How I lowered My 58 F-100

Ive seen alot of interest in the 57-60 F-100 lately, I picked up a 58 F-100 pretty cheap and wanted to lower it. I didnt want to really spend much money on it , i have another project in the works, im sure you all know how that goes. anyway I decided to lower the front by putting the Leaf springs underneath the axle or by "flipping" the front axle. I made 2 saddles out of 2x3 box tubing , drilled a hole in the center and welded it to the bottom of the stock I beam, so i could locate the springs under the axle.
Next i had to locate the steering box up to eliminate "bumpsteer". I measured it out and the box needed to go up 6" to maintain the correct angle on the drag link. i bent up a plate, drilled it and welded it to the frame.and bolted the box back in. I had to cut down the steering shaft and add a coupler so the steering wheel would be back in the stock location. next i bent up some plate and notched the framerails for axle clearance up and down. pretty simple stuff
the drop ended up being about 6 inches and i didnt remove any leafs out of the front.
in the back i flipped the axle and took out a couple leaves
i gotta measure for some shocks
she rides and steers great and it didnt cost me an arm and a leg

 

looks good from here! hows the oilpan clearance?

 

looks good..... what's the length of that notch. from the pic it looks about 6" long.

i have pwr and cross steering from a 78 LTD. i wonder if i could do the same without having to move the box.

 

thanks man
from oil pan to ground is about 10". im runnning a 302 with a front sump oil pan. im using the trans dapt motor mounts. i moved the engine far enough forward so it would clear the axle. with the suspension bottomed out theres about 3 inches clearance between the axle and shallow end of the oil pan

 

thanks, the notch is about 4 inches at the top and the bottom angles down the about 6", its a little bigger than it needs to be
i flipped the axle and drove it around, you couldnt hold on to the steering wheel it was shaking so bad, thats when i moved it up. you could probably do the same, just to see if you would need to move it or not

 

That rules...perfect timing because we're in the process of dropping a '58.

 

dude, thats awsome. and simple and not to mention..cheap.

i'm guessing the same rules would apply to most vehicles with this suspension set up? i might do that to the '61 unibody.

 

does this place the springs below the scrub line?

 

That is the way I plan to lower my firetruck.

 

yup. lodaddyo is the dude that turned me onto the idea! thanks for the snaps...got-damn that frame is clean!

 

on my 60' panel i am going to use a toyota power box and this looks like a real bonus for the no-budget guy!

 

thanks for the compliments, ill post more pics when its done

 

Looks good.

I need to lower the '59 soon. Looking to do it safely but cheaply. Tired of feeling like I'm riding in a monster truck.

By the way are you a professional photographer? Those pictures came out with such good detail. Whenever I try pictures like that they come out too dark or to bright or glare from the flash.

 

thanks
no pro!, just got a new sony camera. it takes good pics

 

thanks for the info.

 

What size rim do ya need to run with that set-up? I measured mine, and if I flip the front axle and get a flat, I would be riding on leafspring....Ouch!

 

looks good, were you still able to retain the stock colum shift or are you useing an auto or a floor shift?

 

no im using a floor shift, its a lokar automatic c-4

 

The stance looks great but I'd be nervous about notching the frame that much.

Chris

 

Nice. Man, am I glad that you posted this.

Do you mind- what's your distance from bottom of rocker flange to the ground?

Thanks

 

that looks good, perfect stance,

 

I was thinking about doing this to the '48 F-1 I just picked up...I would also like to know if the leaf springs are below the scrub line....By the way, that '58 looks great!

 

I did the same hing on my dads '58 chevy truck:

 

This is the most awesome thing I have ever heard! A few years ago I almost crashed my Snap-on truck trying to cross a lane of traffic and get into a driveway to go and buy a 1954 tiller truck... Turns out the guy had just bought it to restore and hadn't taken the For Sale sign out of the window. I died a little that day.

-adam

 

will this work on a 1951 ford f100?

 

Oh definately subscribing to thread, I'm gonna be getting a 59 soon

 

The thing that gets me is all of you are welding steel to cast. That might look pretty for now but it won't stick long until it peels off.
Cast+steel=bad

 

What is cast? The front beams are forged, right?
I am getting ready to do my '59 F250 this way. I 'may' do something a bit different as far as steering goes though. Not sure yet. I do like the idea of raising the box. I am not understanding the comments on the "scrub" line. my Jeep is spring under and with 15" wheels, if I have a flat, I will be riding on the rim. I dont think I will have a problem as I will be using 16" wheels. But when I get that far I will post up my findings.

 

Yeah, those axles a forged. Look at the WIDE parting line across the top.

 

With the leaf springs and power steering box, turn the wheel and watch the spring, it gets real wavey. Fun to watch , bitch to live with.