By the way

your rear leafsprings seems to be different from side to side

on the right side you have a proportional spring (all the leafs are curved and stacked close to each other)(stock)

on the left side you have a progressive spring (three straight leafs in the bottom) (also stock)

These two springs have different spring stiffness, that will give you a strange behaviour.

 

Hey Im not to far from you, Im in Chino. Im in the same boat you are in, first F1 build, minimal welding skils but its good to have buddies that do , and pondered the same questions. For now Im sticking as stock as possible to keep it to a bolt on build. I went with CPP Disc Brake conversion and booster, sticking with the 5x5.5 bolt pattern. I lucked out and found what appears to be a Mor dropped axle. I put 3inch drop rearend springs. I actually put back the original trans x-member back so I can go with stock tranny. I did swap my rearend from a Dana 41 to a Dana 44 to keep the drive shaft modification to a miminum.

Let me know if you happend to have a 3 speed tranny (light or heavy duty) laying around. I can drive to LA no problem :-) I might be selling some parts at the upcoming Pomona Swap.

 

I am doing a Crown Vic swap on my F1... different build and requires more fab work.

The CV IFS can be easily adapted to the F100s due to the wider frame. You need to either notch the frame and flatten it or you will need to take some steel stock and grind it to fit so the IFS can stay flat to maintain the proper alignment angles.

So that is the no-brainer part.

Here is what nobody will have a perfect answer for but everyone is different and brushes lightly on this:

Wheels, you will need a different offset wheel due to the wider trac width of the CV IFS (crown vic ifs) It will have a more positive (spokes closer to the face of the wheel)

Steering, you will have to fab up some U-joints/rag joints to fit. Not a big deal, just takes some thinking, research and measurements plus money, not a ton of money though.

Brake booster, with the CV IFS you will have a different brake setup so you need a power booster and different master cyl. Look at about $300-400 for this plus odds and ends for brake plumbing/tools

Engine....... well the ball is in your court on that. SBF (small block ford, 260-351W V8) is a fairly easy "drop in" engine. You can but bolt-in kits but they will require some fab work, minimal fab work.

Transmission..... same deal as the engine. Id go C4 or C6 to eliminate much headache unless you want a stick then go 5 speed T5 or TKO 600 for a nice setup (TKOs are $$$)

Exhaust, depends on engine/trans combo. Will most likely need to be fabbed up so towing it to an exhaust shop is the best bet and can be cheap or $$$ depending on what exactly you are looking for. Starting at about $300 for duals and flowmaster or glasspack style and the sky is the limit.

Shifter, depends on the trans, floor shifter is easy, column can be a Lokar or some fab work to modify the stock shifter.

Rear end, you can leave it as is or remove and replace everything.

For a cruiser, Id go Mustang II, Jag or CV IFS (all require the same amount of fab work but in different areas)

For the engine, Id go find a nice 260, 289, 302, 351 Ford and a 3 speed auto. Get some exhaust shop to do the exhaust.

Get a bolt in run of the mill shifter to work with the truck and look good.

If you decide to do the MII IFS, get an adjustable front spring for when you decide to change the rear springs out. That way you can adjust the front ride height.

 

I just pushed my truck into the light recently. You can read about my 1954 F100 here. I had contemplated a lot of the same things you have - different suspension, brakes, electrics, etc. I had a '51 F1 Panel years ago that I swapped disc brakes onto and then did a 9" rear swap with...and still had mis-matched front/rear wheels (5x4.5 front & 5x5.5 rear) along with a 351W/C6 swap. I skipped a lot of things like rebuilding the front suspension (it was a terror to drive on the highway), re-doing the electrical (I had intermittent issues), replacing the gas tank (always had to carry extra fuel filters), etc. I was younger then and didn't think things through as much as I do now (some folks say I overthink everything).

In the end, I went with simple (for the most part) and reliable - keeping in mind I wanted to use it as a truck, not a show car. I decided to buy new critical items, or items I didn't want to deal with (radiator, brakes, gas tank, wiring, etc.) and brakes. I used a lot of what I had available to me and tried to keep it simple & reliable: 302 & AOD out of an '89 Mustang GT converted to Carb and DuraSpark with factory components to keep the wiring simple. The bolt-in Trans-Dapt engine/tranny mounts weren't so bolt-in. The trans crossmember was (four holes to drill), but the engine mounts required lengthening to reach the frame brackets and I then reinforced the frame to reduce flexing/cracking - I'm probably an average welder due to a lack of practice, but felt confident doing this sort of fabrication.

Perhaps most critically, I replaced the entire brake system. New M/C, hard lines, hoses, wheel cyls, shoes, springs/hardware, & drums. I left it stock for now. Drum brakes work just fine, but I will say you need to understand their limitations - I grew up with drum brakes. And the single reservoir M/C can be a liability, but generally they're fine - they were used until the mid-60s on all US cars. If there is a leak, you can lose all of your brakes...but if your system is in good shape, this isn't as big a risk as most would have you believe (a bit like ammeters). Still, for peace of mind & the fact I want to do some light towing, I intend to do a disc brake conversion in the future and will put a power-assisted dual-chamber M/C when I do so. It really isn't horribly expensive and if you're hauling your family around, it's just a little extra peace of mind knowing you did all you could do. For me, for now, I just wanted to get the old girl on the road in a safe condition to ensure reliability before modifying a bunch of things.

And that's something else to consider - when you modify several components at once, you have a lot of issues to work through. By doing them one at a time, you minimize the troubleshooting aspect. Granted, many mods are much easier at different stages of the game (body off) and might all have to be done together - just something to keep in mind though if it makes sense with your build and goals for the truck.

I left the front & rear suspensions stock, just rebuilding the front with new bushings, pins, tie rods, shocks, wheel bearings, and drag link components. I don't mind it being up high for now, but I plan to use it as a truck. My goal was reliability, which translates into safety. I will likely lower the front & rear slightly. Up front, I will likely do some combo of new springs and dropped axle. Out back, I'm looking at different rear springs (Ranger, Dakota, etc) and hangars and will put the rear axle on top when I do that. I might also swap to a 9" out of a later truck simply for the ability to swap gear ratios - nothing more. I'm happy with the 4.10 gears and my AOD for now though. I will add that I also like the fact I can shimmy underneath with it at stock height for now...while I gain confidence in it.

I am contemplating doing the Toyota PS conversion, but I'm very much up in the air on it.

So, those are the mods for the future: brakes & lowering & maybe power steering - the rest I can do as I go (interior, creature comforts, etc).

My truck is on the road in minimal time, it is reliable, it is safe, and it's fun to drive....and it's still an old truck I use as a truck! I had to keep reminding myself of that whenever I was fabricating something or trying to make something look really too nice - it's just an old truck and I'm going to use it like that. The cosmetics can come later, for now, reliability and safety are first and foremost.

Get a vision of how you want to use your truck and try not to stray from that - the build will go quicker (and cheaper). Good luck and the guys here are a wealth of knowledge!

 

Quick update: First, thanks to all of you guys for your advice! @ddiaz12, I'm sorry, I got rid of the original tranny. like a dumb donkey I recycled it, not thinking that someone may want the original one. Sorry dude I still have the original engine(which was running) and misc parts if you need any. I would definitely let it go for cheap to a good home!

So my friend had a 97 explorer that he was parting out and I was able to get the rear end by bartering! Funny thing is I decided to keep my stock drums (for now) Maybe I should save the explorer rear end just in case? Or possibly sell it along with the gas tank, original engine and other misc parts.

[*]original engine(i dont know much about it but it was running when I pulled it out)


I'll take some pics of the engine later. I also love to barter. If you're near by, need these parts, and have items/services, or knowledge to barter; that would be great! Here are a few pictures.

 

I did notice that. I was told that it was that way because it balanced it out when driving or something like that. Do you think it would be okay if I remove the last 3 springs on each? Or do I have to get matching leafsprings?

 

As long as you dont load the springs up until the point at witch the 3 straight leafs get in full contact with the 4:th you will be just fine removing those three straight leafs. They are out of the equation up until that point.

One thing you should check before removing the corresponding three leafs on the other side is to measure the length, width and thickness of each remaining leaf and compare these measurements with the opposite sprint (the one with the straight 3 leafs)
If these dimensions are the same, Thickness being the most important dimension and that its the same number of springs left and right, then you are good to go, then they will behave the same way.

Let me know if you have any more questions

Here you have the relationsship for the springs stiffness of a leaf spring