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Can't say we had any tire issues with the 1978 F-250 HD I got my front suspension from. My Dad bought it used in 1980 and was in constant service as the farm truck for 24 years racking up a hard 175000 kms. The last several years to took over water hauling duties from the 1965 M-350 for the house cistern which was a solid 3500 lbs.
My front springs are rated for 1700 lbs and the max spring offered for the F-350 was 1925 lbs. The lowest spring for a F-100 was 1250 lbs.
While you maybe able to shove a heavy spring in a crown vic suspension, I'm sure the ball joints and sealed hub bearings would have a shortened lifespan. Going from a 225/60R16 to a LT235/85R16 is a lot more unsprung weight. The steering rack may also have a reduced life as only in the past few years GM has put a rack in a 2500/3500 truck and it isn't small.
I know how everyone likes pictures but for some reason my phone defaulted to 640x480 and most of my digital camera ones were blurry. This is the progress of nearly 50 hours over 4 days.
For the running board brackets and other mounts I welded in threaded rod nuts, on the outside and inside the rail. I used these nuts as they provide lots of thread engagement.
The front suspension coil buckets are actually recessed into the frame 1/4" on each side. Again I welded in nuts to replace the rivets it had originally.
I picked up a new take off hitch from a 2011 F-250. It was wider than I needed to I promptly cut it up. Here is just the side bracket on the frame. I still need to remove the end piece so I can weld the center piece back in like it originally was.
Sorry for the darkness of these ones as they were taken when I got back to the farm and it was a rainy overcast day. The front suspension parts are just bolted in so the frame is mobile. http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps442dcea6.jpg
I was hoping to have an update during the Victoria long weekend but wet weather kept me from even trying. So this past weekend I was going to try to get some work done “hell or high water”. Well you can't say nature didn't try...
My dad can't remember there has ever been this much water and we got it in one day.
At least Canada day was nice and sunny for me to drag the frame out to do some grinding. I was hoping to remove the front suspension from the old frame and put it in (current suspension was just for mock up and movability) but I wasn't about to go rolling about in 2” of water around it during a rain storm.
I know everyone likes pictures and I know my last ones were a bit fuzzy due to wrong setting on my phone. I just brushed on some rust paint to keep it from turning into a pile of rust. Ideally I'd like to have the finished frame blasted and powder coated. I left the front frame section alone as there is lots of work to still be done there.
I finally got all the suspension parts I need stripped off the other frame and have a bunch of parts needing blasting/paint.
I finally was able to test fit my 1985 spindles to the 1978 beams. They actually fit pretty well. I only need to make a 1cm spacer for the bottom to make them work. Both spindles use a 1.054" pin and same lock bolt.
Progress, We love progress almost as much as we love pictures.
It just hit me. How will this be titled when you are done? Since the frame is the critical part for a title, how will this work for you?
Registration is totally different in Canada. Pretty much to register a vehicle, you just need a bill of sale with a VIN number. Also in Saskatchewan, any vehicle 1958 and older you can do whatever you want to the chassis. It just requires a chassis that can properly support the vehicle and use of mechanical fasteners (ie: lock washers/lock nuts) on bolts.
Sorry for the long hiatus but fear not there will be progress! My brother finally got his garage built and insulated so I actually have a real place to work on it now. I've mostly just been collecting parts in the mean time so I'll finally be able to assemble everything.
The engine is finally assembled and ready to drop in the frame once I get the front suspension finished and transmission crossmember modified to fit the frame.
I finally was able to assemble the brakes that have sitting in my apartment forever. I also switched over to the axle shafts out of my 1974 Dana 70B as the original 1969 Dana 70B axles had those stupid stud/cone/nut combination. Regular bolts just makes it so much nicer.
Can finally use my rims with LT235/85R16 Cooper Discoverer HT3 tires.
Now for the finishing touch, some Mercury hubcaps.
Here is the original 7.3L IDI diesel fuel pickup compared to the 7.5L gasoline pickup going in. I've fitted a Walboro 255 litre per hour Mustang pump to it. I had to raise the pump 3/4 of an inch since this picture as it hit the bottom of the tank.
The pump is now fitted to the tank. I also installed the fuel line to AN fitting adapters on.
The temporary 1974 F-250 suspension has been removed and the front section cleaned/painted.
The 1978 F-250 HD suspension is now installed with the motor mounts. It took a little finesse to get everything bolted up as the holes between the different spring towers aren't quite identical since they were riveted together originally.
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