I Have A 1962 Ford Truck And Want To Make It Into A Evryday Driver,could The Original Suspension Be Ok If In Good Shape Or Do I Need To Change It,how Do I Lower It And Can I Chop The Cab Down Some I Think It Would Look Cool

 

Wow that was hard to read.

wHy IS eVEry wOrD CAPITALIZED?

 

your original suspension is fine check your shocks, tie rods, steering stabalizer, and spring bushings. if theyre all good and the brakes are in good shape itll be fine for a daily driver. Ive towed with my 64 and aint afraid to drive it daily. the milage is tough but she is a strong runner.

 

I would say drive it for a month and then decide. My 63 has been a daily driver at times and I enjoy it, but I dont mind if it steers and rides like a truck, and I dont commute on a freeway at 75 mph either. As for lowering it, I always thought that I would, but 5 years in I still havent. And no I dont like the idea of chopping it, seems it would be pretty difficult project that would likely end in incomplete or un-satisfactory results. Thats my two cents.

 

thanx for the info guys

 

Welcome to FTE.

I thought about chopping the top but when you stand back and look at the body style it would look like a shoe box with a little bump sticking off of it. I used photo shop to simulate a 4 inch chop and it wasn't pretty. The height of the body and cab are perfect the way they were design IMHO.

Luckliy all the stock suspension parts are available. Some are a little pricey but they are still out there. I bought all new bushings and hardware for my 64's front springs for under $250. The back suspension I haven't bought yet since I am playing with the wifes car. Remember a happy wife is a happy life. Once her car is done then I'll be changing front and back bushings at the same time. Now if only I could convince her that a bikini top and really short shorts are manditory for her to wear in the garage I'll be in there. Then again I don't think I would get any work done, I'd be staring most of the time. I hate moral delemas...

Oh one more thing if you have to rebuild the brakes you might want to think about upgrading to discs. You'll spend an extra $100 after all it said and done. Just something else to think about.

 

I think chop tops look good when the truck is lowered a lot. It stays proportional.

For example, check out this '61. It's chopped, but not by too much. The truck just looks sick.





I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea (slamming trucks isn't against my morals...), but I think this truck is pretty "slick!"

 

Chopping the roof on these is not easy. The windshield rake makes for some unique challenges. If you don't know what you are doing, don't try it. You'll wind up with a parts truck.

 

That roof is chopped enough to see that the side mirror is half the window opening. While it looks good from that angle, I'd be surprised to see what it looks like painted. Between the chop and drop it looks like the Uni's lost 12-14 inches.

Did anyone notice the wipers aren't installed and the antenna is on the wrong side? I now the other Uni has shaved door handles and the mirrors are not installed yet. Anyone know who built them?

 

The above trucks o/s mirrors.

The same type Ford used from 1953 thru 1966, reproduced by DC.

Fits into the slot in the door.

There were originally two versions of the mirrors, with different part numbers for each. My guess is that DC only sells the early version.

1) B5CZ-17696-A .. Early

2) C1TZ-17696-E .. Late

The antenna is on the wrong side, and it's a gypo (aftermarket replacement). It's not genuine Ford.

The original antenna mounts on the right side of the cowl panel (original: the base is all chrome, not black plastic-gypo like this one).

1961/66: It's the same one as the 1961/64 Galaxies used-reproduced by Dennis Carpenter: C3AZ-18813-C (C3AZ-C replaced C1AZ-A).

 

'Classic Truck Magazine' came out with a 2 part article 'rooftop drop' where they chopped roof of 64 F100. Gave most of back issues away, may be able to locate the yr. and month issues came out, may even have even printed a copy, if anyone decides to take on the project. Came across this article may find interesting last time on their website.

Ford F100 Fender Modification - F-100 Cut And Shut

 

if you are going to chop it... my sudjestion would be, go a to a wrecking yard that has one of these... and find a nice cab, and bring that home.... use that for the chop... then swap the cabs, that way, you have a back up... and its just some sheet metal you can sell at the scrap yard if you screew it up beyond repair