Hey guys, and ladies, I'm new to this site but have heard a little about the I-beam flip. From studying the suspension on my 79, i noticed that if you swap the I-beams and spindles but not the calipers from left to right your camber will actually not change much at all. It looks like the 2 things you have to really think about are the solid drag link and the brake hoses. Original design for the steering ends come up from the bottom, but when you flip the spindles with the I-beams you need to heat, twist, and bend the drag link 180* at the spindle end to make it go from the top down. The brake hose at the caliper might hit the tie rod end but its cheaper to bend brake hoses or buy longer ones than bend the I-beams. I have just started my flip and will try to take pics of my progress and let everyone know if i run into problems. to correct any caster problems just drop the radius arm bushing mounts and make new brackets.i have an ASE cert. in steering and suspension and brakes and have been doin alignments for about 4 years so i dont think ill have any trouble with mine, but any and all tips and/or comment are welcome

 

for all those that think you can just flip and drive well forget it you cant !!
30 years ago flipped a set on a 72 f150 and the tires were at like a 45 degree angle sticking out at the top , you would be driving on the sidewalls of the tires ! at that time there was a an ole farm boy down the road that flipped his and was running some thing like 36 inch tires , come to find out he cut and welded the ends and reinforced them and they seemed to work OK ! most of his driving was off road on the farm .

 

My "tip" for this - look at the caster you will end up with by flipping the beams.... not good!

 

I have seen that if you leave the left spindle on the left side and right spindle on the right side that will put the camber at a positive 45* angle. that will also make you steering linkage have to redirected under the radius arms. If you flip the left I-beam AND left spindle to the right side without removing the king-pin, it will flip the spindle up-side down, and this should leave the camber pretty much the same also the steering linkage will still fit right through the radius arm like it was designed, but you will have to heat and twist the draglink to make it fit from top to bottom and rotate the left tie rod as well. you might have to rebend the left outer tie rod as well to achieve correct reting position of the steering linkage. The calipers will drop below the tie-rod end, but they look as if the are undirectional. the left caliper will stay on the left side of the truck and the right caliper will stay on the right side of the truck. the brake hoses are mounted facing down off the frame so it shouldn't put them in a bind. if the lift is too much for the length of the original hose, either buy longer hoses or relocate the rubber hose to steal line mounting point lower on the truck. most old school alignment shops will only bend the I-beams 2.5* besides these trucks wernt originally made for highway speeds of 65-80, max speed in the 70 i believe was 55mph on the highway. and also it is for show but every antique vehicle is for show reather you want it to be or not. they are works of art by the owner...and for the body lift route they make it for the 2wd trucks ONLY if your gear box is in front of the I beams. If your gear box is behind the I-beams, like mine, you cant do a body lift caus the steering column is bolted directly to the gear box by the rag joint and ther is no slide shaft on this design.

 

Well it took 4 1/2 hours in the driveway but i got my flip done. Camber looks great, caster is tilted a little but not as bad. I disconnected the I-beam from the radius arm because I noticed the radius arm has a slight bend near the bushing that would have really tilted the caster forward. Calipers are universal and do fit after flipping the I-beams but as expected I did have to bend the brakes hose at the caliper to clear the spindle where the tie rod mounts and also i had to tweak it so it wont kink on the I-beam with the wheel turned all the way out. The only problems I ran into is the end of the I-beam where the bushing is, is turned to clear the crossmember, and after I did the flip the I-beam that is now on the driver's side sitting still is hitting the crossmember. So there is no suspension movement in that side right now. Also the original left I-beam is bent back at the coil spring to center the wheel in the fender, and after flipping it it has moved the wheel further back in the fender on the right side. My suggestion if you have access, is to either bend it straight or find another right side I-beam cause it is straight and would probly prevent this issue. the bearing on the king pin will have to rotated back to the bottom.

 

ya i flipped mine, and id do it agian.. i'm going to have a shop correct the i-beams hen i get it done.

 

This is true!! My truck (while my dad owned it) out performed my uncle's lifted 96 GMC Z71. He looked like the "like a rock" commercials chevy had...only it was a 2wd 74 Ford!!! My uncle was embarrassed needless to say...(take that GM!!)

 

I am going to lift my 2wd because I want it above the wreck zone. I'm doing it strictly for safety. I figure a 3" lift and 31" tires and I'm good. As for offroad and camping, etc., an Ox locker and a winch is all I need.