2 younger children to think about. lol.

The only way i will get the beams is if I can find a used set somewhere.

Any clue where?

 

In stock configuration, cutting the coils will drop an inch and camber can still be adjusted. So, using dropped I-beams (3") and a coil cut (1") will net a 4-inch drop. Personally, that's the max I would attempt. Beyond, that I'd look for an '03 and newer Crown Vic subframe.

I dig it. .. how about a part-time job helping around the college? I moved furniture and equipment around campus and did the same for a temp agency doing the same and earned some decent play money.

CL, Ebay, and posting wanted ads in FTE and other sites would be your best bet for used I-beams... gotta be patient though cuz they don't come up very often.

 

Not to sound elitist, but as someone who has done the DJM drop, either do it right, or not at all.

Being 2011, I'd look into a budget panther chassis front crossmember, and go that route. If I had known about this in '08 when I did my DJM drop, I would have gone this route, and received rack & pinion, larger discs, and a bigger drop, all in one.

 

I have looked into the cradle front a Crown Vic or something but that is too much work for me to do. I mean My father is a Mechanic and all but I do not have a garage or anything. I can only do what i can do in my driveway or the college campus.


I have a decent income but enough to cover bills, living expenses and some of the other parts. I do not think I could ever have 500 extra to spend.

So, I was thinking that I can get the buckets from my parts yard for about 30 or 40. Then cut the springs and what ever it costs to shim it or bend the original beams. I would be ahead of the game.

My thing is, I have seen one of these laid on the ground. I know the beams do not do that much. I know he used the beams but it did not say how he got the rest of the drop.
So how did he correct for the rest of the drop?





Thank you guys for the feedback.

 

I'd wait. I had to wait a year and a half to collect the funds. This seems like a metric S***-ton of work for a 2" drop.

 

x2

I did my DJM drop in 2006, but it will likely get the panther treatment somewhere down the line. I'd also like to get more than the 3" of drop, and also improve the steering response.

I understand about being on a budget when in college. My truck project was on hold for 4 years while I was in college. I drove a low-buck dropped Toyota throughout college. But, no money is no excuse to hack your truck up and make it undriveable. I think you will be close to hitting the frame with 4.5" on stock beams.

 

I am not going to hack it up.
If I do it I am going to buy extras springs and beams to gtry it.
So if it does not work I can put the stocks back in.


Right now with me redoing the interior in the F100 and about to do some performance upgrades to the 302 I am driving an 89 Hardbody.
5 inch blocks and heated springs in the back and the torsion bars cranked down in the front.
So that helps my fix for right now but it is not the same as a lowered 1/2 ton.

 

Cool. This is a crappy pic of my college ride. 2" spindles, 3" blocks, '99 Mustang wheels with 245/45/17 tires. It eventually got a cam and header on the 22re before I sold it. Fun truck and cheap to run/modify. Kinda wish I still had it.

 

I do not like toyotas but that is a sexy color.
Mine just got 3 inch blocks and the torsion bars.
Sanding it down today but it is just getting a good flat back. lol

Later today I am taking it to a friends shop and trying something with the bars.
Going to loosen it as much as possible and put a nut on the back ans snug it up just enough to keep it stable.
See how low I can get it.
Then putting some more blocks into the back of it.


Hopefully get a nice 4 or 5 inch drop.

 

Believe me, that photo doesn't even begin to do the paint justice. Wish I had a good picture of it. We started with the factory maroon color, mixed in a bunch of white pearl, then added some heavy metal flake to the base. It looked a mile deep and really popped in the sunlight. We also shaved the gate, did a roll pan and filled cab seams at the same time. We ghosted "TRDracing" into the gate as well, but it didn't show in the pictures.

 

The 2 largest problems with what you propose is:

1. Suspension travel or the lack there of.

2. Geometry fo the front suspension is way off.

Dropped beams maintain geometry thus handling does not get any worse. They also maintain full suspension travel. You can do the CV Panther install for roughly the same price as doing the beams. Toss in some dropped springs (designed by an actual spring manufacturer with a proven track record) and you can get 6 1/2" drop.

You asked about slammed trucks. If you look at them you will see boat loads of negative camber. It is done various ways but the way with beams is drop beams with bags. They may knotch the frame to allow enough travel to lay it on the ground. I know a guy with a set of Dream Beams. I can ask him what the drop is. I know he was talking about putting them under his '62.

I gotta ask you. Do you think swapping out the spring towers and cutting the coils is an easy job? It can be done with minimal effort but it's still no cake walk. I am with the rest of the old men. Save your pennies until you can do it right. You are talking safety here. Yours and mine! If you have an accident related to what you do to the suspension you give all of us that lower our trucks a bad name. "You should have seen it. He was driving down the road and the whole left side of the suspension collapsed. He lost it and it pulled him into the other lane going head on into soccer mom in her minivan with the children"

 

Ford141.... have you considered adding front and rear sway bars? IIRC, they were offered starting in 1976. I went to the JY today and did some measuring. My research indicates that the brackets, mounted like a "C" over the ends of the RA where it is bolted to the I-beams, are identical to that used in early 80s Econolines. 'Can't use the Econoline bar because their front frames are really wide. However, there are other full size Fords that may be able to donate their anti-roll bar.

I'm gonna grab the brackets in preparation for a 78 to my 70 disc brake swap. I think sway bars will help handling.. couple that with Bilstein shocks and 60-series tires and steering response should improve handling and steering.

 

HIO Silver the CV rack is either 2.25 or 2.5 turns lock to lock. He is also looking for more drop. Not knocking what you are suggesting but I don't see getting that out of the steering box. Well I guess you could put a giant steering wheel on it A friend of mine did a '79 for a guy and wanted sway bars (dropped beams). I have a '90 4x4 with dual front shocks and sway bars. The rear sway bar sure looks like it would fit with no mods at all. Did the Camper Specials have sway bars? That would be the one to find. I am thinking put the front bar out front and build some brackets that come off the beams somewhere around the springs to attach the link pins to. Since full size cars and light trucks are basically the same when looking at hub to hub widths finding a sway bar from a full size car may work as well. Something like a LTD. Just have to do a bit of measuring.