What are the pros/cons of removing leaf springs from the front and rear spring packs, what does this do for ride height,and safety? I prefer to maintain a relatively stock/nostalgia 50's-60's era hot rod look, how many leaves =how much of a drop? thanks for any help.......

 

I would be interested in the same information for the front only of my '51 F-1. I'm not looking for "down in the weeds", just a better stance.
Beave

 

Been there done that. It doesn't work very well. I first took three leaves out of each side of the front of my 53 ford. It sat right on the rubber bumpers. But it looked like the lowered trucks in the magazines-pretty good. So I took the rubber bumpers off the frame and drove it. It steered terrible, and everytime one wheel it a bump, the spring would come up and slap the frame. Plus I had to use a block of steel on top of the spring because the u-bolts were too long. So, I took and put the longer leaf of the three back in each side and put the rubber bumper back on. Big improvement. But the ride height isn't as cool. If you look at your truck from the side, with the original ride height on a 53-56, the top body line of the front fender slopes up as it goes forward. I think these trucks look much better when the top of the fender is parallel with the ground. The problem is, there is just not enough room between the top of the original spring and the frame to make it work. I used extended shackles in the back, plus you probably could remove a couple of leaves back there and it would probably be ok. That might be one advantage of using a mono-leaf, more room because it's thinner, but some guys on here have reported these don't ride very well.

 

I have had friends who tried removing spring leaves with similar results- poor handling, springs hitting the frame or rubber bumper, etc. One way to reduce ride height on the rear is to move the front spring hangars up on the frame about 2 1/2 inches. It requires grinding or torching off the heads of the factory rivets and then welding the bracket back onto the frame. Much easier done with the bed off, but it is does work and costs little to do. On the front, reversed eye main leafs drop the front some also. Hope this helps.
Stretch

 

When I bought my 53, the front mount of the rear spring had been moved up 2 1/2 inches. It resulted in a severe change to the differential pinion angle. Moving the front mount forward an inch instead of up on the frame will give you a slight drop without messing up the driveshaft geometry. I have 5 leaves left and it sits pretty nice. It takes some cash to go real low.

Dewayne

 

What Advice Does anyone have for the front springs other than a dropped axle?

 

Get a catalog from midfifty.com. They have lots of useful lowering info and an interesting solution with a spring pack that has teflon liners in it.

 

 

>What Advice Does anyone have for the front springs other
>than a dropped axle?

If you don't wan to go the dropped axle, then replacing the springs is your best option. Either way it will cost over $250 if you replace/repair spring shackles. If your springs are in good shape the dropped axle is a good option. I checked with Bob's F100s in Riverside CA and they sell 3 different drops starting at $250.00 for a 2 1/2 inch drop. How low do you want to go? You can replace springs with a softer spring rate and reversed eyes and get 2-3 inch drop and a better ride. But don't remove leafs from original springs, you will not be happy with the results unless you have more leafs than stock now. On my F100 some previous owner tried beefing up the springs front and back by adding leafs, but they did not replace the u shaped clamps at each end and left out the bolts because they would not fit. These springs are moving in all directions. I only wish I new which leafs to take out. Most all of the catalog sales places have replacement springs that will lower your truck safely, but don't forget to change the shocks when you do lower it.


rogerf100
1955 F100
1976 Fr50 For Sale
1994 F150