My goal is to lighten and raise up my 74 2WD truck. I am running a 460 C-6. I have a plasma cutter, a good welding machine and basic knowledge and good shop tools. I would like my truck to tackle hard washed dirt trails at high speeds comfortably. I will be mounting a winch on the front to pull myself out should I get stuck. I will be running an electric locking Dana 60 differential, good suspension, tires and hopefully lots of ground clearance. I am going to try to live without 4WD and hope to be satisfied with lighter weight and good handling. One fact I have noted well: when I lived in Colorado almost every truck ever stuck by the side of the road was 4WD. Lots of drivers feel invincible with it and maybe push their rig a little harder than they should have. I want to maintain close to original steering geometry so I want to lift my truck and build brackets to keep steering correct or better yet improve it some. I am looking for around 6 inches of lift. I want to run dual front shocks and dual rears, as well. I would like to hook up with someone who has done a similar thing to their truck so I could get some engineering ideas. I will be building my own shock towers so I can size my shocks from a Bilstein (or similar) catalog. I could use some help with spring rate/length for the front and any proven ideas for beefing up the rear leaf springs. Thanks in advance for any help. Roy

 

Although not cheap, it sounds like a production lift, such as one from autofab, would be the best way for you to go. They take into account things like steering geometry and dual shock kits.

 

Get hooked up with a member on here who goes by Chasetruck................. He's a wealth of knowledge on 2wd suspension mods. He's one of those Cali Desert guys who uses their stuff hard...............

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...-question.html

check that link out this person is trying to do something similar.

 

Thanks guys, you are awesome. I'm a sort of do it yourself builder. I enjoy engineering my own work and I appreciate others who do a similar thing. Its great to go to the shelf and buy what you need but I gain a lot of satisfaction trying to understand the problem and using my brain and creativity to fabricate my own solution. Sometimes the result is not the best but I always learn much in the process. Thanks again for the advice.

 

You can get QA1's in various lengths, spring rates, and there adjustable for around $300.

So if your willing to make up a couple of brackets you can put coil overs on the front of your truck.

I was looking into this before I decided to lower my truck as I wanted a 1-2 inch lift in front to level it off with some AT's.

 

Thanks, Z, I was not aware of QA1 before you mentioned them to me. Coil overs in the 300 dollar range are an excellent thought. Looks like they are easy to adjust and durable enough for circle tracks, they could easily handle my requirements.

 

Thanks, Z, I was not aware of QA1 before you mentioned them to me. Coil overs in the 300 dollar range are an excellent thought. Looks like they are easy to adjust and durable enough for circle tracks, they could easily handle my requirements.