Alright i have a 64 F100 which has the twin beam front suspension. i believe first years of the twin beam. i want it lowered but with the twin beam any lowering will camber the wheels too much. Anybody lowered or clipped a twin beam ford and have any suggestions? I do have a junk 90s S10 that i was thinkin about using the frame and suspension from.
They make dropped I-beams, but they are expensive and don't drop it but 3" or so. S10 is probably better, how close is the wheelbase?
65 is the first year for twin I beams, 64 is a straight axle truck. Frame clip choice is gonna depend on what engine your going to run. If you want to run a chevy than a gm clip will work best. If you want to keep a ford in your ford go with a ltd,lincoln, or merc clip from the 80's they fit modern ford front sump engines better than the gm stuff. You may also want to look into the Dakota clips, easier to install, less hacking and should work with about any engine.
I heard that you could flip the spindles from side to side and that you drop it as well. My buddy has a 73 Ford truck and we were hoping this would be possible . I was told this but I dont know if it would work.
I'm in the process of puting a aerostar front end under my 64 . Parts where free rebuilt the front end for about $200. Rack and pinion, power disc brakes, power steering, IFS. I need a few more parts but I'll have the whole thing done for under $300. I plan on bagging it later too. MIke
Cut 2.5 coils, then take it to an OLD frame shop and have em bend the twin I beams so that the truck will align again. That's how they did it way back when. That'll net you 3" in the front. Notch the frame in the rear and flip the axle to the top of the springs will net 5" in the rear. Then the truck will sit level.
I have a pal that has lowered I beams . I think he said it lowered his truck 4 inches, I could be wrong. His truck has a great stance not airbag low, but still low. He drives the wheels off of it, so those I beams do hold up well. There is a picture of Ian's truck in the new Rod & Custom in the coverage of the Americruise. His truck is the tan one smoking the tires in the autocross event. He didnt set any handling records ( couldnt make all the turns ) but he put on a good show. Check out the mag, that truck sits pretty good. jeff
I installed a volaire front suspension chunk into a 66 Ford truck. Worked out well with the 300 cid 6 cyl engine .
I put dropped axles in my '66. Lowered it about 4 in. When I took it to the frontend shop they did have to heat and bend the axle to align it. Not much just a little. I flipped the rear and it sits plenty low.
Where'd you get the dropped axles and how much? Looks real good and easier than the s10 clip. I did happen to check the Americruise article in R&C and the tan truck sits nice too.
DJM makes "dream beams" that will lower your truck 3". Here's a link. I've never used them before; merely read about them in magazines. They're not cheap.
ivdone quite a bit of looking into this on my 65, the two most common ones are the csmaro clip or thr crown vic clip i beileve03-08 the crown vic clip ks as easy as youll get bolt in crossmember with everything on it just hafta hack the old one out honestly it could be done in a weekend and there about 100 to 250 at a wrecking yard with rack , discs , everything and itll make it handle like a cop car google it , the only issue with that is you hafta run 16in unless you change the brakes and the track with is a inch or two wider so wheel choice while be limited depending on how low you go
mr personally im gunna z my frame clip and retain the beams later on down the road bevause i love my drums my 5-5.5 and cragars plus with the camber it handles like a futher mucker right now i haveone coil cut and heated stock in the rear with 255 70 15 in the rear and 235 60 15 in the front and it gives her a awesome rake some im gunna bag it and do dropped beams on bags for a couple years then z the frame with the same set up djm is the ticket if bagging beams there slighty narrower then the other brands and very high quality build
the camaro subframe from a g body is the next easyiest most common and best quickest eadyieast route if you plan on clipping and bagging or sitting low another to google its been done count less times start looking in the details on trucks in the weeds youll see it pretty common
I worked in frame & wheel shops for years, bent axles to align trucks, classic cars, even big rigs. The axles are bent cold, not heated. (axles have to be heated during the 'drop' process, due to the necessity of stretching them.) Hopefully, your twin beams will hold camber after the heating...(Twin beams are as the original Ford axles, chrome Vanadium steel. Their strength comes from the forging process, and heating and cooling compromises the Rockwell number)
Seven year old thread. I'm sure he's figured it out. Sent via Illinois Bell Telephone Company's Car Radiotelephone
Any suggestions on changing the brakes. We're in the middle of this swap, but the owner wants to use 15" wheels... which won't fit over the '03 CV brakes. Are there any reasonably easy brake swaps (perhaps from earlier years CV's) that we could use to allow 15" wheels?
I've seen 15s used. seems like there was a bit of caliper clearancing to do but I've done that on a bunch of stuff....ken....
i don't remember who but there is a member on this board thats done it and is running 15s. and i'm pretty sure i've seen someone over on the ford trucks site..... you'd still have to have 15s with alot of offset to fit the wide ass width of the cv. you'd almost be best off by shaving as much as you see safe on the calipers and then making you own mock up wheel with an offset that both gives you tire clearance and caliper cleanance.....
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