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Hello everybody! I have just bought a 1953 F100 and after months of lurking here on Ford-Trucks.com I figured I would buy an membership and start learning as much as I could prior to starting my build this upcoming summer.
So I bought this truck from a good friend of mine, and am slowly paying it off. For a my first restoration, I am looking at doing a mild build and will have lots of question as I go along. So, now to the mystery. The truck was blown apart and is in pieces, but it is all there. Now the frame has a strange front suspension setup on it, and I cannot identify it. Anybody able to help me out?
Thank you for the responses! So I have a few questions, of you gents could be so kind as to help me out.
#1- Is the Volare front clip worth keeping? This is my first restoration and I am wondering if it would be difficult to cut it out and install a 2003+ IFS from a Crown Vic. I have read this far that the F100 frame had to be cut to put the Volare clip onto the frame. If that is the case, is it a hassle or problem to fix the frame and install the IFS?
#2 The other vehicle in the background is a 42 Sedan Delivery, per my buddy btw.
Thanks for the quick responses, and CharlieLed, that is a really nice looking setup you have there.
Yes, the Volare clip is worth keeping. PST (Performance Suspension Technology PST | Car & Truck Suspension Parts | Performance Suspension) has rebuild kits and performance sway bars for this IFS. As for the CV IFS...that is a decision you will have to make, they are too wide for these trucks but others have compensated and seem to be satisfied.
BTW - if you notice the oil pan on my 56 in the photo...it is a front sump, no issues with clearance with the Volare crossmember.
Thanks for the response in such a prompt manner. So with the Volare clip, how far is the front bumper off the ground? IE how much lower does the front of the truck sit? I am looking for a total drop of about 6 inches in the front.
Do you have the steering box? I just rebuilt all the ball joints and bushings on mine. About $300 for all Moog parts, including an upgrade to 11/32 tie rod ends, plus about $130 for a rebuilt steering box. Removing the bushing in the lower control arm is tricky but I found a good tutorial on utube. The upper ball joint takes a special tool - see below. I checked at my local tire shop and the old timer said he hadn't seen one of these in a long time and would have loaned me his socket except he couldn't find the socket.
Also, looks to me like the upper control arm inner mount is not right. It should angle upward toward the front and yours looks level.
CharlieLed,
Thanks for the response in such a prompt manner. So with the Volare clip, how far is the front bumper off the ground? IE how much lower does the front of the truck sit? I am looking for a total drop of about 6 inches in the front.
Kinda like asking how long is a string...it's as long as you cut it. Likewise, the height of the front end is as high as you make it. That can be accomplished when the crossmember is welded to the frame, it can be adjusted by tightening/loosening the tension on the torsion bars, or it can be done with lowered spindles. My frontend has 2 inch lowered spindles...I set the ride height by adjusting the torsion bars. You can't tweak the torsion bars too much however since they are designed to provide a stable ride at a given tension range.
I have not bee over there to Idaho to see the pickup yet, but the pictures show its in outstanding shape. As far as the front suspension is setup, all I have to go on is pictures and a very trusted friend. I will know more once we heard over sometime between June and August. I have had this planned for over a year, but with my wife in graduate school everything got put on the back burner.
Thank you for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to my first hotrod build after owning several sports cars and doing bolt on work. Also really looking forward to getting my two young kids into it as well as working on cars is a wholesome hobby. Only bad part is that my wife is not a fan of 1950s vehicles or fat fender Fords. Oh well, she doesn't mind my hobbies and I am sure the truck will grow on her.
I have not bee over there to Idaho to see the pickup yet, but the pictures show its in outstanding shape. As far as the front suspension is setup, all I have to go on is pictures and a very trusted friend. I will know more once we heard over sometime between June and August. I have had this planned for over a year, but with my wife in graduate school everything got put on the back burner.
A project planned for over a year? That is not long at all in the whole scheme of things! Just ask some of the guys here how long they have had projects on the back burner. Some could be decades!
And your wife in grad school is a good thing. Think of the extra money she will make which could support your project!
Funny story behind grad school. I was in the last term of my MBA when she started her first term of a MSDA. (Master of Science in Data Analytics) Its been very hectic for three years. But, with all the work put in, she is ok with me building now instead of playing with just bolt on stuff.
Just to show how many ways there are to build these. Mine is a cordoba IFS. Very similar to the Volare but the torsion bars (not to be confused with the sway bar) are parallel and behind the front subrame as opposed to criss-crossing infront of the subframe. The cordoba set up makes routing the headers more difficult. I mention the angle of the upper control arm mounting bracket because I know it is supposed to be angled up toward the front but I did not measure this angle on the donor car for my parts and had to guess at it. Now after the fact I'm kind of curious how much off my setup is from the oem angle.
Cordoba IFS drivers side front view
Cordoba IFS drivers side top view
Cordoba IFS passenger side - side view from inside looking out.
Cordoba IFS drivers side - torsion bar and inside view of frame rail behind steering box.
My better half wasn't a fan of the truck, either. She much preferred that I kept the 55 Century hardtop that I sold to fund the truck project (and looking back at how much this thing has cost me, I kinda wish I had kept the Buick.) However, over the three years that I have been trying to get it on the road, she has grown to like it, quite a bit. Taking her for a drive in it made all the difference. She really began to appreciate the old tart after that.
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