1970 F100 CV/Thunderbird

[elgemcdlf]

The front mounts are in along with the 2x2 crossmember & coil springs. At this time 1/2 coil has been removed. Not much more to report at this time. The bed should be going on tomorrow morning.

Passenger side front mount in place.


Another view of the passenger side front mount.


A view from the rear of the left side front mount.


Another view of the left side front mount.


A closeup of the left front mount.


A closeup of the passenger side front mount.


View from above of the 2x2 in place.


View from above front.


Cutting off the left front spring perch.


Passenger side with both spring perches removed.


Putting the coil springs in. Left side view.


Here is a shot from behind.

[elgemcdlf]

The wheels are on this morning for a look. Still need to do the shocks, brakes, driveshaft & a few odds and ends. In these shots the hoist is completely on the ground. The truck is sitting on it's suspension.

Left side from the front.


Right side from the rear.


Right side from the front.


From behind.

[elgemcdlf]

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 defibrillator 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 tee 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.

[elgemcdlf]

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.

[elgemcdlf]

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.

[fbomb100]

sweet...
dam teaser

[FoPAR]

looks real good , how dose it drive?

[BobbyFord]

I'm curious what it weighs compared to stock

[elgemcdlf]

It rides outstanding! The tail is so soft it almost doesn't even feel like it is back there. The IRS weighs quite a bit more than the 9". The IRS was always loaded or unloaded with some form of lifting device. The 9" could be muscled into a truck by hand if need be. On the flip side the IFS weighs less than the Twin I Beam. I am thinking about running it across the scales to get an idea with the 302 and then again with the 460.

I will be doing more pics tomorrow but to give you an idea on height I am 5'11" and the driprail is about even the middle of my throat. I can see straight across with the roofline well below line of sight.

[JG F100]

Looks good and you've done a great job posting your progress.

[elgemcdlf]

Looks good and you've done a great job posting your progress.

Thanks. She sits lower than I originally posted by a couple inches. I will get measurements against a stock pickup here soon.

[elgemcdlf]

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.

[elgemcdlf]

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

[killakobra]

that's down there. i'm 6'6 and i can't quite look over the top of my truck on level ground.

[JG F100]

I think my truck sits a little higher, I'm also 5'11 and the roof is a tick higher but its because of the 20" wheels. They are about 27.5" and 28.5" tall, your 17's are bit shorter. What size wheel and tire you going with? And do you know the track width of the IRS? When I had the bed off and standing straight up I drew up my bed's dimensions on the computer using Visio just to make sure my wheels would be centered and wouldnt rub.