After staring at a '59 Custom cars Annual for a few years, I dragged home a 56 F100 to start on the path to a very low, scalloped, pickup. I have the front suspension handled, but wondered if anyone has swapped rear springs for anything later that works well. I'm putting the rear end above the springs and was looking at S 10, Ranger, or minivan springs/hangers that mount on the side of the rails. I figure that there's about 1400-1500lbs on the rear wheels. Any suggestions? Thanks, Rob
For availability and cost I would go ranger mounts and springs, Explorer rear sway bar (you won't be sorry with sway bar)but, go to a 9 inch rear. Stay away from Explorer monoleafs not enough upward resistance in my opinion. My$.02 Dave
Simple, re-use the original springs. I have a '56 as well and took the advice from Mid 50's F100's. I mounted the rear axle on top of the springs, c-notched the rear frame, remove the second and fourth spring, lined the springs with the poly spring liner, installed new spring bushings and flipped the rear spring brackets too. All told, this cost me right at $100.00 and lowered the truck an actual 12" from the time it rolled in the shop. I have nearly 5" of clearance before the rearend hits the bump stops too. This way was a lot less hassle than trying to use another type of spring.
I'm going to look again at the stock springs, but I think there were a few broken leaves in each stack, so reusing those isn't an option. I like the way the wider springs work, and most leaves now are 2.5 inch instead of 1.75. I have a set of '56-3/4 ton springs also, so they may be fine with some leaves removed. Thanks for the ideas.
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