1970 F100 SWB

I want to say something concerning the time it is taking to do the install. My truck is in a shop and my install is not a priority job. Under normal conditions it would have been finished way before now. I had to put my truck in a shop because of a heart attack I had requiring a defibulator implant. One of my new rules for life is I am no longer allowed to be around welding. I planned on doing this install until the heart attack happened. The work is being performed by Greg Wilson at Moonlight Automotive in Greenwood, IN. There are two people I trust welding on my frame and he is one of them. To keep costs down my truck gets worked on as time permits.

At the end of the IRS install portion of my build thread I will be posting some information concerning locating the location of the cut into the frame. The dimension I used above is the same dimension on the http://www.truckirs.com website. It is perfect for Ford SWB pickups. If you have something else that dimension will not work. I have found a better way to locate the cut. I have also been communicating with Dave at http://www.truckirs.com via email and together we are attempting to alter the install instructions so that they will work for anyone wanting to do this type of install.

Ok enough of that off to more pics! First we have the driveshaft installed. It uses that blend u joint spoke of above. I was somewhat concerned about length differences but it looks as though the 9" and the 8.8 are the same or at least very close to the same length from the center of the axle to the front of the third member. I have seen pics of putting the 9" yoke on the front of the 8.8. I do not like this as the 8.8 has a plate on the front the driveshaft bolts to. Since I will be having a driveshaft built in the future I wanted the TBird rear left as a TBird. When finished it will take a u joint for a 1995 TBird. Nothing special or difficult to find. So this install can be done without altering your current driveshaft if that be your desire. Just have a real parts guy find you the correct u joint.



Now we have some pics of getting the brake lines ran. The original hose was replaced although it did not need to be. A T could have been put in line at the point of the old hose and solid lines ran to the new hoses for each wheel. I bought new hoses for each wheel and it was determined the best mounting point was on the front mount. The plan is finishing her up Monday if time permits. Oh just for the die hard Ford people out there while I was at Moonlight yesterday taking pics a guy walked in and asked me if I was the owner. Cutting the story short he absolutely loves the swap. Then he went on to tell me he had a lowered truck. I asked and he said an 86 Chevrolet. I asked how he lowered it and he said springs and shackle kit. "Rides like crap and bottoms out on the bump stops out back". I thought it kinda cool a Chevrolet person was doing a thumbs up to a Ford truck!



The new upper hose is mounted to an existing hole in the carriage that we tapped to accept a 5/16" bolt.


Now just some pics of the lines installed.



All that is left is bleeding the brakes out! I am hoping to get some pics of the shock mounts before the bed is on. They had not been welded on at the time of these pics and Greg was hoping to have the bed set on the frame tonight. If so no pics of the shock mounts. I will post pics from the http://www.truckirs.com website showing location of the upper shock mounts.

I did not get pics of the mounts prior to install but wanted to note something nice about them. The mounting holes are slotted. All effort should be put into installing the mounts squarely and evenly but if the rear mounts are a bit forward or rearward the mounting holes are slotted so the carriage can be moved accordingly to align on original centerline of the axle.

The front mounts are slotted side to side. This allows for moving the front of the carriage to the left or right. If you are close but dog tracking a bit this adjustment will solve that problem.

The truck is on the ground and for the most part finished. The left bearing is bad and caused the tire to rub. Had to leave it and have the bearing replaced. Couldn't drive it very far at all the way it is. I did get to take it for a short run and it rides excellent!

The passenger shock getting lined up for the upper mounts to be put in. From the front view.


Same side from the rear view.


From the rear.


I did not make it back to get picks of the shocks installed before the bed went on but do have a couple pics of the upper mounts. Passenger side.


Drivers side.


Bed on, from the rear, still on the hoist.




Under the truck, left side, from the front.


Under the truck, right side, from the front.


Outside. Not the best pics but I will take more tomorrow.

Some pics from the local cruise in yesterday with a friend of mine's '68 2WD LWB. The wheels on the '68 are the wheels that were on my truck when it was bought. He put a bunch of work into them to get them to shine like that. The IRS drew a bit of attention. It is the very end of the season so there weren't that many people there. Maybe 30 or so. Normal is well over 200.

Got some pics today to give an idea of scale. I am 5'11" tall.

A response to questions concerning the IRS width.

I don't go by track width as it is measured from the center of the tread to the center of the tread. Offset and wheel width can alter that dimension. The hub to hub on the IRS is 63 1/4". I am wanting wheels with the smallest D. I can get. If I can get 16" wheels that will clear the brakes in the style I want they will be 16's. If not I will move into 17's. I have not found anyone that offers the style I want larger than 17. Tires will be dependant on the wheels. I will be going for street rod big and little look. By going with the smallest D I am hoping to look older.

http://www.wheelvintiques.com/index.php/products/ Page 9 is the style I am looking for. Don't have to be exactly that wheel but similiar. The rears will be as wide as I can get under the tail inside the wheel wells. Fronts I want wide but narrower than the rear. Clear as mud yet?

http://www.thewheelsmith.net/CustomWheels/SmoothieWheelsAccessories.html Here are some more of similiar style.

WheelSmith has a good display of what dimensions they need to be able to either build or not build wheels. They go up to 16". Wheels Vintique go up to 17" but they get proud of them over 16's. Almost $300 per wheel not including the hub cap and trim ring. The hub to hub of the CV IFS is wider than the MN12 IRS. Now with a full set of the same wheels the rear looks narrower than the front (it is). I also want the wheels to be at least even on the outside side front to rear. If not the front needs to be farther inside the fender than the rear. I will be answering all the wheel builders questions and let them tell me what I want. They are the wheel experts, hopefully I will get exactly what I want that way.

Gotta be sure as with custom built wheels they are mine right or wrong if they are built to spec.

Aren't these just about the prettiest things you have seen in years?





460 mounts for my truck.

A couple night pics.


My wife and a friend of ours Brandy.

A response to wheel sizes.

The "problem" to me is I like the old deep dish look. The only way to get that back is to narrow the hub to hub dimension. Not an easy task without major modifications. I am going with solid steel wheels, old street rod style. I have been tempted by truspoke style wheels though. Chrome rim, spokes painted to match the body. The only issue I have with the 16's is can I actually get 16's in the style I want for the front. If not I will have to move up to 17's and they get expensive then. The rear is narrower so I will be able to have the deep dish look back there with no problem.

A response to going lower with the truck.

I would like it lower but not slammed. I do not like that look at all. I have very little invested in the suspension when you compare to other options. I have full suspension travel. I too have thought about kicking up the section of frame the crossmember is mounted to. I don't think I would do much more than a couple inches that way though. Still want to be able to steer. It's funny, friends of mine around here with pickups think it sits so low. I tell them "It must just be me. Maybe I am so used to looking at it I don't think it sits low." I get funny looks to that one. My original thoughts were a MII type IFS with a Jag XKE rear. After doing some homework I found the two swaps I did which gave me what I wanted for quite a bit less money.

If you do notch remember the rear mount for the lower control arm lines up right under the rail right where the cab mount is. It will be a wee bit more than just notching where it mounts with the main bolts. You might be able to spin the mount bolting it in horizontally (more like the CV) instead of vertically but you still have that cab mount to deal with. I am thinking a clip or using the complete CV frame (wheelbase is 1/4" difference) might be a better choice.

Whenever I get to thinking lower I just remember how much I have invested in relation to what I have. Don't use the MII suspension under your truck. You need to buy one designed for a pickup. Same basic design just heavier to deal with the extra weight. I also am not a fan of the little brakes on the MII suspensions. I think if I were going to do MII I would probably just build it all from scratch utilizing perhaps the CV spindles which would give 12" rotors. Other issues I have to watch is I do not want to alter the floors for suspension. I will modify the firewall/floor for the 460/C6 if need be. I really do not like the look in the beds of the slammed pickups. I think it should look like a pickup when you are finished with it. IMHO it doesn't look like a truck with a huge hump in the bed floor.

Ok my thoughts on the dash have changed 3 times now. My original thought was using a dash out of a '65/'66 Custom Cab with cluster. The next that really caught my eye was the '56 Ford pickup dash with cluster. The one I am seriously leaning towards is this one.



Using this cluster



This is from a '57 Fairlane. What do you guys think? A bump with this dash. Now the dash will be shaved. Glovebox door welded shut along with the ashtray. No radio or anything else you see in the pic. The dash will have the ignition switch, headlight switch, hazard light switch and heat/ac controls. I plan on building a very thin slit all along the bottom of the dash that will be the output for the ac. Something else about this dash it has long slim defroster vents instead of the small square ones in the bump dash.

I have decided I am going with the '57 Fairlane dash. No matter how many times I tell myself the '56 pickup dash would be easier I keep going back to the Fairlane dash. I have learned a bit about the green cluster. I called the builder of the car & they told me it was custom built. Seems all '57 Fords came with fuel & temp gauges. The amp & oil are idiot lights. They recommended I contact Classic Instruments concerning modifying a cluster to house all 4 gauges. Sent an email but have not heard from them yet.

The windshield on the '57 wraps around & the dash matches that shape. I plan on taking the "wings" of the dash and cutting them off at the door opening. Then welding the ends I cut off onto the door thus continuing the dash into the door. Making sense yet? Well at least that's how I see it in my head.

Well I got word on the modification of the cluster. They said $3200-$3600 depending on the condition of the cluster I send them. That will definitely have to wait. It will go in with the 2 idiot lights for now. I may round up a couple extra clusters and try my hand at the modification.

I am spending the first week in Feb in southern MO. Dropped the truck off today for the heart transplant. Will be soon and she will be sporting a 460 & C6 instead of a tired 302 & C4. Headers surprised me. $207 from a local dealer. Best I could find online was $199 + shipping. I am curious to see if it drops the nose any.

Picked up my '57 Fairlane dash yesterday just south of Montgomery, AL. Will be getting some pics up soon. The Fairlane is a bolt in the car. I plan on cutting my dash across the base of the windshield & putting in mounting tabs so the replacement dash will be a bolt in as in the car. Make working on things behind the dash much easier.

Pics of the dash. Here it is as purchased.


This is the plan for this area. The 2 idiot lights changed over to green and utilized as turn signal indicators. The PRNDL changed out for a correct display for the C6. The 2 switch wells painted to match the dash in the current blue areas. The left side will house from left to right ignition switch, headlight switch, emergency flashers. The right side will house HVAC controls. That is all the switches that will be in the dash. The speedo head will be modified to house 4 gauges.


This shot is of the left "wing". They are staying. I will cut them off where the door opens and attach the pieces cut off onto the inside of the doors.


The right "wing"


The glovebox door will be welded in along with the ashtray. The holes for the radio, clock & HVAC controls will be closed up. The hole in the top for the speaker will be closed up. I will create speaker mounts in each end of the top of the dash. One of the things I really like about this particular dash other than appearance is the defroster vent. It is all along the windshield. The trim piece that goes at the base of the windshield hides it letting air escape at the base of the windshield. I am also planning a long thin slit added to the bottom of the dash that will be utilized for HVAC vent instead of traditional louvers.

Got some engine swap pics today. I ordered headers for a '74 F100 2WD 460 pickup. In this first pic the engine is sitting on the CV crossmember. The headers dump into the firewall. Engine needs to go down at least 3". Rear sump pan required or totally custom fabbed headers. I am opting for the rear sump pan.







Truck's new hat?


Spare parts?

Not knowing what your 460 came out of I thought I would let you know a tidbit about the truck 460's. There is an adapter for the oil filter that points it forward. I do not know yet if I need one but will be shopping for one anyway. I would much rather find out I don't need it that put the front clip back on and find I can't change the oil filter without major surgery. I heard some trucks came with oil coolers that tapped into this adapter.

Picked up my oil pan with everything required. Forward progress once again.

For now I am just a happy little camper having a pan that I can use. I am pushing the engine as far back as I can & as low as I can. The desired effect is better handling.

Here is a pic of the dash cleaned up a bit but not as far as I am going. I will also be using the original cluster.

A few more pics. Not a whole lot to show. Got the nose back on & a few things done.

She runs! Open headers but running none the less. Still have a ways to go before it is driveable. The 460 swap dropped the nose another 1/2". It is officially 10 1/4" from the ground to the bottom of the front bumper.

Ordered my plates yesterday. FARM TRK I thought it fitting.

sweet !!

Looks great

Dave Maxwell wrote:Looks great

Dave you have got to post some pics of your 100!

Have to find some. It is a project that got pushed back. I have an account with fordification. Lost password though and haven't been able to get it reset. It is a 2x3 chassis. Full cage. Tubbed, shaved, all seams welded and drip edge removed. Roll pan and cowl hood. Custom 2003 f150 seats

elgemcdlf wrote:Here is a pic of the dash cleaned up a bit but not as far as I am going. I will also be using the original cluster.

Dang man,that's an awesome job. I like the expedition in the rearview mirror . Looks like you purposely had it in view.

61coon wrote:

elgemcdlf wrote:Here is a pic of the dash cleaned up a bit but not as far as I am going. I will also be using the original cluster.

Dang man,that's an awesome job. I like the expedition in the rearview mirror . Looks like you purposely had it in view.

This isn't my truck. It a 1957 Fairlane that someone has smoothed out the dash on. It is to give an idea of what I have planned but I am going even further than this.