Can it be done using normal straight axle procedures? I want to lower the front end of a pickup and I'm wondering if it can be done. thanks, -ron
I have bent plenty of early Ranger ones for my Off Road race tuck to get the camber right after lifting. Seems I heard that the later F-150's were cast and can't be bent so I guess it depends on the year.
The early ones were bent for alignment. We used a special fixture and a bottle jack made just for this purpose. Later they changed the beams and it was not recommended. No I don't remember the year that it changed. It might be difficult to find a shop with the old equipment to do it. I'm sure there has been no call for it in many years.
guess I should have specified more info.. early years '67-79. now would it be unreasonable to hope that they could be modified more than just alignment? Something like a 2-3" drop? In my head I keep pictureing a fixture like the one in the tech article on modifying straight axels. thanks, -ron
I dont know if they are still available but they used to sell dropped twin I beam axeles. Try one of the trucking magazines like CLASSIC TRUCKS.
DJM Dream Beams are the most common drop i-beam http://www.djmsuspension.com/products/dream beams.html about $400 a set. so not exactly cheap and the look of them isn't very 'old school' also they would probably hamper my next 3 follow up questions: 1. can ford ttb beams be 'speed hole' drilled? 2. Has anybody ever used ford ttb beams with split wishbones? 3. has anybody ever attempted to cut/weld a set of ttb beams to make a solid/straight axle? thanks again, -ron
1. By TTB do you mean the twin i beam? TTB as far as i've always seen is a reference to the four wheel drive version. 2. I don't know why you'd go do a split wishbone with this set up as the stock radius arm basically works the same as a split wishbone. 3. I don't think it would be worth the work to weld two beams together and try to make it work. How low are you trying to go? Lowering with twin i beams kind of has its own set of headaches. Knowing more details mite help people here provide more answers. And i know it's off topic but for the record a 96 F150 would have cast beams stock and say on the front of them "do not heat or bend"
I'm stricktly talking about 2wd parts, but when typing a response via phone twin-i-beam gets long, for the remainder of this topic I'm going to shorten it to 2IB. Ideally I'd like the body to be 3-4" closer to ground then stock (picture 1970 f-100) why? well I have access to quite a few '67-'79 f-series reg cab pickups and I think it would be fun to shorten one up and make an open wheeled roadster, utilizing only the original truck and some cutting/welding (I still need to check local fender laws). so it doesn't matter if the drop comes from the 2IB or if it comes from finding different cab mounts that are thinner, or cutting the cab mounts and remounting them lower, or even if it comes from adding a Z to the frame. The main focus is lower 3-4" realtively cheap and hopfully easy to reproduce. thanks again, -ron
there is not enough travel in the front end to go 3+" of lowering and still have a decent ride. You cannot stretch them like a straight axle to lower the beam. Welding two together to make a solid axle? Oh Hell No! Why on earth ....... As for a fenderless 1970 truck, you are entering Rat Rod territory there and this is not the forum for that! Prepare for major flaming if you go that way of ruining a truck. JMO
^ I try to be pretty polite these days but this is pretty much the response you can expect here all the way around. If these are your plans, you're in the wrong place. The internet is pretty big though and i'm sure you can find people more like minded.
well, maybe I can stave off some flames.. For lots of years I've owned old cars and for the most part the get 'fixed back to stock' and driven. I'm getting a little older (mid 30's) and would like to perform some modifications on my favorite cars, things like shaved door handles, trim deletes, frame boxing, maybe z-ing or c-channeling a frame, but I don't want to experiment on the ones I love. I've always considered those who do to be brave or stupid and you never really know which until the project is finished. So enter these poor 70's fords.. this summer between my Dad and his cousin they will scrap about 200 cars/trucks among them approximately 15 f-series. Now is my opportunity to try and learn some new skills.. narrowing a grill, pinching and pancaking a hood, making or modifying body panels. I could truly suck at this and the only thing that I learn is that fabrication is a part of tbe automotive hobby that I should avoid. Or my abomination may boost my confidence and I finally get over my fear of potentially screwing things up beyond repair. FWIW, the other cars that I would like to not screw up include but not limited to: 1954 f100 (2) 1963.5 Falcon convertible 1965 f100 (short/stepside) 1966 Malibu 4dr (daily driver?) 1966 Malibu 2dr 1967 Mustang coupe 1968 Mustang Coupe I know that a lot of those are newer than most projects on this forum but I was hoping there wasn't a minimum age limit. My current project isn't designed to offend anybody. I tried searching for an answer to this first question for a long time before posting it here, all I was really hoping for was 1. its been tried and does not work 2. a guide to how it has been done 3. encouragement to try because it had never been attempted or 4. a good reason not to even attempt such a thing, like cast vs forged, metalurgically why it wouldn't be feasible. And maybe I grew up in a more polite neighborhood than others, but I learned a long time ago that if you tell somebody 'no' about something you ask it's only curteous (sp) to try and offer another solution. take care -ron
this is why i dont get on here much anymore...someone asks a question and gets a bag full of shit.its damn near useless these days.grow up & off your keyboard.
Actually he was getting good answers to his questions and then went completly off track with " '67-'79 f-series reg cab pickups and I think it would be fun to shorten one up and make an open wheeled roadster, utilizing only the original truck" ~ which is shit that doesn't pertain or fit into this board.
I cut the coils and had an alignment shop heat and bend the beams on my 1977 f-100 back in 1987. I was t boned by a stupid farm kid drivin his daddys diesel oldsmobile at 60 mph. The truck exploded into a mass of flying debris incuding blowing all four rims to pieces. The beams were still in tacked and still had the wheel centers attached to them. The beams withstood the wreak way better than I did.
When you can find a descent straight axle set up for $250-$400 dollars just go that way. The body shop back in the 70s had a machine that straightened the frames and the I-beams on wrecked trucks but never saw one bent for lowering a frontend.As far as the people giving you shit about the question,well this board is for 64 and earlier plain and simple.In the sign on the road said Bridge Out would you keep going or stop?
I have also had random thoughts about making a solid axle by welding I beams together. But my mind has a lot of stuff rattling around that I never actually do. The best way to lower one of those trucks is to stub it. I had a friend who put a Crown Vic cop car stub on a 68 and it worked great. Now, about this board, it is for 64 and back. I think you will have a lot better reception at some place like RatRodsRule where people build all kinds of weird stuff. One member even has an old bumpside butchered all up like you are talking about. Another great forum for those trucks is Fordification. It is easy to navigate and all the tech articles are right there for anything you might want to do to one.
your lookin at about $500- 600 for lowered i-beams. the issue with dropping the stockers is with the steering, it passes thru the radius arm. if you move the end of the axle up you will need to drop the steering arms on the spindles to keep the steering lined up, there is not enough room between the frame and radius arms to run the steering and still have suspension travel. take it from someone who spent way too much time and money on twin i beams, cut your frame off put on ifs, you'll be way happier and so will your wallet and tires.
At some point in the '80s the "beams" changed to welded together stampings. Although the fabricated ones were plenty adequate for most uses, when the switch was made they weren't as tough as the earlier solid ones.
I know I have seen stamped 2wd "beams", but I can't say you are wrong. During the '80s I worked for Ford engineering for a few years. I may be remembering pieces I saw that didn't make it to production. Or, maybe I am thinking of 2wd Bronco or Ranger parts?
Get rid of the beams and get the straight axle and springs, hangers, etc. out of a '64 or earlier F100. Have the axle bent, mount it all up, done deal. As far as what you're talking about building, just don't post a thread about it on here, it'll just end up being a waste of your time because it'll get deleted. Don't take it personally, it's just your project doesn't fit in here.
I won't commenrt on the project....That's up to you. But from someone with alot of I-beam experience..STAY THE F AWAY FROM "DREAM BEAMS"!! Absolute garbage.... Round tube butt welded together. Not even slid into one another like some think. Had one break in half on a customer. Lets take a solid design of an I-beam, make a weaker design, then sell it to the public.... Good going DJM.
On another note: this truck uses the entire drivetrain from a 1970 Ford 1/2 ton: 360/C6, 9 inch, parts of the front X member, bent I-beams, shortened springs, split driveshaft. It can be done. That guy re-did that truck in the early 70's. Traditional? I say yes, but...you know what they say about opinions... http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/0910rc_1953_ford_f_100/index.html
I challenge you to tell me what exactly is my project? What make/model/year is my actual project? I asked about using/modifying these cheap and easy to find parts to learn a hobby. And some of you spit your coffee on your keyboards and started chastising me on my choice of tools to learn with. I do hope all of you feel BIGGER wen you ASSume things. -ron
Pretty sure all 2WD Ranger's had forged beams as well. I know the ones in my race truck and Pre Runner did.
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