Hey Fellas. On my '54 F250, I got this horrible 8 Lug set up that i want to convert to a five lug pattern. Awhile ago I posted up a thread about me dumpin' in a complete '84 corvette front & rear suspensions & was willin' to buy additional parts from Flat Out Engineering as well as swappin' out my original 292 for Chevy's 350.

Since i had alot of options, I liked the suspension idea & wanted to keep it ALL FORD under the hood, so i tossed the idea of puttin' in the 350. Wanted to keep it Low to the ground & being that typical "Builder on a Budget" I also optioned out the idea of butchering my Front-End that my Fore-Fathers have strategically placed, Decided to go with SID's Drop axle & just optioned to switch out the drums to 5 lug.

Which leads me to where i'm at now. As i ask all my FTE Gurus to give me advice:

1) what do i have to get in order to keep her low in the rear? Should i get a rear "flip kit" to flip the leaf springs under the axle? if so, where can i find them?

2) What year can I swap out my drums (all around) to convert my horrible 8 lug to a 5 Lug?

3) To achieve that low stance without butchering my frame, do any of you have a 3" to 4" drop axle they'd like to sell for cheap?

Any advice will do Fellas! Cheers!

 

a 9" rear from a pre 72 truck will bolt right under. Or you could go with an explorer rear that will flip the axle and give you about a 4" drop, but you may have to adjust the pinion angle and notch the frame depending on your springs.

bob

 

You can flip any axle on top of the springs however, as mentioned above you may have to C-notch your frame. I have a 94 Explorer rear end with TCI dropped leaf spring kit (frame not C-notched) and a stretched original front axle with a disc brake conversion kit which give me 5X4.5 all the way around. I also had leaf springs from a small Ranger/Bronco which also lowered the rear however not a lot I still had abour 3" between the top of my tire & the rear fender lip.

 

I know that on 48-52 trucks the spindles for F-1 through F-3 are the same so the 5 lug brakes and drums will fit right on the 8 lug F-2 or F-3. I believe it would be the same for 53-56 trucks also but I'm not sure. Also, any disc brake kit that fits a 48-52 F-1 will also fit an F-2 or F-3 so that may be the same for 53-56 trucks. If you want to stay with drums and the 5x5.5 pattern that may be your best bet. You could match the pattern with a 57-72 nine inch rear.

I think what I would do, however, is pick up a disc brake kit and convert the front to a 5x4.5 pattern and then use an Explorer rear to match. The Explorer rears are plentiful and cheaper than a nine inch and the 5x4.5 pattern is even better than the 5x5.5 as far as finding wheels to fit.

 

Why not get a stock axle for the front and get a 9" from a f100 then do the mid fifty springs? Thats what I am doing as I read great reviews about it. Just saving up to do it all.

 

Now if we could only come up with as easy solutions for us big truck guys to solve our 5x8 lug problem.

 

Thanks alot fellas! I know I can count on all of you to guide me in the right direction!! Now its time to butcher up an EXPLODER...I mean an explorer. I used to have one of those beasts by the way...too bad i sold her for only 1k...

 

I was going to post an entire new thread, but I'm going crazy trying to find rear drums for my 55 F250...I'm staying stock for now, but would appreciate any help about resto parts (I tried Kanter in NJ)...I'm down in San Juan Capistrano, so don't throw those drums away if you convert over to 5 lug!!..Terry

 

U got it Terry! I'll let you know when i get the explorer. I found one...now...we wait.

 

Ok so now i found a '92 explorer my friends....I already know what to salvage off the entire rear (disc brakes, rear axle, springs etc.)

Now what do i salvage off the front, besides the brakes? Do I just rip off the entire front end (rack & pinion, control arms etc)? Let me know fellas!! Thanks again for the advice!

 

sounds like your already into the conversion, but ill post it anyways, many companies make wheel adapters so you can switch to the 5 lug setup, or if your just looking for better rims, ford 8 lugs through 96 will fit, and im pretty sure all the gm/dodge stuff that is 8 lug up to today, even from an h2 will fit

 

Hey Bud, thanks for the input but i've searched everywhere to find 8 to 5 lug wheel adapters but couldn't seem to find any. If you have a link....let me know! thanks again!

 

Sandidande gave me the name - Raul Gonzalez - "The Lug Nut King" at (909) 376-8011, im still working on sheetmetal so i havnt spoken to him yet but from what i gather he's in Fontana, Ca and is at every Pomona and Long Beach Auto Swap meet

 

Thanks Hoobatech! I'll see if i can reach him & maybe i'll see him at the next pomona swap meet this month!

 

no problem