twin i beam worth the time???

a "new" second gen clip from art morrison.. 3000 bucks.



or their Bikini Clip..


I believe is around 1500

 

^^^ Exactly, level of modification and Price!

 

There is a guy on the HAMB classifieds selling one for around $300. I think its under 70 Camaro clip

 

the crown vic is way to wide as mentioned. it's track width is 6 inches or so wider that pretty much all these trucks folks are putting it in. the jag clip is almost dead on same track width. i actually think it's a 1/2" narrower than my f250.

the jag ifs like mentioned at the top of this page can be bolted in if so choosen just like the much to wide crown vic clip that everyone is all up on it nuts for no reason. you get all the same features with the jag set up as you do with the CV. a few bolts hold the thing in the donor. it's easy to lower more if it's not low enough. i have seen a few welded into a notched frame like a volare clip is done and it was LOW. the bottom spring cup bolts in so you can make spacers between the cup and arm for more drop. it's coil sprung so you can cut a coil if need be. contrary to what most believe replacement parts are very reasonable. probably the biggest negative would be the 5x4.75(gm) lug pattern, but i have seen hubs redrilled to 5x4.5 if your that picky. front ends can be had for $100-300 and it's not that unusual to find complete donor jags for $300-500.

my 60 f250 is getting a jag setup as soon as i can get some room cleared in the garage....ken....

 

scroll down for some JAG pics in an F1

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=444172&highlight=jag+ifs

 

I've always had Chevy trucks, but was offered a 94 Ford pickup REAL cheap. I bought it and put DJM beams on it. Handles like Shit, probably always did with the I-beams. I'd definately clip it with something. Anything but twin I-beams.

 

Not worth a damn! How they got away with that so long is beyond me.

 

Those crappy Twin I beams could have been the reason Ford outsold everybody else for those 32 years....

 

No doubt... thanks for the link to the jag pics too, that's definitely interesting.

 

Twin I beam has one very serious design problem that is very difficult to fix. Chronic BUMP STEER. Give it a miss.

 

I've owned five Ford trucks that had Twin-I beam suspension, and honestly can not remember ANY trouble I've had with any of them.

One '66 F250, '67 F150, '69 F150, '70 F250, and a '77 F150. All steered great and all had NO bump-steer problems.

 

If you want to lower the truck alot go out and get a 2003 and up crown victoria and cut the front end out.. the frame is the same width and all you have to fab is brackets for the controll arms. and some sleeves for the bolts to go through and if you want some plate to box the frame in.

 

I hear ya on it being a little wide and having to use wheels with alot of backspace. That is a pretty big drawback if your goin for a traditional look. Iv looked but cant find any threads on the jag front end installed on a 61 to 66. Can you hook me up?

 

I used DJM beams on my '66 shop truck. I cut 1 coil off the springs and that was about as much as you could go without getting into issues. It drove great and stopped the best with an after market booster and F-150 disks from a late '70's truck. If you want it really low you don't want the beams... About 4 1/2" drop is the max. You can get more with your tire size choice, but I wanted the wheelwells to be full.

It's terrorizing the streets of Charleston S.C. now, but there is a picture of it on my profile albums.

Kevin
Ooltewah Speed Shop

 

do you want it to still be able to do "truck" things, like handle having a load in the bed, and steer and stop?

or is it destined for saturday and sunday sitting in a parking lot?

lowered axles have been available for twin i beam for at least twenty years.

 

pics of one in any of the fords 57 or later are few and far between, but have been done. i do beleive if you weld it in the frame or crossmember needs to be notched in one small area but it's very minor fab work.

it's a very versital swap thats been covered a good bit here. zman has tons of knowledge on them. as i said if you look around you can get all the replacement stuff for about the same price as similar gm or ford clip parts you'd be using in other swaps.

look at the threads here and on ford-trucks on soft mounting the jag sub. you make a few mounting brackets at worst. i lost the link but there is a thread on the ft site of a jag sub mounted to the frame with through bolts much like the cv sub is bolted in so thats an option to if you like the way it mounts...ken....

 

I-beams are great and nothing to be scared of. I laugh when people who don't know shit, or never even had an I-beam truck say they are junk!!! They are so simple I can't understand for the life of me why people say they aren't.

Work on half as many Chevy front ends as I have and come back and talk to me.

Way better built than that shitty 88-98 chevy front end. Wanna talk about trash!! That set up is trash. A lot less moving parts w/I-beam.

Someone said "cronic bump steer"???? WHAT???? HUH???? ..OK....

I've done them many, many times and have them in my daily driver 96. You can adjust the camber w/no issues on the newer stuff. Sure there is a limit to how low you can go w/o any camber, there is a limit to everything, but you can get one pretty damn low.

As for DJM??? STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM!!!!! THOSE "DREAM BEAMS" ARE JUNK. I DO MEAN JUNK!

Just a bunch of pipes butt welded together. What a joke. Wait till one breaks on you in half, had it happen to a customers truck. I never liked the design or even the look of them, but I used what the customer already had. Never will make that mistake again! Use an I- beam designs.

I liked the beams so much I put them in my 62 and drove it everywere. I used parts from a 92. (front wheels are turned just a little in this pic)


My 96. Been done for 5 years now. Does not wear tires at all, drive and pull cars w/all the time. Going to lower about another 1" here soon, if I can find the time.


For something a little newer, customers Super duty done back in 02. Truck was 1st dully ever on direct bolt on 22" wheels. Only reason so high in the front is cause the trans. is about 1/4" away from being on the ground. Truck was driven everywere including 3 trips to The SEMA show in Vegas from Texas.

 

I've got a '89 with the dream beams and it handles like it's on rails. My dad dropped it back in '92, with the deepest drop djm offered.

 

Insane1, how are you lowering the I-beam fronts? Can you walk us through what you are doing? Thanks.

 

Ford still uses twin I beams on F250/F350/F450 2wd trucks. So that's 45 years of use.

 

Funny how people love to bad mouth the Twin I Beam, but it is an absolute fact that during those years Ford was the number one selling full size truck and they just kept using that "crappy design". Truth is it is a great front end for what it is intended for - a TRUCK.
Bump Steer? Are you nuts? I raced Ford Trucks in the desert for a number of years and we could easily get 18" or more travel (on a Ranger) with only the tiniest bit of bump at the very ends of this travel, more movement than any street truck will ever see.
If you are just going to go 3"-4" I think dropped beams are the best way to go. It's easy to upgrade brakes and power steering with junk yard parts to keep the cost down.
BTW - the reason that Ford went away from Twin I Beams had to do with aerodynamics for better fuel mileage. The Twin I beam doesn't allow the engine sit as low and therefore the front end cannot be as aerodynamic which greatly impacts fuel mileage.


If you must clip it, don't use 1970's Camaro or Volare technology - Guys have had great success with the Aerostar front swap and Dakota (ask El Polako about that one). I also done C4 Corvette (front & rear), if you really want it to handle!

 

I have the same question for insane1. I have a 66.

 

Eric, please call me. 218-779-4263. Dennis in ND

 

Twin I beam has worked fine under my '65 Ford F-100 since new and I have no intention of changing it.

Personally,I like the stance it was born with. HRP

 

The Twin I-beam trucks I've had all wandered a bit, it's usually the shocks. A 'soft' off-road type will be the worst, a stiff shock will tighten up handling very well... but if you blast logging roads with those, it will likely break the lower shock mount AMHIK.. lol. 'Back in the day', I ran Gabriel Adjustable Es on mine (set at the max firmness) and the truck handled great on the highway. The early models were as close to bulletproof as you could ask as long as you greased 'em regularly, the later ones with the ball joints and rubber rod ends not quite as tough.

 

I'd do a Dakota front end, from Industrial Chassis.

 

If you go to a good REAL truck suspension alignment place.......big trucks/semis.......once you set your ride height.....ala spring cut or whatever......they can reset your axle angles. Chop saw reliefs, close the gaps, weld. Nothing but a thing for someone versed to the work. Like everyone else said, it isn't difficult to lower or raise these trucks. Just gotta' put the work in.

 

It looks like my 66 F250 that I converted to a 1/2 ton will be getting a set of dropped beams,it sits a little too high in the front now but will try a pair of springs for a 302 first and see if the 460 will make it sit any lower with those springs. I still need to use it as a truck and still be able to get under it to change the oil without jacking it up so no car front suspension on this one,now if I ever get a shortbed then that is another story.

 

Not necessary to do all that. Up until the 80's sometime, the I Beams were forged (they went to a cast beam later) and the Proper way to align one that is out of spec it to bend the beams. Much Stronger than cutting and welding and it has worked for hundreds of Desert Race trucks for the past 40 years!

 

YUP. Bend 'em.
Big hydraulic jack, big beam, couple chains, magnetic protractor. Bend it maybe 1/4~1/2 degree more than you think it needs & let it spring back.