Hello All,
Just wondering what is the best way and cheaper way to lower a 62?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

Flip the axles,front and back.

 

That way's cheaper, but I'm not so sure that's the "BEST" way.

 

Mustang2 the front and flip the back$.I am flipping my axles.Theres a post on here where he flipped both axles and has no problems.(He also takes it to the drag strip).Its not very hard to go back to stock height later if you ever wanted to.

 

Sooop: It's your truck and you can certainly do with it what you want. But you might want to do a little research before you jump into those changes. There are several options as to front suspensions and lowing the rear that fit the weight of our trucks better than the Mustang II and flipping the springs. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Hey Grits,
What other options do you suggest?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

I'm not suggesting options. I'm just advising a little research before jumping into changes that may or may not fit your needs or fix your problem. Personally, I'm a straight axle kind of guy and on my Uni I'm probably going to take two or three leaves out of the front and add drop shackles on the rear for a two or three inch drop.
There are a number of posts and threads on this site and other Slick sites that give the pros and cons of various swaps. I think most would agree that the Mustang II setup is too light for our trucks. Several have opted for the Industrial Chassis IFS setup, originally based on the Dodge Dakota front suspension, but since improved and modified considerably. You can buy the cross member for under $700 and add components from a donor vehicle or buy the full setup for about $2,500 if my memory is correct. Others have installed a front cross member, disc brakes, etc. from an 03-08 Crown Victoria but there are issues with that that need to be studied to see if it will fit your needs. This site (and others) is a valuable source of info. Hope this helps.

 

You could send the front axel off and have it stretched for 2-3 inches of drop. Axel flip is probably the cheapest on the rear end. Don't forget that a couple inches of adjustment can be had from low profile tires. That involves different rims usually though.

 

I did my research.Mustang2 has been used for years in street rods as heavy as my truck.My truck will not be hauling anything.And for the front axle flip,it has been proven on this site.If it does not work for me,I will have very little money invested.I hope to have the truck up and going in october.This is a great site and I really enjoy reading everyones opinions.

 

There is nothing inherently wrong with flipping a front axle. The axle doesn't really care whetther it sits on top of the spring or underneath it. There can be, hovever, VERY REAL problems with how the swap is done. How well the welds are done, proper suspension and steering geometry (the real biggie), engine-axle interference, the need to box and c-notch the frame, etc, etc.

I'm not saying it can't, or shouldn't be done-in fact I'm getting ready to flip axles on my '63 once I get a few other things finished up, just that you have to have a pretty sound understanding of susp. tech and theory before really digging into it.

That advice also goes for: pulling leaves out of a spring pack (lowers truck, but also weakens the springs, can cause or exagerate localized stress in the springs, lowers the spring rate which is generally not what you want when you are lowering a vehicle); cutting coils (will also lower a car, and GENERALLY speaking one coil=10% rate increase, need to realign the pigtail within the spring pocket, can make the a-arms/camber curve/geometry go all wonky); lowering shackles (will almost always change the roll-steer of the axle, which may or may not be a good thing. Depends where you're at, and where you want to go).

Lots of variables to look into before changing anything. Don't just believe me, look into it yourself and see what changes you want, and how much you're willing to fabricate, or have to pay someone's labor to fab for you.

On my truck, my materials cost isn't going to be very high, BUT to get a pretty good drop in the front I'm looking at two choices.

1 Flip the axle. Which involves building a new oil pan to clear the axle, which involves building a new oil pump pick-up to fit said pan. C-notching the frame for clearence, which means boxing the frame for the strength lost. Raising/modifying/building a new steering box mount to get the proper geometry restored and/or modding the drag link. That in turn means cutting the steering column and running a lower bearing, retainer, u-joints, and a shaft (that doesn't bother me at all since the factory column angle is odd and horrible). Now the clutch linkage is in the way of the 'box, so I'll have to fab up new linkage. And whatever else I'm not thinking of off the top of my head.

2. Add the twin I-beams to the truck. Probably less work in the long run, as you really only need to build a couple of sets of mounts for the beams, rods, and coil springs. You don't need the big, honkin' factory crossmember, you can build a much cleaner version. And you still have all the steering issues to resolve. But, it involves me schelpping the parts off of the donor truck and trucking them back home- about 500 miles round trip.

You know what? Mono-leafs or a drop axle are probably the easiest and cheapest if you're only looking for a slight drop, like 3" or so.

HTH, Zac

 

I don't understand what would be gained with this swap, if it's possible. (I guess anything is possible if you have enough money, fab skills and time.) Remember, the OP has a 62.

 

When I bought my truck it had leaves removed only leaving the top three leaves. the stance looked good but it handled terrible lots of body roll. I changed over to reversed eye mono leaf springs sets right and handling is good. this setup only leaves about 1 1/2 inches between the axle and bumpstops. Like others have said if you want to go lower you'll have to do lots of mods.
Randy

 

Think you have to be selective when taking out leaves and not take all out on one side or the other. Maybe every other one or such. Most people say it improves the ride. Body roll is a fact of life with these trucks, unless you install a sway bar, the fab/install of which was developed by our own "Uncle Skip" (Slick 60's)

 

Thanks all for the replies. This truck is all origional but I just want to get it running so I can drive it around town and to local cruise ins. I just don't want the truck up as high as it is. As for now I just want to put some wheels and tires on and lower it a little.

I am currently working on my 55 f100(about 3 years now) and just want to drive something.

I will one day or year start working on the 62 when I get the 55 done.

Thanks again and keep posting ideas.

Kevin

 

I agree I think if removing leaves correctly it would have been a great option but since it was done before I bought my truck I didn't have the other leaves to reinstall I went ahead and bought the monoleaf springs for the front. when they did the rear they left more leaves and it work great. Keven did say he wanted to lower his truck cheaply and I think you are right on track with removing leaves. just trying to give Keven an opinion on my experance with mono leaves.
Randy