How I lowered a 1962 F-100 with an axle flip (1961-1964 I-Beam)

Cool! I like it!

 

Is there enough room too drill the centering hole back on the axle and mounting plates to move the axle far enough? We use to do this to older Chevys when replacing the tourque tube with a open drive axle to center the wheels, don't see why a front axle wouldn't be the same. Or somebody (I think it was Butch's Rod Shop" use to sell a "relocating" kit, it was just a couple pieces of 3/8 plate with a hole to take the spring bolt and a allen bolt threaded in 2" foward to fit in the mounting plates.
Just thinking drilling springs can't be any fun.

 

Your welds are looking pretty good Todd, keep on keepin on !

 

I could probably get an inch using that method, and it was certainly considered...the plates are 4" long, and the 5/8" hole is in the center. moving an inch would give me an edge distance of 11/16" which is about as close as I'd want to go.

After mocking up the fender, It was clear that an inch wasn't gonna do it. But you are correct...drilling springs isn't any fun, but it's doable...

 

6 drill bits later, even after trying to step the hole size up I can say with confidence that drilling springs is not my idea of a good time. So I wised up, took the springs to work and introduced them to the mill. 10 minutes later (!!!) I had the holes relocated...

I really "need" one of these at home...

 

Totally worth the effort. Here is the wheel placement before:

Here it is after moving it forward 2 1/2":


Plenty of clearance from lock to lock:




Todd

 

After seeing that, I think I will be moving mine as well! Good job!

 

Lookin good. Im ready to see how you go about raising the steering box. I did the axle flip on my 64 sw and the bumpsteer is horrible Iv actually been saving my pennies for a MII setup ever since.

 

What is your driveline going to consist of?

 

That should come this weekend...a fair amount of work, but doable. The bump-steer is something anyone has to deal with when lowering (or raising) a straight-axle. Dropped I-beam, lowering springs, etc. It's all about geometry, plain & simple.

McMaster-built Y-block / T-5 / 9" rear

 

Todd getting ready to put an econoline under my 65 Comet & drop-flip the spring below the axle as well. Following this thread with interest.

One thing I've done to drill/relocate leaf springs. Just drill the main leaf & have a bunch more to fit the weight pattern you need. Even front to back or different lenghts front & back. After all the main leaf is the only one critical to indexing the spring perch. I moved my sons 59 Bird axle back 1.5 inches to fit larger tires & only had to drill 2 holes one in each main leaf. The rest of the leafs had only 1 hole & were alot less invaded upon.

Thanks for this thread. Movin/on

 

Looks great Todd! I talked to Jason over at Early Wheel Company (an Alliance Vendor) and I should have the new rims here today or tomorrow. I have the tires, Moon discs and test paint for the color so I hope to have some nice rolling stock by this weekend.

 

The relocation was definately worth the effort.
Looks good.

 

Big Red Todd, you excellent photos showing the details are something that we don't normally see on a modified vehicle. Keep up this interesting thread <o></o>
"There is nothing more rewarding than doing something that other people say can't be done!"

 

Wheel / Tire placement in the fenderwell really looks good now. A job well done for sure!

 

What about the original hole in the leaf springs now? Won't that be a concern for cracking down the road?

 

No more concern than it was when it was the only hole. As long as the edges are smooth and no cracks have started already, anything small can be ground out.

 

That's essentially what I did. I took the spring pack apart and used only the main, #3, and #4 leaf. I only drilled the main and located the subsequent leafs on the new hole so the support would be balanced on the axle. We'll see how everything settles in, I may trim the #2 leaf and reinstall depending on finished height. Thanks for making a note of this, as I realize I overlooked mentioning this in my post above.

Awesome...I hope to have Jake steering and drop the back end this weekend...

Not concerned. Even though others have done it, I still asked a "spring guy" if it was an issue and got the go-ahead. Having said that, I wouldn't be comfortable drilling one if only moving the axle, say 1/2" forward due to the edge distances of the holes.

I appreciate all the feedback and positive comments guys. Really helps me stay motivated!

Todd

 

Hey, get to work Tim!

 

Looking better and better by the minute.

 

Looking forward to following this build.

 

Very cool way to get into the weeds like how you used the original axle.

 

That worked out great Todd.

 

Did you move it 2 1/2" like you originally planned?
V/8

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Yeah, I sure did...I actually asked Elpolacko about his truck, because I like the placement so much on his UNIBODY

He moved his 2" which I planned to mimmick, but when I measured it I decided that the extra 1/2" was justified. I expect that leaning back the axle affected this extra 1/2".

 

The first installment of the steering box relocation...

Here's the piece of the firewall I removed. Way more than was necessary, but I wanted plenty of room to work with, and a larger piece will be easier to modify & reinstall.


Here's a ROUGH idea of how the box will be repositioned.




Changing the position of the box/column will "tilt" the column and wheel down somewhat, which is the explanation for the next step. There's a fair amount of interior room to be gained by sectioning the factory column drop a bit. This all has to be modified before the box is laid out and mounted, as the box mounts have no adjustment.




Marked out for removing 1 1/2" from the drop.


I use paint to mark things for cutting. In this case, you can see the bright silver paint, and how much shorter the drop is. This will move the column up closer to the dash a surprising amount.


Close up of sectioned drop. Note that I pie-cut the back to accommodate the new angle of the column.


Welded back together





That's more like it...something small that no one would ever notice but me, but it will make climbing into the roll-caged interior just that much less difficult.


Installed on the dash once again. Here you can see what this was worth. 1 1/2" removed from the drop, and remounted higher on the slotted mounts. Now the column is hugging the dash as it should, and the angle the column passes through matches the drop very closely.




...and to anyone who checks in today, Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I have a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us tremendously, in spite of ourselves. I also found out yesterday that we are going to be blessed with a baby girl (our first child) right before my birthday in April which means (naturally) that I need to pick up another project to get started.

 

"Blessed us tremendously in spite of ourselves." I like that! Congratulations on the addition. Being a father is by far the best thing you'll ever do.

 

Congratulations on the baby Todd, and the build article is great, thanks for all of the info.

 

I'm glad to see that you other guys are brave enough to do an axle flip as well, everyone thaught that I was krazy when I did it to my f-1 but when you are on a budget your on a budget . I've been driving mine for over a year with no problems. I Zed my drag link insted of moving my gear box and with a dampener cured any wheel kick.

 

Congrats on the work so far, and the impending arrival of the new little one! Just an FYI for future spring drilling expliots - This can be done on a drill press turning at it's slowest speed, using of all things - white glue - as a lubricant. Made no sense to me either the first time I heard it, but I've done it several times now and it works like a CHARM!