Im trying to figure out if I should swap out the original 'spring' suspension on my 1956 Ford f100. I've been reading the forums and I see a lot of people going w/ Crown Vic IFS, front power disc conversions, and/or redoing the entire front and rear suspension.

I just plan on cruising with the family here and there. I may go with a 302 or the original engine which I still have, the highest I would go is 351w. I do want a nice lowered look and i'm concerned about all the break problems i've read about. Now that I the body off, should I go with the CV IFS? If so, can I/do I keep the drums on the rear? Im not a skilled wielder and this is my first project. IS the swap expensive? I searched for CV IFS and see one online for 550, yet I see a whole CV for 800.00. Would I benefit from getting the complete car?

 

If you say you have limited fab experience, i would stick with the solid axle and leaf springs. You can pretty easily lower the truck by just removing some springs from the spring pack. There are also a few different kits to change the front drums to disks and to add power brakes. I think this would not only be easier, but would also save some time in your restoration process.

 

Front disc brakes are fairly cheap, about $250 to $300, and very easy to install. Adding a brake booster for power brakes is so fairly simple. Classic Haulers and Speedway have several kits to choose from. Dropping in a 302 is not very hard either, but you will need some welding skills. There are bolt-in engine and tranny crossmembers, but I had to modify the tranny crossmember because of the power brake conversion. I also built motor mounts because the bolt-in crossmember was too close to the axle after I lowered it.

 

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that every time you make one change, it's bound to affect three other components you haven't considered. Swapping out the front suspension will bring on a whole host of other problems and expenses, like steering column, wheel and linkage plus the assorted parts and accessories to make it all work. Will you now need new wheels and tires? Are you going to change the rear to match? Re-engineer motor mounts, exhaust, etc? What do you expect to gain with all this labor and money? Will it be worth all the effort over what you've been doing? What about downtime from driving? It will ultimately take longer to do than a simple spring swap. Just a few things to consider.

 

I completely agree with Nick, Too many people makes changes because of a "me too" mentality, rather than analyzing their need and desires along with their abilities and budget and what about their truck does or doesn't work within those parameters. I am all for making changes/updates that have a reason/make sense, but not for the sake of that's what they do in the magazines or because it seems everyone else is doing it. I am a very skilled builder/fabricator and nationally ranked autocross racer who can truly appreciate the differences suspensions make, but my 56 panel has an OEM beam axle with lowering springs and power steering conversion (plus front disk brakes with power assist) For my purposes, cruising, towing a trailer, street driving, swapping to an IFS made no sense compared to the time and costs involved. All IFS conversions require high fabrication welding skills, and the snowball effect can be hard on the pocketbook and build time. Build within your skills, get it on the road and enjoy it, you can always go back and do more elaborate upfitting if you find a need later.
One more piece of advice is that this forum covers two eras of trucks, the Bonus builts (48-52) and the Mid Fifties (53-56) with the 56 being the transition year to the next generation. We are often anxious to offer advice and opinions to newcomers especially, but be sure that information offered pertains to your truck. Not to pick on anyone, but just for example, there are two very good and related parts suppliers: Classic Haulers Home - Classic Haulers F-1 Parts which specializes in the Bonus Builts (46-52) and Mid Fifty www,midfifty,com which specializes in the Effies (53-56). For your purposes Classic Haulers catalog won't have a lot of value, but Mid Fifty's free catalog is a must have treasure trove of information, illustrations and parts listings specifically applicable to your truck. If you don't have one, give them a call today and request one.
Meanwhile I posted in this topic https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...1955-f250.html my advice on how to best develop a build plan that fits your needs/skills/budget/time.
Oh. and welcome to the forum!

 

Thank you all guys!!! Some great info and some great people here. I think I will stick with my straight axle and upgrade to front disk brakes. I've seen those power disk kits get really expensive in the LMC truck mag. I will check out mid-fifties and classic haulers to see the conversion kit cheap. Is there a swap that I can do?

 

Might be a silly question but i'm totally new at this. What is 5 on 5.5?

 

If swapping to disks you are going to want to also install a power boosted master cylinder since disks are not self energizing like drums. No matter what brakes you decide on (the drums stop just fine if in good condition) you should at least change the master cylinder for a dual circuit one for safety and replace all the metal and rubber brake hoses (and wheel cylinders if using drums) to new. Brakes are far too important to take any chances with. I suggest holding off on the disk conversion at least until you have decided on engine, tranny (for ratio) and rear axle you'll be using so you can order the front hubs in matching bolt pattern. Here's info on rear axles: 1948 through 1960 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle (differential) Swaps - Ford Trucks
The disk conversion itself shouldn't take longer than a weekend to do and is easy. When comparing conversion kits, be sure of what all comes with it, and source of parts, i.e. OEM/DOT certified or cheap Chinese clone parts. Watch especially any cheap ebay offerings and/or anything sold under Johnny Law/Helix/Hoffman Group name.

 

That is your wheel lug pattern. 5 lugs (or holes) on a 5 1/2" bolt pattern (measured in a circle). That's the standard for Ford half ton trucks and cars pre-49. 49 and newer Ford cars (and most later Mopar) typically used a 5 on 4.5, and GM used 5 on 4.75 on cars. There were some exceptions, but for the sake of this discussion, we'll keep it simple for now. These are the three most common sizes used.

 

That is a wheel lug bolt pattern designation: 5 lugs in a 5.5" circle.
PS: there is no such thing as a silly/stupid question except how do you get along with a woman?

OOPS! Wayne had faster fingers...

 

I agree with much of what has been posted about making a plan. I drove my 52 for a year with the stock front suspension before I went to an IFS. It depends on what you what the truck to do. One thing I don't think was mentioned is the rear can be lowered by mounting the leaf spring below the axle which lower it and required not welding.

 

Sorry, correction. You do have to weld the leaf spring mounts to the frame. Only welding necessary.

 

Hola Guapo,
Lot's of good input up above. I'd look at your IFS as part of your overall Build Plan as suggested by Ax. Personally I'd take on some of the easier tasks first to get some wins.

A weekend or two:
o Swap out the Rear Axle/Suspension. The rear is pretty straight forward to swap to an Explorer 8.8 in axle or a Ford 9 inch. You get much better gears for cruising comfortably. We also got rear discs with our's.

o Upgrade your Brakes. At a minimum I'd go with a dual chamber master cylinder for safety so you don't lose all your brakes at once with leaks. We converted to front Disc Brakes - that made a huge difference. Modern braking is nice.

o Relocate your Gas tank - Our gas tank was in the cab & smelly. We went with a '70 Mustang 22 gallon tank out under the bed. 40% more range than stock - very nice & it doesn't smell.

o Electronic Ignition - It's not a huge deal to swap to electronic ignition. It's just a lot easier to start & run your truck.

Complicated & Hard:
o We went with a Mustang II style IFS Kit - $2500. It involved a lot of life critical welding & careful measuring. You also get to pull all of your wiring, the engine, Steering, etc. Personally I'd only do this if you were doing a complete frame off restoration as you have it all taken apart anyway. Took 4 months to get it back running again. (The Jag front end looks to be the easiest salvage yard swap if you go this route - see droptp77's 2 build threads).

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

Hey there Guapo,
I decided to go the Jag IFS route as the front end on my '49 F1 was pretty much wore out and I'm doing an off frame, SBF/C6 etc/etc. with little/out-dated skills this seemed to IMHO to be the best route (for me). Reading through build threads and asking copious questions is important! Keep up the great work!

 

I bought my truck in 2006 and I hade big plans to streetrod it with the whole shabang, as I was saving up money nad gathering parts the years passed, menawhile I was driving it up until I got my second child in 2012, then it sat for a year and a half until I got feedup with all the "musts" at work and at home, with ZERO owntime. One day I just figured out that if I didnīt start the build TODAY I would get crazy.

I started to take it appart and it just didnīt felt right to start cutting in a truck that was really close to stock. So I decided to sell of all the ifs and irs parts I had collected over the years, and now I am doing a close to stock restoration, keeping in mind that I really enjoyed the trips I took in the truck (for 6 years) before the restoration started. I am doing this restoration to get back that feeling of (driving a truck from the fifties) not having a new car that looks like an old truck. If its the new feeling I am looking for I can take my daily driver from 2011.

And to be frank if I get to choose between taking the old truck to go shopping, go to work, or just taking a drive for the sake of it, or doing the same thing in my daily driver. I wouldnīt hesitate to take the old truck.

You can take a closer look on my build thru the link below. Maybe for some inspiration

And by the way the drumbrakes has never let me down. I dont autocross, I just drive it on the roads as they where ment to be.

Just my ten cent

Good luck