Went to the local suspension shop today and questioned a few options for lowering my 68 f1 and the guy was pretty helpfull. He said what he could do is to cut and relocate the perches and move about 3 inches up, cut about 2 inches worth out of the spring and then adjust the beam to set camber. Then my question was what about heating the beam and weakening it? He said it would be fine after he reinforced it with plating. Saying that this would give about a 5 inch drop. After thinking about it... wouldn't the beam tend to hit the frame after all that? Would it be too bad to where we couldn't create a small c notch for the beam to clear? Again, trying to get the most drop without spending about two thousand dollars doing it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

p.s.
sorry to the devoted one's that say leave 'em stock... just not me!

 

Cut a coil spring? Heat a forging and not change the tensil characteristics? Weld Plates on sides of forged I beam to strengthen damage done by the heat of welding it?
I don't believe I am reading this question. If your goal was that easy to achieve don't you think that's what everybody would have done already, instead of buying what it takes to do it right?

That fellow you talked to is not being helpful he's being foolish IMHO.

What kind of flowers do you want me to send to your Funeral when it fails on you?
If youwant to play you have to Pay and the way to drop or slam your ride is buy the right set up & do it right, or else leave it alone. There are other poeple on the roads too and they might not appreciate being hit when a buck saving "make do" fails.

I don't care about leaving 'em stock but my God Man, leave them safe to drive at least.

FBp

 

Custom Cabby,
I've been trying to lower my truck on a budget myself...

With that said I can recommend a few things.

#1. Cutting the springs is pretty effective and cheap. I used 6 cylinder springs and cut 1.5 coils out of them... Otherwise things are stock. It sits about as low as it can and still have suspension travel. I trimmed the rubber bump stops in half if that give you an idea of how low it is.

#2. Raising the spring perch probably would work fine but there is no point in doing both... raise the spring perch to the optimal height and don't mess with the springs!

#3. Notching the frame not only isn't a good idea but once you get under there you'll see really won't help. (FordBoyPete you can rest easy) The Angle of the I Beam is such that it will impact the Frame first but then the Engine Cross member shortly there after. Notching the frame simply won't benefit you. I've heard mixed things about modifying the beams... I know there are many reputable shops that will bend the beams "cold" as normal course of a front end alignment. If your going to go further then the first 2 options I would say you need to wait till you can afford to do it "right"...

I don't have any good photo's of it yet but I can tell you it's a nice ride height when it's done.

Hope it helps - God Bless,
David Sellars

 

FBp... get your thong out of a bunch! I did not say I did it, just trying to get some input to see if anyone else has done it. So you mean to tell me that if something goes wrong with your truck, no matter what... you always do everything to the T, even if it means buying a factory part compared to a aftermarket part? Safety is an issue and I did not say I would jepordize that. The biggest risk is getting on the road period with all the nut bags out there. With that said... thanks for your input.

 

David.... when you bought your springs... used to get extra sag or new? How many inches did you drop? Wheel and tire size? What about your camber? Do you have any pics? Thanks for the info.

 

I recall later trucks 71-72 maybe 70 had taller spring towers and springs like 2 1/2 inches taller. If you installed these towers you will lower the front end by that amount with stock springs then cut part of a coil.
Camber will be a mess as well total suspension travel.

NO FLAME WARS PLEASE ON THE NEXT STATEMENTS!

Three years ago I watched a 67 F250 that had the beams cut just after the radius rod bolt area, a Vee cut of 7 degrees plus, then pencil pointed and Tig welded until filled like a factory. A few inches past the pivot point the beams were bent to allow for more clearance from inside the cross member.
Beams were sent out and heat treated, rear had spring perches relocated under the axle. All said and done 4" front drop and 5 1/2" rear drop, truck looked cool without being a useless truck.

 

Cabby - Sorry for the delay, I don't get on here often enough..

My springs were used... With the 390 I believe it dropped about 4 inches. I'm still working out the wheel and tire combo - currently I've got snow tires on steeles.

The camber is indeed a problem. I have not yet taken it to a shop to get it corrected, however I am confident it can be addressed with "Cold" bending the beams.

This is a truck I don't drive the wheels off of (yet) so I haven't worried a whole lot about the camber yet either. It will be my daily driver again soon so I'll let you know when I'm done.

Ultimatly my plan is to Airbag the I-Beams - it will simplify the camber issues.

Good Luck and let me know if I can help any more.

Thanks
David

PS- Check my gallery - I've got some pictures in there ... The bump stops have been further modified however you can see how close it comes to the frame. It seems to work however... .As you cut a spring down it gets stiffer (which I can explain if you would like)

 

thanks... sounds like something i am going to try to do. i have lowered my fair share of cars before but have never dealt with the i beams. thanks, will let you know how it works and same if you run into something else.