i disagree, coils arent as exact a science as leaf springs, and 79 springs do in fact work in an 85 bucket, or any other combo you can dream up....tapered mounts, flat mounts, doesnt take much tweaking to make stuff work. if need be, torching and bending is allowed ONLY at the end curls of a coil, where it sits in the bucket, i have had to do that to make one particular set work. too much heat and your truck will be an inch or so lower in the front.

 

What is the difference in the top (where is goes into the coil bucket) of the 78/79 coil compared to the top of the 80-96 coil? Why would the coil need to be bent to get it to fit into the 80-96 bucket?

Also, instead of making a "T" coil pad for the axle, couldn't the old pad be remover and a plate of steel approx 4"x4" be bolted to that square block and then the pad tapped for a stud? Am i missing something?

 

im just going to fab the track bar and coil support blocks. the stuff myself if i do it. the only thing im worried about is my driveshaft if I lift it up a couple more inches. creativity will help a bit i hope.

 

mooktank, you might want to think about lowering your transfer case.

 

I don't think you will need to worry about dropping the tcase if you don't go over 8", just make sure you get your driveshaft lengthened, if need be, you can run a cardian joint to make the angle better.

 

Dropping the Xfer case is a misconception, it actually worsens the situation.

Yes is lowers the driveshaft, but it makes the departure angle of the u joint worse. The front of the xfer case doesn't lower as much as the rear, therefore the front is pointing skyward slightly putting more strain on the u joint.

The only way that would work is to lower the engine with it. So they are lowered equal distance. Thats the only way to get the tilt out of it.

You do not need to lengthen your driveline unless your getting over 8" of lift.

Your idea about bolting a plate of steel on top of the radius arm wont work because the two holes that are there for the spring clamp are too close together to get the hole for the coil stud tapped in between them, which is the center of the axle.

My buddy bolted down a box of square tubing on its side to the top of the radius arm using the two clamp holes that already excist. Then welded in a coil stud out the top for the new spring, making sure that is coil stud is over the center of the axle.

Hope this helps!

 

Thats what i thought about trying to bolt a pad to the radius arms, oh well. I think i'm just going to order 78/79 springs, i think getting them to fit in the upper coil bucket will not be as bad as trying to get the 80-96 ones to fit on the solid axle.

 

My buddy and I did this swap on my '94F1504x4 in Dec '01. All this talk about making spacers and fabricating this and that is not needed! Almost everything you need is at the boneyard and NAPA. I researched this project for quite some time and saw some pretty scary swap jobs. You don't need a pretty-boy overpriced swap kit. My truck started with a 4" Rancho kit and a 2"body lift with 36" TSLs. This is what we used:
'78 F150 Dana 44
'78 F150 radius arms
'78 F150 radius arm brackets
'78 F150 tie-rod
'78 F150 bottom coil buckets
'94 F150 top coil buckets (stock)
'90 F3504x4 drag-link (perfect length and fit)
4" Skyjacker coils for a '78-'79 F150
'94 dropped pitman arm
custom 18"
track bar ($40 at local race car shop)
custom shock mounts
shocks for a 4" lift ttb
stock driveshaft fit perfect
'94 brake hoses
'78 hard brake line
'78 calipers, rotors
I ditched the sway bar, and cut off the bumpstops. We mounted the new track bar on the stock axle location to the middle of the engine crossmember after welding 1/4" steel plate to it. I made a dual steering stabilizer from the leftover ttb one. The '66-'79 coils are the same as 80-96 at the top, but different at the bottom. You need at least 4" of coil to safely clear the engine crossmember. The swap went extremely smoothly, the only fabrication needed was grinding the transmission crossmember about 1/4" to clear the '78 radius arm bracket, which fit perfect. I've seen guys use a 78-79 track bar, but with my 4"lift, it would've hit the diff and crossmember. At only 18", it stays out of the way, and tracks perfect. Be sure to get the truck aligned at '78 specs, and take your time. My favorite thing about my truck is that you can't even tell there is a lift on it (stealth). Including the front axle, I spent maybe $500 on this. I think I mentioned everything. Good luck.

 

The 78 radius arm brackets are meant to bolt the the bottom of the frame and side of the 78 crossmember.

How did you get around that? there is no crossmember to bolt the side to, then there is no stability.

 

I bolted the brackets to the bottom and side of the frame. The '94 crossmember was too far back for the '78 radius arms. I know what you are talking about, and I haven't had any problems as of yet. I wheel my truck moderately, I leave the big jumps and the river crossings to the high-school kids in they're 10-bolt Chevys. Possibly boxing the frame where the brackets mount would cure any possible ailment. Will post pics, bear with me, I just got a computer.

 

Well i'm working on my swap right now as well...and heres my question. Track bar mount...i kinda want longer than a 18 inch track bar, will a 90's F-350 track bar mount work on our F-150's?

 

i think i remember somone saying they did that. But anything can work with enough grinding and welding.

 

I tried one of those first, I could't find one in the junkyard, so I bought one new. $180 is what it cost. Since F350s use leaf springs to do most of the tracking, the track bar they use isin't adjustable. It's actually 18" long, and if you use one of these, make sure you drill the hole saw in the right spot. I ended up returning the track bar I bought. How much lift are you planning?

 

The track bar mount is what were asking about.

Can a F-250 or 350 mount be bolted to the F-150 frame?

Are the curves the same? It's tricky because the frame rail gets rounded and twisted where the steering box bolts up.

Are the 80-96 F-250 & F-150 frame rails the same ?

If so then we could use a tracbar mount from it and it'll bolt/mesh right up to the frame likes supposed to.

Thanks!

 

Sorry guys, I misread the post. I'm pretty sure it would work, I remember looking at one when I asked myself the same qusetion. Just find an F350 in a parking lot and take a peek. I've seen some swaps using a ttb drop-down bracket(the one on the engine crossmember) as the track-bar mount. Thats pretty trick. If the lift is over six inches, I would go with an adjustable superlift track bar for 78-78, using the mount off of a 78-79. The mount bolts to the outside of the left-side framerail. At that height, there should'nt be clearance issues. I had to stick to a small lift (6") because Mass sucks with lift laws. If the coil lift is 4", the F350 mount will probably get in the way.