Lowered '57-60 F100's (old school)

I say 'old school', since I'm trying to learn old school ways of lowering a stock '57 i-beam front end. What are the options? Don't planning on bagging the front.
I've a stock frame to lower & swap under my '57 baby (which currently has an early 80s Camaro front end, situation wrong for it), and am looking to be schooled on this. Thanks in advance for any lessons.

 

I wish I had your problem, my 57 F100 has a Mustang II in it and I wish it had a Camaro front clip in it. To answer your question, I would get a drop axle and take a leaf or two out or have the springs de-arched. I dont know if that would cause any oil pan clearance problems in your case though.

 

BTW I didnt know 57-60 F100's came with I-beams....

 

Yup

 

I beams went all the way to 64, with 65 being the introduction to the Twin I Beam frontends....

 

* Bringin' back an old but not ancient thread... I'm lookin' for ideas too *

My buddy PAG88 threw out a couple of good ideas for lowering a stock '57-'60 F100 for Humboldt Cat, anybody out there have any picks of this mod? How about any other ideas, ideally on a budget, nothing crazy like baggin' it or notchin' the frame. What would help me are some links to front spring swaps that have worked for someone else or some pics of what you did... I'm a visual learner.

I have reverse eye springs for the back, I haven't put them on yet because I want to get the front worked out first before I put the truck up on stands. Based on the rear spring set up, anyone else runnin' reverse eye springs? If so, what did you do to the front (pics would be cool too)?

Thanks for everyones' time, please be patient, I'm learnin' as I go and tryin' not to create any clusterfucks!

-DON-

 

Heres a picture of my 58, It has reversed spring eyes in the front with 5 leaves. In the back they moved the spring hangers up, Im not sure how many leaves there are. Tomorrow I can take a look and see if you want.

 

Good morning Oface,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate you taking the time to post. Please do include any info , I really dig the stance of your truck.

Thank you again,

-DON-

 

Thanks to both for keeping this post going. I feel miles away from actually working on the stock frame, we've since gone back to square one with the GM clip on the current Frankened frame, knockin' out tall, angled pillars welded in by prev. builders (since the front end was grafted so close to the cab). Got an souped up Olds runner I'm putting in it, straight to the front end itself.
Meanwhile, I'm taking notes & learning for the next frame, so thanks for keeping the post going.

 

What don't you like about your mustang II front clip? I was thinking of going this way on my 60 f100. Just seams that drop axle and springs you won't really save any money. Drop axle is $400, new leaf srings front and rear is another $800. I can get a mustang II front end with disc brakes and rack and pinion for about $1100. Just going to flip the rear springs.

 

Im jumpin on the wagon here, I'm building a 63 but it will have a 60 3/4 ton front axle under it, I have found places that will drop the axle for 200 bucks but want to do it myself. Check out my posts for the one on axle dropping, it has links to companies that will drop them.

 

Mine. Dropped axle, mono leaf front and rear, small "C" notch, lowered shocks. Still rides like a truck. later,Bill

 

Yessireebob!

And this thread has me in agony and me wishing i had my 60 down here in Fl. its stuck in North ala. *cries* fuckin jobless economy prevents me going up and getting it.

 

Curious what there was to not like about the MII as well. I was going to go with the dropped I-beam on my 59 but after replacing the stuff to do that + a steering box (mine is sloppy as hell), it was going to be MORE expensive than doing the MII. I know a lot of people are fond of the Dakota front end but the simplicity and parts availability of going the MII route has always been a major draw for me.

 

On my '60 before I changed my ideas on projects..I was going with reverse eye springs, drop axle, and a small notch in the back... But then me and the old gal parted ways, hell you might of ate some soup out of her the other day.

I don't believe there are any issues with doing a MII swap on these trucks, I have an article some where about doing it, and an article about front and rear disc brake swaps.
It amazes me when I had my truck there was NO info about them and towards the end of me and that ol' girls relationship they had just started to surface in mags and on the web..Of course that was before I found the good ol' HAMB. I've got my sights set on '57 Big Window though...some day.

 

I'm in the middle of building a 60 and here is my set up:
stock axle dropped 4" by Sid
one leaf removed per side
solid HD tie rod
tie rod drop

Other than that, every thing was rebuilt in the front. It looks like I will have to heat and bend my steering arm to get the drag link level to help with the bump steer. I also plan on adding a sway bar to the front later on.

In the rear, I just flipped the rear end with a mild c-notch.

Since I didn't change the spring much in the front, I was able to use the stock shocks and surprisingly, my rear bump stops will bottom out before the rear shocks will so I am running stock shocks in the back also.

I wanted to keep my springs as stock as possible to keep the ride as stock as possible. Since I am switching from a 6cyl to a 460, the front should come down a total of about 6" and the rear should be about 5-6".

My best advice to give is stay away from the CPP drop axle.

 

I've never seen one that didn't have negative camber issues.

 

Yep I got those but my axle isn't from CCP either. It is a tube axle but someone else makes them. Same price tho.

Later,Bill

 

Nice '58

 

trace "humboldt cat" its cliped and she has a beautiful stance now!dont f*ck with a good thang! hows the swap going? i heard bee been helping you a lot!
you coming this weekend? im sure will see you soon! and your donner truck bringing my property value down!

 

Right on, the HAMB rules!!!

Thanks so much for throwing some time into this thread! It sure is nice to post a question/comment and get so much back, that really helps!

Oface- I sure dig your '58! What do you mean they moved the hangers up?

Nova- always love seeing your truck!

Rellim51- sounds like you have a quality drop going, do you have any pics to post? A side profile and a front shot would be great!

Thanks again everybody for contributing, you've given me some good ideas for doing it right. I gotta wonder, anyone have any brands/companies that you've had good luck with? Any nightmares or crap parts to steer clear of? Sounds like it'll be minimum of $500.00 for the springs and shocks if I flip the rear.

Say I flip the rear, do I absolutely have to notch the frame?

If I do flip the rear, how much drop will that give me?

Sorry to ask redundant questions, I'm on a shoestring budget and can't afford to f*ck up part way in by buying the wrong stuff. I'm not a total FNG, I did comb the HAMB archived threads looking for answers before starting this thread back up.

Thanks again HAMBers for all the time and effort, you guys are great!!!

-DON-

 

Yeah, you're going to have to notch it if you flip the axle. It will be a pretty big drop... like 6 inches or more.

Pics of my 57 are on here a few times... the rear is flipped with stock springs, and the front is '77 camaro. It's a '57 ford that drives like a '77 chevy.

If you want to see a "play by play" of the build, go to my website (link in my sig.) and look at the projects area for the eff'in 100.

 

Check out sids nostalgia at www.droppedaxles.com.he drops original 57-60 Ford truck axles as far as you want (2inch-5inch)and sacramento vintage is the place for the right monoleaf suspension set up.I did reverse eye monoleaf all around as well as a two inch dropped axle.no notch just took out my bump stops.its a descent ride.probaly got a six drop all around.good luck

 

We went with Mono Leafs all the way around. Reverse eye in the front.

 

swiggy sweet. Working on a 57' panel. Dig it.



[/QUOTE]

 

I guess I shouldn't have said CPP, tube axles with billet ends would be more accurate.

 

Funny thing is......... when I asked them about mycamber issue, there response was " your spindles are bent" ..... for which I said BS! and just left it at that. They don't care, they've made their sale and someone will call when I hang up to order another.

Later,Bill

 

I'm dropping my '56 Chevy pickup and I believe the method is pretty much the same. I found an I-beam with a 2.75 inch drop in it, I am going to de-arch the springs another 2 inches and have already installed '76 Chevy pickup discs just for safety and peace of mind. Don't forget that you'll also need to heat and bend the steering arm once you have everything installed or you'll get major bumpsteer.