It's been a while since I posted. I have done a bunch of work since then. I decided which route I am going in, but have a lot of work ahead of me. I bought a used coyote motor from a 13 F150 with the 6R80 automatic. I had the parts media blasted as well. It's good knowing what body work I will end up needing to do. I don't plan on tackling that for a while especially until I get the car running. I also decided on the Fatman IFS and 4 Link rear suspension. I haven't purchased everything else yet, but making some progress.

I dropped the coyote in to see how it would fit and whether the cross member would need to be pushed forward more than what was recommended. The instructions say to move it 1" forward from the stock centerline. It looks like the oil pan will hit it if I only move it 1". I think I would need to move it 1.5" to avoid the additional bump in the oil pan hitting the crossmember. Do you guys who have installed a coyote in this year f100 have any recommendations there? I've been messing with cars since I was a kid, but have never swapped a motor other than the one that was intended for the car, so this will be fun getting everything to fit in there correctly. I plan on getting the cross member tacked in next weekend.

BTW, rivets suck. Have to really practice patience. Below are a few pictures of my progress.

Michael

 

I have a question for everyone. I am installing the IFS and they have me setting the frame with a 2-3 degree rake and then mounting the crossmember in level with the ground. I am curious of the following?

- What is the reason for this? If the frame ends up level, the crossmember would be 2-3 degrees down toward the back. Is this normal?
- If I want a more level ride front to back, should I go with 1.5? I ask because even at 2 degrees it has a pretty decent rake for my liking.
- Also, why wouldn't you leave the frame level and just mount the crossmember at 2-3 down instead of going through setting the frame with the rake and then the crossmember level.

Sorry for the newbie question. Can't really find the answer and have been mining the internet. I am good at following directions, but want to understand the why behind some things.

Appreciate the answers.

 

Engines are designed to run at 4 degrees down at the rear and your diff should be 4 degrees up. In a perfect world you would set your frame the way you want it and do your engine diff to 4 degrees . The engine diff final degrees to ground is not nearly as important as the engine diff relationship . This being said your question is more about the suspension relationship to ground . It sounds to me as though they are assuming you will want a rake on your truck . I would see if you can find what they want the cross member to ground relationship to be and build accordingly .

 

Set the frame to the rack you want and the front cross member level front to back so the geometry in the cross member works. There is usually a degree or two designed in the cross member..

 

Thanks guys.

Geometry! Here we go... I knew the engine will end up needing to be set downward and then the pinion upward when I get to that point. Do you know why they set the frame with a rake with the crossmember level? Does it have to do anything with the alignment once the suspension is on or is it literally set like that so when there is a rake at ride height the cross member is level?

Good information, thanks...

 

The engine you're running is fuel injected and don't think the 3 degree drop to the back is critical . The carburetor manifolds have the 3 degrees built into them for the rearward slope to keep the carburetor level. That cross member was designed to be level and why they tell you to set the rack to your frame.

 

I think that's his dilemma John if I'm understanding correctly they are assuming he wants a rake . And yes fuel injected less important but the engine oil flow is also built into this angle . This is something we payed very carefull attention to with our dusters camero's and mustangs when we jacked the sh&t out of the rear ends with air shocks . LOL

 

That was way back in the olden days...

 

Thanks guys. I think I will land at 1 or 1.5 degrees as opposed to 2 - 3. Makes sense now. Appreciate your quick responses. Will post more as I get more done.

Michael

 

Loved those airshocks!

 

Hey Michael,
Don't be a stranger. Post updates when you can ... looking forward to following along.
I think the hardest part with a full rebuild is motivation. For the longest time you spend & spend on parts & "all"
you have is a pile in the garage taking up space.

Front suspension is complicated & critical to your truck's handling. We have a Mustang II IFS in our truck.
I got tired of spending & just went for completion - put a $225 salvage yard Explorer 8.8 in the rear end.
It's not a bad way to go if you hit the "just get it done mode".

You don't see many completed Coyote Builds on here. Are you following anyone's build
closely?

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

Thanks Ben and everyone for your help.

I will certainly post things as I get them done. I agree, right now I have a pile of parts and it seems overwhelming at the moment. But I keep reminding myself to enjoy the journey as this is my first ground up rebuild.

I ended up setting the rake at 1.5 degrees and mounted the crossmember. I just tacked everything in place. Now I am getting the hats in place. I made a jig to hold everything in place while I tack it in place. I am just learning to weld and will have my friend finish the welds for me. He's been welding for most of his life. I don't mind doing the body work and stuff, but when it comes to welding the crossmember that holds the suspension in place, I will leave it to someone who knows how to do it right. I will just do all of the prep work for him by getting everything tacked in place.

The truck has a 9" rear on it so I am planning on keeping it on there. Figure it should handle the coyote just fine.

I will learn how to take better pics for you guys. Enjoy.

Here's the crossmember in place.



I used engine support bar that I had from some work I did on my mini. It allowed me to hold it in place and make adjustments easily.



Pictures a little dim, but you can see I mounted the lower A arms upside down so I can use the grease nipple and take a measure to a plumb bob in the back of the truck. I wanted to make sure this was as square as possible.



Here you can see the crossmember in place and started working on the hats. I used a piece of conduit I had laying around with some threaded rod and then cut a couple of holes in a piece of metal to hold everything together.

 

Call it a weekend. Ended up getting everything tacked in place and even threw a shock on to see how it will look.
Everything tacked in place with a shock on for good measure.

 

How much of a drop is that cross member going to give you..? Looks like it's going to be slammed to the pavement...unless it's just the angle from where you took the picture..

 

It's the angle. I believe the kit only goes down a few inches. Need to verify that. I had the option to get an additional drop with different spindles. I want it lowered, but not slammed. My mini is low enough and don't want my truck that way. I didn't put the spindles in place or anything, but maybe I will do it next weekend to verify.... Thanks for looking out.