straight axle lowering questions

anyone ever done this?

 

When I was a kid I flipped the front axle on a 61 F-100 I had. Put it all back together only to find out the axle was almost touching the oil pan. Didn't work.

 

what motor was in it?

 

223 inline 6

 

Phil Lovjoy (well known in the PNW) did it on a 46/48 Ford Pickup about 30 years ago and drove the wheels off it for a couple of years before selling it and I think it is still floating around the Northwest. We used to have a running contest as to who's front bumper was the lowest.

I won't say it is the best way to lower one but it will get it low for cheap.
You would have to make up some blocks to keep the axle at the right caster and keep it solidly in place though. On the one in the photo it looks like they welded steel plates to the bottom of the axle.
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yeah, i got that from car craft march 1963, i want to lower it on the cheap,......seems the best way

 

What's up? That pic doesn't show a straight axle.

 

sorry, maybe i should have asked " has anyone ever done a spring under on a 64 f-100 for lowering the truck on the cheap"

 

i did it to my 61 has some bump steer but i drive it everywhere

 

thanks man, how did you lower the *** end of your truck? i was going to flip the axle, and c-notch the frame.

 

i flipped the rear i havent notched it but it needs to be

 

thats what im going to do also,....i was going to c-notch the frame with some 6" pipe with a 1/4" wall

 

Major bumpsteer. You'll need to move the box or the steering arm

 

Flipped the rear by cutting off the old perches and welding on new ones?


Or can you strip the rear axle, flip it and the diff bolts back in since the bolt pattern is symmetrical?

 

my 62 is set up the same way drive it everywere

 

any build or finished pics would be rad

 

looks like the scrub line would be a major issue.Burl

 

It was done in this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394226

V/8

 

thank you v8, that truck is bad ***,..........i would like to see more build pics please.

 

i dont have any more pics yet,
but im working on an adjustible drag link, and i found a guy down here that can do a full 4 wheel alighnment on a straight axel,

so more pics to come,

ive been driving it for a week or two and have a little bump steer
but the axle dosnt hit the pan and the ride itself is better than it was before

mal

 

This pic isn't mine, but a guy I tracked down on the net, I did something similar but a bit cleaner and tighter, thicker material etc. With 14's puts me about 1/8 past the scrub line, with 15's it clears fine. Straight budget rock, there are better ways to do it, but on the cheap, this worked fine. This along with moving the spring perches up on the "rails" put me in the weeds. Oh yeah, this was on my O/T stoner van, but same principal. $50 u-bolts, $20 material, A day with some homies, and done.

 

Kerry flipped his axle on top of his '31 Pontiac. He had to flatten the front crossmember and a couple other things but said it was relatively simple. I may look into it for my Father In Law's '31 Chevy seeing how drop axles are like $400 beans.

 

heres how i did mine, drove the truck for two year everyday and then some, i drilled the bottom of the axle for the center bolt, the blocks i made are solid and fit tight against the bottm edge of the axle, the lower plate below the spring is milled to hold the u-bolts, it all kinda pinches the axle into place, you can see the wedge under the axle to give me some caster, could of used more caster i think, i have rubber bumpes to mount on top of the axle so it would not hit the frame but it never did so i didn't install them, this setup did cause bump steer and i should of raised the steering box but i didn't do that either.