Hi All, long time reader and I thoroughly enjoy this forum. I've had our truck for about 6 months and I'm ready to start doing some work to it. My first project will be to replace the broken front passenger and driver side lead springs. I believe what I have on right now are the factory original 8 leaf spring ... I guess my question is, based on the attached picture, are those stock springs, and would new stock replacement springs (7 leaf) maintain my current ride height in the front? I'm fairly new to this and I'm not particularly mechanically inclined so any advice on this project would be greatly appreciated.
At some point I should convert this to a build thread since the power steering and electrical fan upgrade will be next. Thanks.

 

I would say new springs will raise your vehicle. Measure from the ground to the top of the frame rail at the bumper. According to Midfifty stock height would be 21 1/2"
Lowering Calculator - Mid Fifty F-100 Parts

 

Thanks bjmayberry2, I checked that link last night. My front is 18.5 inches and my rear is 28 inches. I'm not sure if I'm sitting at 18.5 because of the raised back, the weight of the 390 motor, worn springs or a combination of all the above. When the weight of the truck is on the springs, will they bend similar to the ones in the first picture or maintain their shape?

 

Your new springs should have arch in them when installed. A 390 is only 25 Lbs heavier than a Y Block but it's quite a bit heavier than a in line six (not sure what the truck had originally). With the look of your old springs I'd say the springs are accounting for most of your drop.

 

TAAA-5310-A .. 8 Leaf Front Spring (standard equipment) / Obsolete

1953/56 F100.

CARPENTER NOS OBSOLETE PARTS in Concord NC has 6 = 800-476-9653.
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TBAA-5310-A .. 7 Leaf Front Spring / Obsolete

1953/56 F100 optional Heavy Duty / 1953/56 F250 standard equipment.

No Ford dealer or obsolete parts vendor has any.

 

Thank you both for that information. I'm guessing the 8 leafs were modified which would account for the 3 inch drop. I'm going to get another set of 3 inch lowering springs, something like those in the link below to maintain the 18.5 front.

Truck Parts and Truck Accessories

Not the best picture for showing the stance but this give some idea of how it sits now.

 

Nice truck!!

 

Hope you have some help from someone that is mechanical inclined. The job is easy and not at the same time. Make sure you find some good videos to help you with your project. That is what us old goats had to do.

Here are the springs we ordered for my friends 56 panel and you get free shipping. Just make sure you install them correct with the reverse eye to the front.

Posies Super Slide Springs D154F 53-56 Ford Pickup Drop Front Springs

You will also need most likely new shackles. And there is more you need to know. I don't have the paper work with me but my friend does and if you want all the parts and where we ordered it all from then I can give you a list. Might as well have all the parts you need so you can do it at one time and not have to wait for new parts to come in. Your old shackles and pins will be wore out just like his was.

 

Thanks avf100.

46duke, I ended up getting the springs from LMC, along with new shocks, shackles and pins\bushings. I would certainly appreciate a parts list along with any advice, because yeah the worst is when you're half way through the job and are missing a parts. I will have help from friends who are much more experienced than I am, definitely not something I would want to tackle alone.

How long did it take you to get done?

 

LMC is where we also bought the pins and bushings and I picked the kit like for $56 I think?
We also had to replace the king pins so that was all part of it and had to find a shop to do the machine work needed. Boy that cost more than expected.

You want be replacing the bushings in the springs because they come with them. Took some heat to get the old bushing out of the frame so be ready for that. I have all types and sizes of hand torches and boy do they come in handy.
After the bushing were out then we honed the bores out just to the point that the new bushing seemed like it would go in when driven. Then we put the new ones in the freezer. We left them in over night because we were in no hurry. Next day you could slide one of them in almost by hand and the other we used a brass hammer to set it but was very easy to do.

My friends 56 had not been on the road for like 30 + years but all the nut/bolts were no problem to remove.

Best of luck on your replacement of your parts. It should make a lot of difference on the handling and the ride once it is all done. The tires make a lot of diff on the way they set. After all the new parts were installed my friend had some 215 tires on it and was way lower than he liked so we ordered new 225 ones and that set it just right. He wanted the front to be down and some guys like that look and some want the closer to the way they came but maybe lower all the way around.

Once you get your new springs installed then please report back with the measurement you ended up with along with your tire size.

 

Quick update, I got all the suspension parts but then decided to get the power steering conversion kit as well. When that gets delivered I'll make a weekend of it and get it all installed (hopefully). I'll follow up with pictures and measurements when its all done.

 

I'd be a little concerned about how your front springs are developing a reverse arc. Leaf springs function by allowing each leaf to slide against each other. When the arc reverses the leaf ends begin digging into the leaf above them. Not only can this damage the leaves but also inhibit sliding and spring action during jounce. Probably in your best interest to visit a spring shop and get a pro' opinion.

 

Hi CBeav, the guys at the shop think that they were re-arched to achieve the 3 inch drop in the front. Either way, I have a set of replacement springs ready to be installed, I never felt comfortable with that broken spring. I also ended up getting a power steering conversion kit and will install at the same time. I'll post pics of the build.

 

Small update, I finally got it up the stands and will start working on it this week

 

I got the passenger side taken apart, surprisingly it came off relatively easily. When we were putting it back together is where we ran into a few problems; The 3 inch lowering springs we got from LMC pushed the front axle back by approximately a quarter of an inch which caused some alignment issues with the u bolts since the drivers side was still tethered with the original springs on the drives side.

The other problem we ran into was inserting the shackle assembly into the frame. We might have been able to get it in there if we hammered it but it seemed like it required too much force. LMC has all the pieces (inner and outer shackle bar and upper, lower pin eye) which I ordered hoping they will fit without machining or other modification. I will standby until until the parts get here, if that fails we might re-use the legacy parts since they appear to be in good condition.

I will follow up once the new parts show up and we have another go at it.