67 LWB Custom Chassis Conversion

[antknee]

Hello , I have a blog on this conversion but I thought I would also post it here...

Here is the truck as we found it





After getting the truck home and into the garage we decided on a plan of action. Originally we were going to upgrade the Manual steering and non power brakes to power disc brakes and power steering from a 78 or 79 F150.

Wanting to lower the truck a bit and give it a more aggressive stance we decided that some drop I beams were in order but after pricing what a donor truck and some drop I beams would cost we decided on a more radical approach.

While reading the Fordification forums we came across a few trucks with a Crown Victoria front suspension, this set up is both independent and very economical including a power rack and pinion and disc brakes, most importantly the whole setup is practically bolt on.

The Crown Vic front assembly is a easy upgrade and it provides the power steering and brakes we wanted as well as lowering the front end about 4-5 inches. But first we needed to tear the old beast down and get her ready for her front end makeover so here are some pictures of the front end tear down.





After some thought about how to go about tearing into the front end to remove the unwanted suspension components we decided to avoid a blow torch as neither Jay or I know much how to run one and we didn't want to damage the frame whilst cutting away the front saddle and spring perches, so we invested in some cut off and grinding wheels for my 4.5 inch angle grinder and set to work.

Most of the suspension is held in by big rivets, so we took to grinding these off and banging away with a small sledge hammer to loosen the pins holding the spring perches and rear I beam mounts in place.




At this point the weather turned cold, snow on the ground and we decided to call it quits for the winter, but we are eager to get started again now that February is here and it's actually starting to warm up, I can say we officially have spring fever.

Antknee

[sargentrs]

Great start! Looking forward to updates.

[elgemcdlf]

The fun has just started. Cutting out the cross member is way more fun than you can imagine. The IRS will be a breeze if you use the mount kit from Dave down in FL at www.truckirs.com. Drilling the main mount holes on your back will be great fun as well. You look quite a bit younger than I am so it should be easier on you. When I did my CV swap I started it on a Friday night in the plant I ran. I had to have it outside before Monday morning. I was so sore after stripping it all out I was finished for a week but had to press on. I ached in places I didn't even know could ache. Drilling the first hole was the worst. Measure, measure, measure and still not confident so measure, measure, measure. I think I spent an hour or an hour and a half verifying my measurements before that first hole.

You will love how the truck drives, rides and handles when you get the swaps done. A note for you. When doing mine I started (rear) to thinking about other trucks. Dave and I got together and decided measuring from the axle center line back would be a better way of doing it. When you reach that point go through the thread I have. I believe I posted the dimension. I am thinking it is 14" but do not take that as gospel.

The reasoning being your truck a LWB is longer behind the axle than a SWB. If you use Dave's dimension you will be roughy 4" too far back from where you need to be. Clear as mud?

[antknee]

Man it's still too cold! we had a few teaser days in February but March is almost here and in Kansas at least we are still expecting 4-8 in of snow Saturday night!
got the garage cleaned up on the nice days but the heater is not working out there so No working on the concrete floor.

I got spring fever bad!.

Anthony

[antknee]

Well spring is here officially, we have had Easter and some good April showers now it's time for flowers and sunny days and warm weather! so after taking stock of what we need for the truck parts wise, we found a interesting Junk yard in Delphos, Kansas full of old iron and a lot of old muscle.

This place had every thing from tractors to buses, we found a 68 Galaxy Convertible that was in great shape,



there were a lot of old cars in this 20 acre patch of woods, there were piles of engines and transmissions discarded on the road into the yard as well as piles of rear ends and even lawnmowers here and there we climbed and crawled and hiked all through out this wonderland of automotive trophy's all in various states of decay.




After finding several Ford trucks in the proper vintage we started hunting parts, we needed front fenders and a radiator support and inner fender apron as well as a grill and some bumpers. We found a truck with a straight grill that looked good and a 67 that looked very similar to ours.




Over all I left the place feeling good having spent some time in and around cars from times gone past. It really motivated me to get back into our truck project after a too long winter, We recently got a compressor and a welder for my garage and some air tools to make this project come together quickly.

[BlueOvalDave]

Christ almighty I wish I had boneyards like that around here. I bet if I dug thru that pile of rear ends there's probably an "N" case in there.

As some one who has done the C V swap, have fun. It's not all that complicated. Having said that, I'm taking ours out and looking for a C-4 series vette front end or just gonna bite the bullet and buy a Mustang II front clip kit. The C V is too wide, at least for me, it really narrows your rim choices down.

[thejunkman]

That place looks like heaven!