Suspension and brakes upgrade: I've been busy.

[Holly100]

I found the shackle kit on ebay and it was for '65-70ish Ford F-100. I did have to grind a tiny bit off of the bushing to get it into the rear hanger as it was a little wide. For the wheels I took my 4 1/2 inch grinder and removed the rivet heads, took a punch and beat the rest of the rivet out. It was not easy to punch them out. If you have a good set of drill bits you could drill them out, but you will have to grind the head off first. I used a 2 pound blunt force hammer and knocked the centers out. I cleaned up all of the rust and old paint and reassembled the wheel. When you put the center back into the rim you will have to knock it back in with a hammer. I installed it on the front of my truck, set the backspacing where I wanted it, took a screwdriver and affixed it to a jackstand and 'trued' the wheel up. Took it off and into my garage and welded it up. I have a Hobart 140 mig with gas. I also put JB weld over my welds on the rivet holes to make sure that they didn't leak...one of mine did have a pin hole leak and I had to take it off, remove the tire and weld it a little more. I checked for leaks the old fashioned way...spray bottle with a few drops of liquid soap and spray all over the wheel. I installed the tires myself and when I drove the truck to the local garage, 9 miles away, surprisingly there was no vibration at all. I figured the thing would vibrate like crazy.
Sway bar was ordered from Summit...but let me dig through my paperwork and check and re-post on that one ...I think it was $139 with everything needed to install it. There are at least two well written threads on installation of a sway bar on the front of these...one of them was written and posted by 'Uncle Skip...the threads are under "Hints and Tricks." Well worth the time, money, effort to install as my truck handles and tracks much flatter through the curves.

Thanks, Steve.

[Holly100]

I ordered the sway bar from G.W.C. Distributors Inc (ebay) "Suspension Stabilizer Bar Front Dorman 927-194 fits 75-79 Ford F-150" Item #391058718757 - $119.12 + 9.95 shipping = $129.07.

Sorry, one more... where did you find the "stepped" i-beam mounts? It looks like you upgraded from the stock mount and u-bolts.

[SteveCanup]

The mounts were home-made from some C-channel that I had.

[F164]

Steve, how did you make that sway bar work on the front? Some pics would be nice.

[SteveCanup]

Here's some that I took right after installing the bar




Two things that I did later on. First I made a bracket out of c-channel to put between the sway bar and my axle, there was some interference between the bar and the axle u-bolt. And I had to purchase 2 longer bolts (grade for the end links, and make a longer bushing for the bolt. I also welded the L-bracket, that came with the kit, and for the end link to attach to, to my frame. There was a hole in it for the provided bolt but I didn't want to drill through the frame. If you need further pics or info, let me know. Hope that this helps.
Steve-

[SteveCanup]

Also, when I took the bar off to make the brackets, I discovered that I had installed the bar upside down (duh, the bar was marked "This Side Down".) So in the posted pics the bar is in the wrong way. Some guys have installed the bar the 'other way around' with the bar mounted to the frame and the end-links attached at the spring/axle area. I had interference with the bar and my springs so I couldn't mount it that way. Both ways will work.

[Holly100]

OH, I see it now. I was noticing the different mounting when you took photos of the exposed crankshaft. Good solution.

[Johnny Canuck]

I always heard that you couldn't run innie wheels with disc brakes. Now here's the proof that was

[SteveCanup]

Okay...I apologize for saying "that's a full day's work." I've been installing discs on my truck for two days now and still not finished. Those nuts and bolts that have not been molested for some 50+ years are hard to break loose. Brake line fittings...forget it. I broke the brake line just trying to get the fitting out of the master cylinder. All new brake lines for me.... I have a new respect for those who go this route...but it is worth it

[Holly100]

Okay...I apologize for saying "that's a full day's work." I've been installing discs on my truck for two days now and still not finished. Those nuts and bolts that have not been molested for some 50+ years are hard to break loose. Brake line fittings...forget it. I broke the brake line just trying to get the fitting out of the master cylinder. All new brake lines for me.... I have a new respect for those who go this route...but it is worth it

It's not a hard job per se just time consuming. I ended up doing all new brake line, new rear brake hose, and rebuilt the rear brakes. It was truly a case of "since I was at it" but I'm very happy with the results. Plus, bending brake in is very zen-like... well except for those time I flared the last end and forgot to put the line nut on