OK, so I'm digging through classifieds, looking for a slick....and keep stumbling upon One Tons.......some in remarkably good shape, and affordable.......and my tiny little mind starts dreaming up build schemes First off, it'd gotta be low!! (duh!!)..... Discs/lowering a 1/2t with twin I beams is well documented......but after seeing a '64 One Ton (straight axle) cab & chassis advertised locally, I did some homework, and I believe it will be possible to get a dropped beam axle (SID), but so far, I'm striking out on info for a front disc swap?? Anyone tried this, or found the info elsewhere on this site, as although I would not call my search efforts 'exhaustive", I have had a quick look, and come up with zilch so far..... Thanks! James
The Twin-I Beam system came out in the 1965 model year, so the earlier trucks are going to be a straight axle truck, whether it's a half-ton or one-ton. You might consider a body swap onto a later truck chassis, if you want an old body with the Twin-I. I was going to do that with my old '65 F250 (Twin-I beam equipped already), as I had a nice '76 460 truck lined up that had been rolled for a swap.
Are you set on running the straight axle? There's some pretty cool swaps out there if you're not: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/716058-buildup-06-crown-vic-front-suspension-into-67-f100.html
Both Classic Performance Products (CPP) and Engineered Components Inc. (ECI) sell disc brake conversion kits for the 61-64 Ford trucks. I'm not sure if it would work for a 1-ton though.
Once again, people are missing out on the ONE TON part Crown Vic, Mustang II, Dakota, 1/2T twin I beams, etc are not going to be up to the job.......... Thanks! James
And many a heavy load was hauled just fine with Drum Brakes ! PS OP nothing was said about a RAMP truck ! mind reading 101 ??
John: Yah, sorry I didn't initially mention the Ramp truck part, but I am smart enough to figure out that if I didn't need the GVW to simply use the 1/2t or aftermarket stuff.......... James
On second thought, it appears that the ECI and CPP kits use 1/2-ton rotors. Probably a tad undersized, depending on what you're going to haul with it. I think you may end up scrounging your own parts to make a one-off kit. What are you planning to use for wheels? That may impact your situation as well...
I would agree with JohnEvans, do you really need disk brakes? I have a 64 1/2 ton that I completely rebuilt the brake system on and have no complaints on it's braking capacity. Something else to remember is that most Semi's use drum brakes as well. Unless you feel there is a specific need for disc's, I would suggest just rebuilding the drums with quality parts. Just my 2 cents
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