My dad and husband and I just pulle d this 72 Ford F-100 out of a field of our neighboors. It cleaned up fairly nice and the engine tuneup went really well. I thought we would just make this a work trucj but when we got started I decided I saw alot of potential in the truck. First off I want to lower the trucj and put performance tires on it. I olny want a 1-2" lower because I want to keep it some what useable for hauling our atvs. I need some suggestions. I have in my mind a 11/2 in front 2 in back because we want to keep the 60s series tires on it. If you have some ideas let me know.

 

don't do it, keep it original

 

I doubt even you will notice a drop of 1-2" and I know no one else will. Won't really do anything good or bad to your ride. About the same as adding KYB shocks. I did 2" in front and rear at first myself, ho hum, no one knew but me.

 

Before my bagged truck, I had a 72 that I lowered about like what you want. I heated the front springs for about 1.5 inches, and it was noticable. Handled a ton better than it did, and it felt different to drive it. The only problem with this is that it upsets the front camber and may cause slight tire wear. I never had any unusual wear when I did mine, but all trucks act differently depending on spring rates and toe-in, toe-out alignment. I used a set of shakles in the back for another 2 inches or so. Here's what I would do: buy shackles and hangers for the back (they are cheap and straight up to install). This will give you about 4" or so in the back and you will keep the same spring rates so you can still haul whatever you want to. If you aren't worried about tire wear (depends on how many miles you put on the truck regularly) I would buy 2" lowering springs for the front. They are pretty cheap. OR, you could heat, cut, or clamp the front springs. There are clamps that pull the individual coils together when they are tightened and will lower the truck, but not by much. I drove my old '72 all over, and never wore a tire, and it had heated springs, but only about 1.5" drop. OR, you could bag it..............

 

I too want to lower my 1968 F100, however I'm wondering how low a person can go without spending the money on I-Beams. I would like to flip the rear axle, but I'm conserned about notching the frame... My truck is currently in Wyoming getting a beefed up 390. Given that I haven't been able to craw under it to see how this all will work, I have a couple of questions....

1. Can you flip the rear axle and not notch the frame. I'm guessing this will result in about 3 inches drop, but does that make the frame and axle to close???

2. Has anyone heard of people heating and bending the I-Beams to correct for the camber issue??? (One of the local alignment shops has an ol' boy who swears he's done it before in the past.)

3. Do the front "bags" simply go inplace of the front coils? If so, other then sounding redneckish, what would be functionally wrong with "bagging" the front, and using traditional air shocks in the rear?

Thanks for your help
God Bless

David Sellars

 

Hmm, you really do need lowering beams in the front. If you are thinking of bagging and not wanting to spend 500 bucks on lowering beams, then you're headed the wrong direction. To lower and bag and have everything right you can spend upwards of 3000-3500 bucks w/o labor. The back flip will give about 5 inches or so, and without a cnotch, there is a chance of the housing bottoming out frequently on the frame. I've heard of bending Ibeams, but never would try it.

 

Heating and bending the I beams could cause the beams to crack and or break off. Improper heating and bending could change the temper of the beams, causing the metal to become too hard and brittle. Not too safe!

 

On bending I-beams; check with a company that specializes in big rig trucks and that straightens frames and has the heavy duty hydraulic equipment to bend axles to reset camber.

 

I Beams can be bent if done properly, the other option is buying new beams. On the back it's simple if you're not building a show truck. Just cut the factory rivets from the front spring bracket, flip it over, and bolt it back down (requires drilling some new holes) no change in ride quality and the axle is no where near hitting the frame.

 

Okay this raises a couple other questions for me...

TKONO - Please understand I have no truck to look at when I ask this, but what you are suggesting with the rear suspension is to flip the front spring holder and not the rear axle? How much of a drop in the rear does this result in? I've been looking at air bags such as the Firestone F9000 for the front, as a replacement for the FRONT springs, and then having the I Beams bent for a specific ride height.

TKONO &RainbowATF -Do you personally or do you know someone who has bent I beams sucessfully? Are they normally bent Cold or do they have to be bent in conjunction with a tourch? I ask this because I too had wondered about the tempering of them. Maybe this isn't a problem with as big as the beams are and given that they are cast...

God Bless

David Sellars

 

Sorry it took me so long to get back, but yes I have done the spring perch flip and it's good for about 4-5 inches. The only thing you might have to watch for is pinion angle, but this will also change by doing an axle over. I didn't change the pinion angle on my truck when I did it and it was fine. As far as the Beams, they are not supposed to be bent or heated and its not a very accurate method anyway. Since they are cast it's just not a good idea, although I have seen a radius arm (also cast) bent in an S shape with no breaking. I have a 68 F-100 I'm thinking of lowering and I'm either going with drop axles or a Mustang II rack unit. Good luck!

 

I just want to post something here to head off some problems in the future. The front I-beams are NOT cast, they are forged. Cast beams would probably break, forged beams are very tough. They are formed by being hammered with tons of force which causes very tight grain structure, hence strength. And heating them to bend them is not a good practice, though I know of a couple of trucks that are running around with bent beams. There was an article in Classic Trucks mag a month or two ago that talked about a company in CA that can bend beams in order to lower them. They have the proper equipment to do it.

 

hey bagged 70, where did you get your rims, and what size do you have? i have been planning to put 22s on my truck,and i havent seen anyone who has done customizing in this forum yet, your the only one, so i thought i might ask you a couple questions if you dont mind

 

I'm seconding that wheel question.... What ofset and wheel size will fit given the front disc conversion? I would like to go moderately low and somewhere around 18 to 20" Wheels. What do other people out there have?

Thanks Again,

David

 

Hey folks, all this suspension talk got me thinking. Since the 3/4 ton has more space beween the springs and frame, could the axle be flipped without hitting? What about handers? Could I flip the axle, then just put 2" handers on the leaves? If that would work would I put them on the front of back of the leaves? Also, could I keep my original shocks and just get a relocating bracket?Lots of questions. Hope ya'll can help.
Thanks!