Ok I have almost 700 kms on my 53. It came with a Volare clip already installed by PO.... anyway my wife pointed out how rough a ride it has.... some thing like teeth jarring, drink spilling, spleen rattling came up
I figured it is a short box truck so it is fairly normal....then I got to thinking shouldn't it ride smoother with the car suspension?
I did some searching and I think I need to adjust the torsion bars some to soften the ride. I should point out this is the first 700 kms on the Volare installation as it never turned a wheel til I got it...... so I have no idea where the adjustment is right now....so is there a starting point or is it trial and error?
Any ideas are really appreciated. Thanks.

 

sounds to me like you are on the bumpstops already..

the lower arms should be parallel to the ground left and right.

What engine do you have in this thing (gallery says 302 so not too heavy)? what size wheels/tires are you running, and at what pressure?

sam

 

The bump stops are at least 2.5 inches or more away, tires are P235 60 SR15 and the arms are parallel to the ground.....well as near as I can tell it is not in the shop....that is full of a dead mustang right now

PS
Yes it is a 302 and 32 psi in tires

 

As far as I know, adjusting the bars will change the ride height, but not the spring rate.

 

something is not right that front end should be as soft as melted butter. Whats is it like when you just push down on the truck. I have a volare in mine have not driven it but the volare car was super cushy and it feels nice and cushy with the engine in on the truck.

Your rearend could be stiff though.

 

Some of that roughness could be coming from the rear. What are you running back there for suspension? The Volare in my 48 is very smooth. I would take a look at a Volare manual and set the suspension height according to stock guidelines. That's what I did and it was still plenty low enough. What shocks are you using?

 

my volare rides well in the front no problems, great hit the nail on the head its the rear. My 53 rides good in the front but the rear is the problem. The short wheelbase dosent help either,70% of the weight of the truck is in the front. You figure the small block V8engine, auto trans, gas tank, battery, and the added weight of the K member,plus two full grown adults. My truck is lowered about 5 inches in the back I flipped the rear axle,used short stack springs,and the appropriate shocks, it still rode choppy. IMO maybe some weight distribution is the answer,I plan to relocate a fuel tank to the rear of the frame and maybe relocate the battery too! I noticed when I loaded up the bed with anything somewhat heavy the ride smoothed out. My .02$ worth

 

I haven't had mine out on the road yet, but I am using 1500lb airbag springs (F9000 air ride) on the rear, sway bar and shocks of course.. hoping to avoid the harsh leaf spring effect

Sam

 

The rear is a 64 F100 9", 4 leafs per side and Monroe shocks, the shocks appear fairly new but they were on the frame when I bought the truck, the leaf springs were on the frame when I got it and the 9" is a stock rear I took off of a 64 and added.
As for the front shocks I am uncertain of their age, they were on there when I got it. The front is really stiff as in when I bounce up and down on the bumper there is a lot of resistance and when I stop the truck stops bouncing immediately, if anything it bounces up a little before stopping it seems.

 

Could the shocks be to short and be bottoming out?

 

Perhaps you could pull the shocks and check travel. I'm using totally stock Volare shocks on the front (Gabriels) and I like the ride. Some prefer a stiffer ride and use performance shocks. With only four leaves per side you should be getting a pretty good ride from the rear...

 

I put some pics in a gallery see link below. I know pics are worth a thousand words

1953 Ford F100 4x2 - 1953 F100 Suspension Pics

I will pull the truck into the shop as soon as I get the Mustangs tranny installed......... then I can see what is up with the shocks...... although they seem to work without bottoming out.......

 

I relaxed my bars to get the truck down. Fairly low now, but front end is mushy, and I believe I am experiencing bump steer, as the truck requires your full attention when driving on uneven pavement. I had the front end re-aligned after I did this, but I still am unhappy with the front end, so I am going to bite the 510$ this summer and get the Fatman dropped spindles, and restore the tension in the bars. Hopefully that will fix the problem. I will also replace the shocks after achieving the new ride height.

 

I am VERY interested in the results of the drop spindles.

Sam

 

The dropped spindles work great. After I installed them I was able to adjust the bars a bit and get back some suspension travel but still keep it low. I did install stiffer shocks to help stop the the mushy feeling of the front. I have drove it about a 1000 miles like this and I am very happy with it in fact I think the rear should come down about a inch but thats for another day.

Sparky, try unwinding the front bars a little (left bolt adust the right side and right bolt adjusts the left side).

Mine rides good but I do have a rear mounted tank and a storage box built into the bed that may help a some.

Chuck