Getting started on this project,we removed the front axle and leaf spring brackets. My plans were to keep the 223 6-cylinder with a v-8 swap to be down the road. Once the centerline was marked the cross member was held up in place to check for clearance and found that the rack will hit the oil pan so I moved to plan B and removed the 6. I would like to thank Rob Couture for all of his help on this build,he is a very talented fabricater and welder.
Once the boxing plates were installed the next challange was to support the end of the steering column. I want to keep the 3-speed column shift so a bracket would have to be made that would not only support the column but house a bearing for the steering shaft. An insert was machined to fit in the end of the column along with a cup for the bearing.A wheel bearing for a Wheel Horse tractor was used,it has just the right I.D. and O.D. along with a flange.It worked out great.
Next up was the steering shaft, we cut the shaft from the old box took measurements for the distance needed past the bearing. I went to Borgeson (Torrington , Ct.) and got the u-joints and shafts I needed. We then took the 3/4 x 4" shaft and machined about 1 1/2 to be pressed into the original shaft and then welded. After it was in place a split collar was used to hold it in place.
Next was the position of the cross member.This is a TCI that came with no location measurements,(I call TCI and they told me it was a new product and they installed only 1) so by taking a wheel and tire and putting it where it looked right we then used a plumb bob and a square and found the cross member needed to move forward 3/4" from the centerline.It was then taked in place,installed the a-arms,used adjustable struts and mounted the wheel and put it on the ground. we both felt that it looked just right in the opening and moved on to final welding.
Once the frontend was welded and the truck back on the ground it was time to tackle lowering the rear. Keeping in mind that I want to use the truck like a truck I did not want to flip the rear and put it on top of the spring so we decided to move the front spring perch and add on to the shackles in the rear. The front perches were removed and a pattern made to raise the position of the mount 2 1/4" and a new bracket was made to bolt the perch where the to rivits were and drill the frame for the lower holes also using a steel backing plate on the inside of the frame rail.Once that was done an 1 3/4 was added to the shackles and 2 of the helper springs were removed.The result was 3" drop in the rear,I would still like to get it down 1 more inch but I will wait until I get the engine in and the wheel and tire combination I am going to run.
Got one right here, but I'm a little far away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnGeRjlwAJY&feature=channel_page
Your doing it the HARD way. I went with the 03+ Crown Vic IFS on my `61,got about $200 into the whole setup and it gives you a rack and pinion,huge disc brakes,and a damn near bolt-in install. BTW,you did the rear the hard way too...lol. You could have just flipped the axle on top of the springs and reversed the rear spring hangars,that would have raised the rear back up about 2-inches. Same amount of lift overall,but alot less work. That truck looks just like the `58 I sold Tiger Mark/Diamond49.
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