Ok i've done the serches on this and i've seen a few pics but have never seen a setup like this go down the road. Is there anyone out there who is running their front axle on top of the front springs on an F100? How do the suspension guys out there feel about this setup from a safty and handling standpoint? I'd like to drop the nose on my newly aquired '55 F100 A LOT but I really don't want to cut the truck in half to do a front clip nor do I trust me welding skills enough to tackle that job. I'm not exactly rolling in cash (read broke as hell like all of us lol...) so I was planning on leaving the I-beam under the truck. For the guys out there that have a spring under setup, don't be shy we know who you are, what did you do about fabbing up some sort of mount to go under the axle to secure it to the springs? Sorry for the long winded post and all the questions guys, I'm trying to explore all my options. Thanks Roger
I also ment to ask in my original post about the safty of c-notching the front rails. I would ***ume if it was notched properly like a rear notch it would be fine correct?
I have a scanned article about this from the Dec 94 issue of Custom & Cl***ic Trucks. Back then this, or some other magazine, along with Centerline wheels, built a 56 on the cheap and flipped the front. You can do a web search for Centerline F-100 or Drury F-100 and might turn something up. Last I heard, the truck was in Texas and occasionally graces the show circuit. shoot me an e-mail and I'll reply w/ what I got. JML
Not an F100, but I flipped the '35 Dodge axle under my roadster to the top of the springs. Seems fine to me, although I did have a bit of trouble setting it up with enough castor due to the tie rod hitting the springs. I had to heat and gently bend the steering arms for clearance. As far as handling goes, it's fine. Like a slot car. The perches on the Dodge axle are welded on, not cast in, so I just had to cut the welds and move 'em down under.
Thanks for the fast replys guys! vintage56 i shot you a PM. flynbrian48 the cast in spring perches on the stock axle are what's stumping me. I've seen a few of these setups and it looks like most guys are making a bolt in saddle of some sort?
i tryed this on my 53. what i was looking for was the g***er look so i flipped it to the top and turned it over no work so well........ the axle has a dip in it for oilpan clearance, flip it around and the dip is now almost tuching the oilpan. one bump and that thing would be in the pan. also the camber was off now are you saying that you want to lower your truck by the thickness of the spring? tk
A guy over on the Ford trucks forum did this a few years back, sorry I dont remember his user name or too much about it. If youre not a member over there, you should be. TONS of F100 specific info. ford-trucks.com (I wont put a direct link in here......) If you DO go this route, I'd be interested in how it turns out and how happy you are with it.
I looked at doing this when I built my last '56. I just couldn't figure out how to do it, without making a bunch more problems. I seem to remember the tierod ends up exactly where the spring is. I ended up reversing the eyes on the main leaves(per the tech on here) and slide a few leaves out. I think it dropped it about 4" and the 460 mashed it down another couple, its plenty low for me.
I know of several that have done this on early Chev's without problems, even 20+ years later. Some items may have to move around a bit, but that's not unusual with any low car.
tub in da dirt, i don't think I wordded this right sorry. What I am looking to do is run the front axle on top of the front leaf springs to drop the front of the truck, much like putting the rear axle on top of the rear leafs to get a lower rear stance. fiddysixF, I jump over to the Ford trucks site quite a bit but I have yet to sign up i guess I should do that so I can use the serch, but thanks for the heads up! eberhama, yeah it looks like doing this will open a few news cans of worms that's why I'm trying to do the research on it now before I paint myself into a corner, also I need a lot more drop to get the stance I'm looking for. no55mad, the lowered springs are an option i've looked at, the problem is by the time I get some dropped springs and a dropped axle I'll have spent almost enough to go with a Mustang II lol....Most likely that is the way I will go though you're right! rainh8r I first heard of doing this from a guy with an early chevy truck he even used a kit,
Sorry, my cat is trying to help me type lol...anyways there is a guy around here that my dad used to work with that flipped the front end on an old chevy truck using a kit. That's why I was supprised that I haven't been able to find any kind of a kit for my Ford. It's not like it's an obscure truck lol....
Yeah like that. I borrowed this picture from the ford trucks website i hope that's cool. I'd like to see some kind of a brace between the new spring pad and the old one though don't you think? What do our metalurgist (sp) frineds think about welding on a front axle? It's not like that's a low stress area on the axle lol.... On the bright side this apparently resulted in a six inch drop! I would like to see what the scrubline looks like too.
Your pics are just red x's. I looked at that when I had my 53. The problem was oil pan clearance and frame rail clearance. I didn't really want to C notch the front of the frame. It is a smaller cross section to start with and carries much more weight. I had the stock axle dropped and used reversed eye leaves, went down 5-6"
Hmm...Wonder why my stolen....Umm...I meen borrowed pics arn't working. hotroddon that's the kind of feedback I need as I explore my options, thanks!
My dad did it on his 59 f100 and had an ***load of problems,first the axle hit the pan then getting the camber caster set was a pain as well as the steering,any bump you hit would shoot you into the next lane.i also seem to remember having issues with the mounts coming loose.we solved it by putting the dropped axle from my gmc on it instead.under the springs.i know he still used his wheels but i cant remember how.i want to say he swapped the spindles strait across,but dont hold me to that.he also leveled the draglink and the bumpsteer went away.bear in mind this was around 1993 so im havin a hard time remembering everything we did.he is no longer around for me too ask.
One other thing that comes to mind is we had to make tapered shims even for the chevy axle to get the camber caster right,the leaf spring angle was different i beleieve.it worked fine when it was done.
If you use a 57/59 front axle there is approx. a 2'' drop. Reversed eyes will give 2 more and remove every other spring will bring front down more. Check Mid Fifty for correct springs to remove. With the axle use the brake backing plates that come with them.
I think that this was that truck that Thom Taylor built, orange and silver with the green Watson scallops if that helps any searches, or if this isn't the same thing, and you're looking for more info. I just remember reading that when I was a kid and thinking it was cool that they didn't just do a Mustang II front end swap.
We did this approx. 25 years ago. Was'nt any links then. Truck rode and handled fine. Was done to a 56. Brakes and kingpins are different on later axles. Bigger brakes. Went with down and forward springs from Mid Fifty F100 this time around. Get a catalog from them or go online and look in their tech section. Great people to do buss. with.
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