Thanks for the info

 

If I use 3" drop beams from DJM and Fatman fabrications lowering kit on my 67 Ford F-100 will it level my ride since the back is 2" higher than the front ?

 

Now that just isn't right

As stated before definition of low, how much you want to spend & usage all determine what you can do. You can come down 5-6" for under $2000. The vehicle could still be used for light towing. Might as well figure it as a car so figure towing capabilities as you would for a car. After that the options are dramatically different. Channel the body for additional drop. Frame swap is another choice. Custom suspension. The largest problem I see with dropping a bump is the body to frame relationship.

A Chevrolet body sits below the rail to start with. The Ford body sits either higher than the bottom of the rail or at best flush. You can do a 5" drop on a Chevrolet pickup and look considerably lower than a 5" drop on a bump.

 

Does the Fatman kit say it will lower the rear 5"? For the record if you are dropping the rear 5" you will need to notch the frame or the axle will hit the frame when driving.

 

The Fatman kit is a 5" rear kit and does require a C-notch in the frame. It includes a bolt in reinforcement plate.

..::FatmanFabrications::..

 

There you have it Charles. If you have a 2" difference and are doing a 3" drop up front then the Fatman Fabrications kit will make your truck sit level.

 

AIM ibeams with the rear shackle and hanger kit got mine to look like this for around $900. Did not have to make any frame cuts. All bolt-ons and I can put everything back if I want to. Took one day to install. My local alignment guy got it to line up perfect too. Rides great.

 

But you have about 2" of clearance between the diff housing and the frame...

 

If the ride was bad, (which its not), all I would have to do is pull out a couple of bolts and raise the back an inch and solve the problem, but I have alot more give in the rear suspension than you think because of the matching shocks I got with the complete kit. Alot better than butchering up a frame. Alot better than sitting one on the ground and not being able to use stock inner fenders, if you could run any at all, and then having to tub out a bed to get the back to sit somewhere close to the front in height. I will take mine over those troubles any day. Unless you go and change everything on the suspension to get the truck down quit a bit, the lowering kit is the way to go price wise, as the original poster of this thread was asking.

 

My truck sits level. It had a axle flip kit on it when I got it. I am not sure how much it dropped it but it seems to be about 5 inches. Weak / worn-out springs might have something to do with it. I can tell you this, it was about 3/4 inch from the frame and rode terrible. The smallest bump would rattle your brain. I made my own notch kit; it made a HUGE difference. Took me about 6 hours to cut and weld in. Kida sucks working off of your back in a garage.

 

[QUOTE=f100today;11193236]My truck sits level.QUOTE]


How is your truck lowered in the front? Ive have cut springs in the past on some other trucks Ive owned, as mentioned above. The only problem with that is you can only go so far with cutting springs and then you cant get an alignment shop to be able to bend the stock beams enough to align the front. I cant remember how much a drop you can get by cutting a spring so that it CAN be bent to align right, but its not much of a drop, plus, it takes way from the ride of the front as it decreses the travel of the front suspension making the ride more and more terrible the more you cut out of the coil springs.
I see you cut the frame on yours, which I could do that if I wanted to, but I didnt want to cut up my frame. I wanted a stock looking truck but only lowered, and I can put mine back anytime I want to and no one would know it was ever lowered, unless of course they have seen it lowered before, lol.
Im curious to see what your truck would look like with my wheel and tire combo.....the bigger wheels and smaller tires on your truck kinda throws me off. Arent you the one who had another set of wheel/tires on your truck when you bought it and swopped them out for the ones you have on it right now? A set of chrome wheels or am I thinking about someone else?

 

I have no troubles at all with my truck. Stock inner fenders with a small mod made in the lower portion to clear the shock tower support. No mods to the bed in any way. Full suspension travel, great ride & handling plus excellent stopping power. As to price Bobby did put me in my place on that one BUT he built his own notch. My total suspension mods can be done for $1500 & potentially less. If you don't want the drop springs you can take another $200 off that figure. Just depends on what you pay for the IFS & IRS.

How much did it cost to drop your truck? I am always curious as I did look into beams prior to making my choice. For me the money was better spent doing what I did. Currently these trucks aren't really worth anything so maintaining stock really has no affect on value. I don't see it as butchering. I see it as keeping another one out of the crusher and being driven.

I will say I don't care for the slammed look but then again they are keeping the truck out of the crusher, on the road & it's not my truck.

 

[quote=williamwilliam;11193303]Yes, that was me with the 20 and 22 inch chrome wheels. Sold those. The front of my truck has DJM dropped beams and some worn out springs. No alignment issues so far but I wouldn't exactly say the truck is "slammed".

This truck is my daily driver and at some point I need to quit messing with it and get back on my real project which is a 32 valve single turbo Mercury Comet. When I am finished with that I am going to put a MII kit on the front of the f100. I want to keep the steelies; I am about to put some dog dish hubcaps on them.

 

My new DJM beams arrived a couple of nights ago. Thanks Santa.

I'm curious to know what is the "stock" or near normal measurement between the top of the I-beam and the bumpstop. The PO of my rig installed spring spacers to hold up the front end but indications are that it still hits and compresses the stops on a regular basis.

I've only got 2 inches of travel. How does your new or relatively fresh suspension measure up? Thanks in advance.

 

[QUOTE=elgemcdlf;11193408]Currently these trucks aren't really worth anything so maintaining stock really has no affect on value.[QUOTE]

WOW.....I am gonna have to correct you on that one. NADA puts these trucks somewhere around $18K (top range), but I also know its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it as with anything else. I would garantee you I could get at least $10K or more out of my truck right now the way it sits. Keeping one as close to original as possible, (some original paper work helps), will keep one of these trucks pretty near top dollar. Thats why I went for bolt-ons instead of cutting up things, as some buyers might would want my truck but not have it lowered, then, guess what! I, they, or whoever could put it right back to stock in 1 day.......


Now granted, doing a restomod/custom on one of these trucks will bring top dollar as well to the "RIGHT" person, but there are alot more collectors out there that want original over restomods or customs. Barrett Jackson and other auctions prove that. A friend of mine just sold his original 1968, 14,000 mile truck to a collector for $20K. It was all orginal, it just has been repainted when he obtained the truck and the rest was bone stock original.


I do agree with you on keeping these trucks out of the crushers, which I hate to see ANY old vehicle being put out of their misery just unless they are beyond repair of course.


I did all the work to my truck myself with a friend in 1 day and got in aligned the very next day.....$900 well spent in my own opinion!