Interesting idea. The new suspension settled into place nicely in the first 1000-2000 miles. I have had front end alignments twice during this period of settling in. The latest alignment feels great and settling seems to have stopped. I think I'm at about 3,000 miles now on the new suspension. Not quite sure which other bolts to loosen and retighten, but I'll take a look. I was planning to regrease the leaf springs anyway. I don't know the source of the noise. That's what I'm exploring in this thread. From feedback ideas in this thread, it could be body connectors/webbing, could be frame rivet joints, could be partial boxing in the front and not the back, could be frame cut/modification around the new transmission mount and new frame-mount brake/clutch pedal assembly, or something else. Thanks to all the collective wisdom here, my truck will soon be perfect and awesome Yes, the sounds that make me cringe most are most obvious when I'm entering a driveway apron slow at an angle, meaning a diagonal twist on the frame. I don't want to jump to conclusions about too much flex in my 36 frame, so I launched this thread to see what others have to say. By a consensus of what others are saying, I think that this era Ford frame was intentionally designed to flex at the rivet joints. I have not found any obvious frame cracks, from what I can see when it's on a rack. There was one crack, about 3" near the leaf srping center attachment area of the old cross-member. I had this welded when the tail pipes were built. I think the original crack on this rear cross-member was simply an ancient crack in the trucks history exactly where the 4 bolts (two U-bolts) held the old rear leaf spring in place. Yes, the noise is when weight is shifting over uneven ground. It's all twist action. I always ease over uneven ground cautiously. When I'm moving flat and straight, I'm not hearing anything abnormal at any speed. My elbows and teeth jolt more than I would like when I hit a speed bump. I suspect that can be remedied with softer coil springs in the front. Speed bumps are a jolt to everything, and that sound doesn't concern me. It's just an impact that is not being absorbed as much as I think it should be. I called TCI about this, after my settle-in period. Sal said at the time I bought my front end they only had one coil spring tension available (don't know the number). Since then they have made a softer spring available, rated at "275." He offered these softer coils as a replacement, which I would like to accept. Before we got to that point, he asked the diameter of my sway bar in the front, and suggested unbolting at one end to see how that affected the softness of the front end. Yes, it became noticeably softer, but didn't corner as well at high speed. IMHO, I don't want to go with a smaller diameter sway bar because I like the way it stays so flat hugs the road in corners now. I think softer coils might make the difference I'm seeking here with speed bumps, road reflectors, potholes, etc. Yes. Life is sweet. I started this project in 1967 when I was 15. LOL. It was my first car. I picked up the 327 & Muncie from a freshly wrecked Corvette in 1969 for $600. That replaced a 283, that replaced the original flathead. I was enjoying the "new" 327 for about a year, before my truck went into Rip Van Winkle hibernation from 1970 until 3 years ago. I admire those who do impeccable frame up restorations. Gets me all excited to tear my own truck apart again. However, for this this phase of my re-learning curve I enjoy driving my truck as I continue making the upgrades. I am reluctant to take things apart more than I put them back together. I'm an old fart now and not as productive or focused as I used to be. Like you, as my hearing deteriorates my truck gets quieter I'm at a phase of life where I'm trying to simplify, de-clutter, and finish or off-load too many other fun unfinished projects. I tend to overwhelm myself with too many things to do as boxes, accumulated parts and TODO lists stack up around me. Typical, eh? Too many hobbies, too little time. Damn, I'm happy
I think i would box it up the rest of the way and weld every seam i could. Maybe try to put some of that material back in the X if possible.
Here's a project photo gallery for anyone interested: http://www.pbase.com/schutze/1936_ford_pickup_project
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