Front end lowering thought

[wt4speed#2]

Has any one ever entertained the idea of trying to extend the coil spring towers on these old trucks. In leu of high dollar lowering arms or chopping the coils . If you think about it all you are bringing the frame down by altering the top placement of the spring seat. Pro's, con's will it work , wont it . Tell me what you think.

Just an idea brought to you by Bud light and a bored red neck engineer

Tony B

[FORDification]

That won't work like you're thinking. Extending the coil towers is basically the same thing as cutting the coils. The truck will sit lower, but since you haven't made any adjustments to anything else in the suspension, your tires will still be angled in at the top, since the I-beam is swinging farther up in it's arc.

[wt4speed#2]

You know if anyone was gonna kick the whole case of empties out from under me I would just as soon it be you "Sir"as anyone

Thanks
Tony B

[FORDification]

Sorry!

[wt4speed#2]

That's ok "Dad" no bottles were broken and the only thing hurt was my "Buzz" besides that why we pay you the big bucks. To keep us from really messing up and spending bigger bucks to clean up a mess up <hehehe>

Tony B

[325hotford]

Tony
Sorry I missed you this week. Catch you next time.
Bob

[wt4speed#2]

Bob
I missed visiting with you as well . I hope Dad is better . I'll see ya in about a month .

Tony B

[phlegm]

What about something like a custom K-member. Remove the factory crossmember from under the engine, get crazy with a welder and some tubing, build a new one that keeps the frame rails in the same location and move the factory mounting points up something like 2-3 inches, then c-channel the frame where the lower i-beams would need clearance. Then extend the spring buckets up the same amount as the mounting points were moved up, or cut the springs. I reallize there are other factors to consider like the frame mounts for the motor, and some people will not like the idea of weakening the front of the frame, but in front of the suspension and motor what is really causing the stress up there? That huge radiator? Super heavy battery? The bumper of course, but people c-channel the rears all the time without worry of the bumper.

Of course you would need to lower the rear also to keep caster in check.
-ron

[71 LONG BED]

I think there would be clearance problems with the oil pan.

[phlegm]

There might be problems with the pan, but since you are building the k-member custom you could build around the sump, and drill new mounting holes in the frame if you need to. So long as you have a couple of factory holes to be sure it is lined up straight I'd think you were golden.

While I'm brainstorming on an old topic, here's some questions I've had regarding the front suspension.
1. Would it be feasible to put spherical bearings in the small end of the i-beams?
2. Could custom radius a-rms be made of something like 1.25 inch thickwalled DOM with heim joints to allow caster changes? Picture it like this, the back end would no longer have the big bushings, just one large joint. The lower link would be straight from the rear mount to the bottom of the i-beam. Then a tab would be welded onto the bottom link that would allow you to add an additional shorter link from about midway down the lower link to the top of the i-beam. The top link would be right threaded at one end and left threaded at the other so you could lengthen or shorten to change camber. There are quite a few a-rms like this in use in the 4x4 world, but normally they incorporate a track bar to keep the straight axle under the truck.

Rack and Pinion options?
-ron

[cathynkeith]

There might be problems with the pan, but since you are building the k-member custom you could build around the sump, and drill new mounting holes in the frame if you need to. So long as you have a couple of factory holes to be sure it is lined up straight I'd think you were golden.

While I'm brainstorming on an old topic, here's some questions I've had regarding the front suspension.
1. Would it be feasible to put spherical bearings in the small end of the i-beams?
2. Could custom radius a-rms be made of something like 1.25 inch thickwalled DOM with heim joints to allow caster changes? Picture it like this, the back end would no longer have the big bushings, just one large joint. The lower link would be straight from the rear mount to the bottom of the i-beam. Then a tab would be welded onto the bottom link that would allow you to add an additional shorter link from about midway down the lower link to the top of the i-beam. The top link would be right threaded at one end and left threaded at the other so you could lengthen or shorten to change camber. There are quite a few a-rms like this in use in the 4x4 world, but normally they incorporate a track bar to keep the straight axle under the truck.

Rack and Pinion options?
-ron

Yeah yeah, sounds good. Should Work, no problem, lets get it done.;

[cathynkeith]

There might be problems with the pan, but since you are building the k-member custom you could build around the sump, and drill new mounting holes in the frame if you need to. So long as you have a couple of factory holes to be sure it is lined up straight I'd think you were golden.

While I'm brainstorming on an old topic, here's some questions I've had regarding the front suspension.
1. Would it be feasible to put spherical bearings in the small end of the i-beams?
2. Could custom radius a-rms be made of something like 1.25 inch thickwalled DOM with heim joints to allow caster changes? Picture it like this, the back end would no longer have the big bushings, just one large joint. The lower link would be straight from the rear mount to the bottom of the i-beam. Then a tab would be welded onto the bottom link that would allow you to add an additional shorter link from about midway down the lower link to the top of the i-beam. The top link would be right threaded at one end and left threaded at the other so you could lengthen or shorten to change camber. There are quite a few a-rms like this in use in the 4x4 world, but normally they incorporate a track bar to keep the straight axle under the truck.

Rack and Pinion options?
-ron

Yeah yeah, sounds good. Should Work, no problem, lets get it done.;
I'm sorry if I read more than lines my brain hurts.

[phlegm]

Yeah yeah, sounds good. Should Work, no problem, lets get it done.;
I'm sorry if I read more than lines my brain hurts.

I'm not quite sure what that last statement is getting at, but I make my best attempt to separate out individual thoughs into separate paragraphs.

I'm more of an idea man, actual fabrication should be left to somebody with welding skills and hopefully a little engineering background. I've just been reading street rod magazines lately and noticed that one magazine had an article about a company that makes an aftermarket kit that looks just like a TTB setup, I wish I could remember the company name. They put it out there on the front of cars where the world can see it. I am at work (i sure type a lot for being at work, dont i?) I've also been reading a So-Cal suspension book, and I see so many vehicles built that switch their suspension to some other make/model and that makes me wonder why nobody makes kits as I descibed. It would be far less work for the end user the factory pieces should work just as well with a little offset to everything. so why not? If some of my ideers come off as being weird its cause I like to think outside the box (or cubicle)

-ron

[cathynkeith]

Just giving ya a hard time. Ya made my brain hurt again

[layedout72]

if you can throw a ford dropped axle on a vw bug.......theres gotta be soemthing you can do to these