OK, while in the FTE chat room the other night i had an idea and i figured id run it past you guys to see what you think.....I have 2 Ford trucks, one is a 76 F-150 2wd, the other is a 78 F-250 4x4 snow fighter...im putting different leaf springs in the front of the 78 to replace the flat "inverted" leaf springs in it to give it about 4 inches of lift.....so now i will have these "1ton" front springs laying around........im planning on lowering the rear of my 76 F-150 2wd, eventually im gonna run big rig airbags with ladder bars and a panhard bar, but thats a little outta budget right now...so im thinking about putting the flat front leaf springs out of the F-250 in the rear of the F-150, i know ill have to change shackles and hangers because they are wider and possibly longer, but making them fit isnt a problem....what i need to know is will these "inverted" front springs hold up to the rear axle torque my 460 puts out?? i figure since they are under the front of a F-250 4x4 that came with a factory plow then they should be just fine under the back of an F-150.....the reason im thinking about doing this is that i want to lower the truck, but still be able to haul a decent load without dragging the truck on the ground....like i said before, im going to eventually go with airbags, but this would be free and could be done alot sooner....let me know what you think....

 

they will wrap alot more than your current springs, but they should be fine

they are the same length as your rears...but your going to have to move the location of your hangers because the center pin on those springs is about 4" more towards the center of the spring than regualr rears

 

i didnt think it was possible to have springs wrap more than my 1/2 ton springs do, but i see what your saying, ill build some ladder bars at the same time then....i was kinda thinking the center pins where different but couldnt remember for sure, relocating the hangers isnt a big deal...thanks man...the only reason im even thinking about this, is that i think they will give me just the right amount of drop i need to level the truck...

 

Be careful front and rear springs are totally different. Front springs will not wrap up at all they are way stiffer than rear springs. Front springs are very stiff and have very little give and much higher rate. Rear springs are soft. The locating pin will be in the wrong spot as well. I found that new super duty rear springs are the same length as highboy front springs. Went through all the trouble of swapping them in for about a 6" lift over stock. The lift looked cool, but the truck would have rolled over taking a corner over 10 MPH. Alot of work wasted for nothing. Buy the right springs or have some made by a spring shop that knows what they are doing. Custom springs are not expensive and will save you a ton of hassle.

 

i love my rear springs up front..great flex and soft ride....also pushed my axle foward about 4" so my tires cleared my body mounts....thanks to those springs i can run my 44's with 6" of lift