Here pretty soon I will be working on dropping/lowering my truck. (63 F-100) Ive had a few pieces of advice thrown my way, and they all seem to be the same. ...get/use a diff frame.... A buddy, and I are going to try/thinking that we can do it by pulling some of the leaf springs..? We dont think we can flip them because there wont be enough clearance in the front...which is to blame on the twin i beam.... Any other advice on how to go through with this? Possibly escaping swapping a frame..?
You can lower twin I beam front ends but its a pain. You will need to do somthing to correct all the negative camber you will get from lowering it which can be exspensive. If it were me I would subframe it.
have you been over to Slick 60's? www.fordtruk.com there are a bunch of guys over there that have tackled this many different ways. I can definitely understand the lack of enthusiasm for doing an entire frame swap. I wound up using a Crown Vic aluminum "bolt-in" front crossmember, but I was starting with a straight axle 64.... do a search over there if you haven't already been... not to steer you away from the HAMB by any means, but they are also great guys, and have a lot of specific knowledge about 61-66s
Twin I Beam does not exist on a '63, and twin I-Beams do not use leaf springs. Do a search for Lowering f-100s and you will find a lot of good information. To lower you can: Use dropped axle (Sid on here) use re-arched and reversed springs monoleaf flip axle on top of spring pack ( a couple good examples here) Use Dakota clip (Elpolacko on here makes them) etc, etc, etc Do a search...
63 should be a solid front axle? Twin I beams have coils up front, if it has leaves it has to be solid. you can go drop axle either way if you want a few inches. If you want 5 or more, another front end is probably easier.
I totally missed that.... yeah 63 would not be twin I-beam if stock, and they're kind of hard to mistake when you know what you're looking at. I'm not a big fan of flipping the front axle on a solid axle car cause it can tend to open up a can of worms, but it is done quite a bit despite many peoples warnings. most guys that have these trucks want to add disc brakes and upgrade the steering.... not necessary, but definitely nice and with the cost of disc conversions, front end swaps tend to be more practical, etc. definitely check out Slicks. I picked up my whole CV crossmember for $300, (which got me police package oversize rotors, p/s, IFS) but due to the track width you're somewhat limited in wheel choice, along with a couple other compromises/considerations, but definitely a viable and cost effective option to aftermarket IFS kits. Let us know what you come up with. add some pics if you got em, would like to see the truck. good luck man
Hey I got some pics up...not great, but theyre all I have for now... as far as it not being I-beam, thats what I thought, but it looks to still have some of the I-beam pieces...Ill do some investigating tomorrow. There were altercations made to the truck before I got it, and parts were replaced here, and there...Im kinda in the midst of starting from ground zero, and replacing some of what has already been done. In my manual, it seams to tag the truck as a 64, but from what I know its a 63...passed through dmv as a 63..? But yes, she does seem to have a solid axel. So...I may have to go through with exactly what I didnt want to, lol! But Ill check out the sites that were suggested, and keep you guys posted! And of course, Im always up for suggestions...keepem coming! And thanks to everyone so far!
Oh, and as far as the disk brakes/what have you... Im trying to stay as traditional as possible, lol! It wont bother me to have them of course, but trying to avoid any "newer" tech. ...I have a special love for my lack of power steering, and power breaks
I hope you guys even get the rest of this..lol. Hell I know its 3 a.m. where I am at. Not only is it my weekend, but my fiance is prego ...it just kinda depends on when she exhausted and when shes full of energy, lol!
64 grille and emblems.... not a uni, but could have been a 63 stepside or wrongbed.... not sure, but very possible that it was titled as a 63 and its a 64 model.... lot of that stuff going on back then. I understand wanting to keep it old school... if it wasn't for my bent front axle, wanting to go lower, and having the drivability for everyday use I may not have swapped the front end. My dad is building a 64 and did the disc brake conversion which is nice, but his old 60 with drums has that old school truck feel that just can't be beat. Looks like seats from a 98 era Ranger.... I have a set sitting in my garage but went with 03 King Ranch buckets.... not traditional and a bit too big, but I love the way they look.... again, not old school, but they "fit" .... I'm assuming you'll be switching to something more "traditional"? check out my photobucket for pics, CV swap, etc. if you're interested. Happy to help, but I'm sure if you've been looking at Slick 60s you've found more then enough info. keep us posted and let me know if you have any other questions, need parts, etc. I'm at about 95% done with mine but now its 110 here in Vegas, so......
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