I have a 1979 F100 short bed and want to drop it 2 or 3 inches in the rear. Anyone have any affordable suggestions? I was curious if replacing the leaf springs from another Ford with less arch would do the trick. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Are you looking to actually lower your truck, or are you talking about leveling out the bed and cab? The easiest route for leveling is to buy a leveling kit for the front. If you're looking to drop the truck, that's a whole different story...
If you really just want to drop it, it seems you could do an axle over/spring under (whatever you want to call it) conversion, but that'd drop it more than 3 inches I think...

 

You can buy the lowering spring sets, but I wouldn't call them affordable. The ones I have seen are around $360 for the short bed. Is that what you meant by affordable? I would be interested in replacing mine with less arch sets for my 79 long bed with some from a donor truck and spending the money on the front end suspension.

 

Take your axle and flip it so it sets on top of the spring pack..that'll def. drop it. There have been several threads on here recently about it try doing a search for them..they should help.
-chris

 

Thanks for the input. I pulled a third member from a 1987 Van yesterday and noticed much less of an arch on the van springs. They measured very close to the springs I have now in length and width. The front of my truck is already where I want it, I want the back down no more than three inches, which will make it almost level. I do not want to "slam" it to the ground.

 

Doing a spring-over conversion will net you about 5 inches, so if you only want 2-3 inches that will be too much.

Remember that the vans are heavier in the back than the trucks are, so if the van had weight on the springs, they will look like they are arched less, but may be the same as yours after they are removed. I do not think they used different arched springs on the vans, but I could be wrong.

If the van springs do not give you enough drop, you can try removing one or two of the leafs from the spring packs, just remember that the springs will be softer when you are done. On my old '79 I removed 1 leaf, but I did not notice any difference in height, maybe .5-1 inch, so maybe 2 would be better. The more you remove, the less you will be able to haul (if you are worried about that).

Another widely used alternative is dropped rear shackles, essentially a longer shackle for the rear spring mount that will give you about 2 inches of drop. The shackles can usually be purchased for around $40. Check with DJM suspension, or Belltech for the shackles. (I think Summit Racing sells them both).

Even if they don't list shackles for 73-79 trucks, anything from 80-96 will fit, as long as its for a half-ton. Even the 97-03 F-150 drop shackles will fit, although they are longer and you will have to trim the bed crossmember above the shackle mount to make them fit (but you will also get more drop).

 

DJM makes a complete rear brakcet set-up that lowers the rear the amount you are looking for. keeps the stock springs and load capacity.

 

Some pictures of lowering a 68
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=24988

 

DJM's full rear kit with front brackets and rear shackles will net 4" of drop, he is only looking for 2-3".

 

DJM offers a 2 inch rear drop also for $220.40 hangers and shackles (kit). This is the kit I am getting for my 78 but I am going to order it through Summit Racing for $205.63 (includes shipping). Don't know why it's cheaper than DJM (because it is the DJM hangers and shackles). For the front LMC offers 2 inch lowering springs for $99. I am going to either heat or cut mine (cheaper). Then you need to get the right height shocks all the way around for about $20 each at local parts store. Hope this helps.

 

I thought about putting my rear axle on top of the leaf springs, but that doesn't allow much clearance between the frame and the top of the axle. If you don't have much money, but you have time and welding skills, you could notch the frame and raise the spring perches, this way your ride quality would not suffer.

 

some more picture of a lowered https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...6__Part_1.html

 

I have Truckin' magazine with that truck featured in it. Pretty cool truck, but if I remember right, he is running Chebby suspension and a small-block chebby for power. Started out as an F250. Looks cool, but I'm kindof a Ford purist, so I hate to see GM parts in these old Fords, but to each his own...

 

I totally agree, with some aftermarket parts.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I am only lookin for 2.5 inches drop at the rear. The 2 inch shackels only give a little more than an inch. I dont want to spend a lot with this. I am thinking of taking an extra set of springs that I have laying around and removing the second longest spring and then heating the top spring to bend it to get the drop I want.