1961 ford unibody pick-up

anyone here lower a 61 ford pick-up cheaply, meaning has anyone
just flipped the front leaf springs upside down and if so what mods did you have to make
to get the ride smooth again??? really don't wanna put a whole lotta dough in this one.

 

flipped springs upside down? Sure you don't mean moving the axle on top of the springs ?If you turn the springs upside down, they'll be up against the rails.Even if you move the axle up top,that only leaves an inch or two of travel unless you modify the frame rails.I get that you don't want to get crazy , but I just clipped a '61 unibody today with a late '70's LTD front frame section . It's the second one I've done and it works nice cause the suspension isn't lowered or compromised. Disk brakes, better steering box ,the biggest challenge is the core support and radiator, but not really a big deal.All the lowering is done by the shape of the rail . Just a thought .

 

on the rear add a panhard bar, then take 1957 chevy rear shackles, they are the exact same width as the ford springs, they have 4 adjusting holes put the rear spring eye in the top most hole , will lower the rear by 4-5 inches , worked out pretty cool on my 62 unibody , you can get shackles thru danchuck catalog, ( another guy in our club showed me this trick) been running on my truck for a year now and have no problems , he has been running this set up for even longer ,drawback- cant haul anything real heavy , bottoms out pretty easy , ford put the axle on the bottom of the springs and the spring perch is also welded on the top of the axle so you cant just use lowering blocks , front is trickier, mine has a straight axle, originally took out some of the springs , lowered it alright but was all over the road because of the bump steer, added back some springs until it road better , lowered the front by about 2 inches and compensated with 2 sizes smaller tires in front than rear leveled out the truck and it handles good on the highway ,can post some pics later , hope this helps

 

On my 61 I put in a dropped axle and flipped the rear to the top side of the springs and did a C section. 4" in front and 6" in rear and still rode and drove great.

 

I de-leafed my pick up and flipped the rear axle and changed shocks and it rides ok......not like a car but it aint NO car.......I like it.........not a lot of hop.......

 

Doing my `61 right now. I am using a 2003-2009 Crown Victori/ Grand Marquis /Town Car front suspension setup,it`s practically a bolt-in deal for the most part. Gives around a 6-inch drop up front,gives you 2-piston 12" disc brakes,and a powersteering rack.

Best part,I did the work and pulled the entire setup outta the local U-Pull-It yard for $150.00

 

hey 60srailjob thanks for the reply when you say flip the rear axle you mean put it on top of the springs right?

 

yes.

 

I did that to my 57 f-100

 

Skrap metal go to my page and look at my 57 and it on jack stands but it is still ride heigh even in the air......( But the way it jacked up) it stayed as on the ground......

 

i moved the axles to the top of the springs front and back sits nice now

 

Yup, did the same with my '61 Unibody, but also reversed the spring eye in front for another 1.5" or so. I had to drop the tie rod too because it would have hit the oil pan.

 

thanks guys for all the input, hey deiselbronco you said you moved the front axles
on top of the springs too? did you have to make some sorta perch or something?
thats what i was thinking of doing. anyone know how weldable that front axle is??

 

Here's one that uses a 70's LTD subframe in front, sits pretty low and rides nice. Does need to squat more in the rear though.....

 

mp&c, that thing looks great.

 

Just C notch the frame and get some dropped axles in the front. If youre on a budget thats how I would do it. If you want a truck that rides a car and budget isnt an issue then go with the front end swap. This is mine after a C notch and dropped axle. The unibody lines have a natural "raise" that starts in the front and then goes out to the rear which gives the rear end a even more jacked up look in the rear. Mine is 6.5 inches off the ground in the rear and it rodes better than when I have the just axle flip with 10 inches to the ground.

 

i made a perch with 4 peices of tubing and flat stock that slides up around the axle against the bottom of the stock one i will try to get some pics if you want

 

These are some good looking trucks when they're lowered.

 

damn whitey!! that little green truck is killer!!! thanks for the post.

 

Probably no help at all, because all of these are obviously on air, but these are certainly cool.

JH

 

Please do... I'm assuming this would be same set up for '60?

 

here is how i did my 58. same concept. flipped both front and rear leaf springs. i had to move the steering box up to get rid of the bump steer



http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153730

 

I hate jacking the car to change the oil

 

Have a 65 that I am building.Interested in your louverd hood.
Can you tell me how many rows,how wide is louvers and how long is each row.
Would like to recreate the same pattern on my hood.It looks real sharp.
Thanks,Ron

 

Holy bump batman!

 

This is the only other picture I had of it. I no longer own it to get any measurements, but they were 3" louvers. You may be able to zoom in and get an accurate count..