Hello Ford Friends,
I am new to this forum and thought I would get some advise from the men who have done the work themselves. What I have is a 1970 Ranger XLT with 390, C6. The truck has drum fronts, what I was wondering was about dropping this truck 3 to 4 inches and converting to disc fronts. I am sure this has been done by one of you'se guys. The farmer across the road has just retired his 1978 f150, would any of this rigs parts be usable? Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated...

 

if your truck is an F-100 then your neighbors truck has the front disc brake system you nee. You will need to buy lowering I-beams.

 

Thanks Willow, Do you recommend any manufacturer on these i beams or are they all a nightmare. I have lowered those other brands before but never a FORD. I smartened up with age. Do I need to replace the i-beams regardless of how much i lower it. Do you recommend an airbag setup? Thanks again, Sach

 

Due to the design of the i-beam front end the i-beam rotates around the pivot point where it bolts to the truck. As it goes through this arc of travel the camber changes dramatically. If nothing were in the way the wheel would be totally horizontal and the i-beam sticking straight up if you rotated it 90 degrees. You can get by lowering it an inch or so on the springs but the top of the tire starts to lean in a lot after that. I have seen a couple Fords with chopped down springs and they look odd with the top of the tires tipped way in and I would imagine they handle poorly and could very possibly be dangerous to drive. Don't tell any Ford guys I said this but you might just put a chevy front end under it and then you have access to all the cool dropped spindles and can also run your airbags. Get one from a 71-72 chev and you can take the whole front suspension by just cutting a few rivets and bolts. The earlier ones work too but don't have disc brakes. I am not sure about the 73 and later but they might work too.

 

geez willowb, i never thought i'd see the day where you'd suggest shebby conversions...anyways...in a classic truck mag i read a while ago there was a readers question that read about the same as yours and their response was a mustang 2 conv. i have also been reading the articles(i forget which mag) in which they put a dakota's front suspension on a '63(?) unibody...and if the anti bowtie coalition find this thread i would like to say that i sure am a ford lover...it's even my last name!

 

Well I have never done the dropped I-beams but a fellow subscriber was talking about the problems encountered so maybe he will step in. The ones he used seemed to use some hokey sounding steering arm extensions to make the tierods clear and this caused him to loose a good bit of his turning radius. I would rather use a chevy front end than a mustang 2. At least it was made for a truck. I just have a problem putting a suspension under a pickup that was designed for a crappy little car that weighed half as much. It might be ok for your 60s ranchero. Maybe someone will come up with some dropped spindles for us ford guys.
By the way, my first pickup was a 67 chev 1/2 ton. Black with all the chrome, red interior, 283 and 4 speed. That truck got 20 mpg, until the front lobe on the cam went south at around 50,000. I put in a 325 horse 327, but I just got tired of trying to keep the front end in alignment. I would get it all aligned and it would eat off another set of tires in 8,000 miles. That and every time the wind would catch a door it would tweak the hinge with the door check on it. I traded it in for a new 74 highboy, been a Ford man every since. I still ain't above robbing a part from the enemy's camp if it will make my ford do better what I want it to.

 

A good ole family truckster (that is a 70's LTD wagon for you people that have never seen National Lampoons Vacation) would get the bumper into the weeds and support the weight of any truck, plus it will drive like a car and less like a trampoline

 

I just lowered my 70 short wheel base truck. Used dream beams from aim industries. I put disc brakes on the front while i was at it. My donor truck was a 74.

 

Thanks Dave....I am still in the planning stages due to the wifes Honey do list....I think I have spotted an early 70's donor car for a subframe conversion will keep you guys informed... thanks Doug

 

How tough is the swap from a car frame onto a truck frame? Because I've wanted to do the same thing with my 70 SWB. You've covered the front end, but what about the back? 4 link, 3 link or ladder bars w/bags???

I thought it'd be fun to swap the suspension out of an early 70s late 60s 250 under my lil' 1/2 ton truck just to be different. Ya know 8 lug 16 or 17 inch rims under a half to truck, plus the strength of a D60 or D70 under the back end hold up to a big motored truck.

 

I have actually thought about the 4x4 conversion....I have a 1980 Bronco drivetrain sitting in the yard that I was thinking about sticking under it but I think I will put my spare aerostar body on it....I will more than likely go to a 4 bar rear if i do bag it... i justlove th e look and feel of these trucks when they are dumped....I don't know... Th e wifes list is not getting any shorter...Thanks.....