55.2-59 Ol' Blue

[dsraven]

https://www.extremeterrain.com/rough...s-8795-yj.html

axle spring pads. trailer spring pads would also work and most likely be available for decent prices from a local vcendor

[dsraven]

https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ory-and-specs/

info on the ford 8.8

[dsraven]

I know, there are those who will say the ford 8.8 needs a bunch of work to make it viable. axle bearing style change from c clip to a press on bearing like a 9" would have, a rear cover with bearing support trunnions etc. but I say "how many ford vehicles do you see on the side of the road with a missing axle? maybe if you planned on big hp or something, at which point you would likely beef up any axle you used. I know a fella who put big hp LS engines in a mustang with the 8.8 and the only thing he did was change the fluid when he installed the new supportive cover. like the one in the link

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-4033-G2

[dsraven]

when checking axle track width do it with the brake drums or discs installed tightly with a couple of wheel nuts and then clamp a short section of angle iron or flat bar to that against the flange where the whell bolts down (I usually clamp the angle iron down with the wheel nuts by simply drilling a couple of holes in the right place. that clamps the drums or discs and also holds the angle iron). do one on each side and then you can get an acccurate dimension by measuring between the two parts of angle iron that stick out past the brakes.

[8man]

Thank you, Raven. I appreciate the information.

I'm still in the planning stages and all the information helps me to formulate what I will do.

Right now, I'm thinking:

Power - LS conversion.
Tires - 15 x 8 maybe 235's
New spring system that rides better and is a little lower.

[dsraven]

this is a good site to compare tire sizes. it has a few tabs for other stuff as well like wheel offset calculator
https://tiresize.com/calculator/
this one talks about scrub radius changes with different offsets.
https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/
for a rear axle ratio I personally like the 3.73 ratio if you have an O/D trans, which I assume you would
the "new springs from a different truck of about the same weight" only makes sense to me because you can change the heights of the frame mounts as you see fit, after the truck is together. parts would be readily available because they come from a truck that is fairly current as far as parts go. with that said, be aware that the front suspension cross member would need to be installed at the rake angle that you want to finiah off with so decide before hand what that will be and if you will use different outside diameter tires front to rear. a bolt in front cross member also makes sense to me because a weld in member, once welded in, if it isn't right you are gonna be stuck with it as is or be in for a bunch of careful cutting if you wanna re-use the parts. I highly suggest you read up on independent front suspension geometry before you do anything.
planning mode is great to help reveal what you really like and then if you post those wants the guys here will come up with lots of ideas on how to get there before you start anything.

[8man]

Again, THANK YOU for this.

I see where my weekend will be spent.

[dsraven]

the tire size calculator page has different sections with information and on the front page, if you scroll down, you will see it has the tire sizes listed by rim size and then sectioned out by outside diameter of tires. that can be really handy when you decide you want, say, a 235/75r15 tire size. then you decide you like the diameter but would like a wider tire on the back but stay the same diameter as the front for aesthetics. you can quickly go through the chart nd find out which tirw size to look for. or maybe you want to stagger the wheel size but stay the same outside diameter, you can look up the diameter in the chart for the wheel size you want. then plug those numbers into the tire comparison and see a visual of tires side by side. the next step, once you pick a tire size, is to call around and see if it is a regulrly stocked size or a specil order only.
drawing out your axle, wheel, tire and body on a diagram with dimensions is kinda what the second link I posted before would look like. once you know the dimensions you can see it on paper. its straight forward for the rer axle stuff but the front axle requires a little more thought because when the tires turn the wheel also gets closer to the body work. i recommend running the suspension through a complete cycle with the tire turned as far as it will go, both ways, and see if the tire rubs anywhere at full jounce. that means no springs usually or else you gotta bit of work to do to compress the suspension. I use threaded rod in place of the shock absorber so the ride height can be adjusted to your liking and also to get the lower control arms sitting level-which should be your ride height because that places the suspension in a neutral position as far as leaning a tire in or out as the suspension moves up or down. when you are working with a new front suspenion you will also need to mock it up as close as possible for alignment because sometimes the axle centerline can move fore to aft to get the caster correct. the task force trucks are sensitive to the ride height andaxle centerline on the front axle due to the wheel opening shape. when the truck is lowered down over the tire, compared to a stock height perspective, the wheel always looks closer to the rear of the opening. once the ride height is figured out lock the threaded rod at that height during mock up. its always best to have the truck frame sitting on stands solidly and then level the frame side to side and get it at the rake angle you choose BEFORE any front end cross member is installed and set up. that way the cross member can be levelled up with the world instead of with the frame. anyway, this is turning into a book so I will just end here, lol.

[8man]

That is just too cool! Thanks for sharing. I can now learn about tire sizes in a way that makes sense to me.

Thank you!

[dsraven]

i use those sites quite a bit when tire sizing. playing with different options across a number of open tabs on google. tire size, wheel size etc. trying to keep the tire contact patch where it needs to be for the steering geometry can help the handling of the vehicle. look up scrub radius on any racing enthusiast site and it could take you a week to go through it all, lol.
in the end, the contact patch centerline of the tire on the road works with the steering axis inclination built into the spindle (a line drawn through the upper and lower ball joints) to affect how the vehicle handles and how it may or may not try to follow every crack in the road etc. it also works with the other steering angles as they all affect each other. worth some time reading up on that stuff so you get the front end the way it needs to be.

[8man]

How do I find the stock ride height of these trucks?

I think I'd like to lower the frame 5" in front and 4" in back to the center of the wheel. I know the wheel and tire size can affect the height from there, and so I think I'd like to run some 15" rims, but I don't know what size tire. I've been looking at the tire calculator Raven posted, but still a little unsure of what to do.

Without the stock height, I'm still guessing. So where can I find that?

Thanks.

[dsraven]

If you dont find it in the assembly manual check the old car manuals project site. I think those body specs may be in there.

[dsraven]

check here

https://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.co...esto/index.htm

[8man]

Raven, thank you for that site. It is very cool.

I have not had time to look at the manual to see if I can find it, but I will.

I spent yesterday getting the rear shock crossmember out, 4 rivets and they were a pain. Then I took off the one shock bracket, only 2 rivets and they were also a pain.

The other shock bracket had been ripped off when the frame was working, and they used two bolts and some acetylene weld to put it back together. I had already gotten that bracket off, but had to grind off the weld. That took about 2 hours.

Then the real work began! The crossmember was warped and bent out of shape from when the shock was ripped out. So, I used my 3/4" steel work table top, and a piece of 3/8" x 2" angle, 5 C-clamps and a 4 lb hammer to straighten that crossmember. 4 hours later, and both arms wore out, I bolted it back in, and it fits and is straight to the eye.

Now to take it back out and weld up the damaged are, grind and make sure it is still straight.

[dsraven]

I quickly checked the body dimensions page for a 56, there is no 57 truck manual listed, and it gives the height from ground to top of frame at the rear, standard, without body-I assume that would be without the box, it is 25.6". I assume they would have the dimension at the front be the same as there is no dimension shown for the front of the frame. meaning the truck frame was engineered to be siting level at the standard height. from the top of the frame to the top of the front window opening is 44.87". I know, weird way to do dimensions but thats what the diagram shows.
dunno if that helps but maybe use the frame to ground dimension and see how yours stacks up. that is with the stock tires that would be 6.70 x 15

https://www.cokertire.com/blog/tire-...ross-reference

[8man]

Thank you again! I will work on the height using that information.

[8man]

Raven, thank you for the help. It appears that if the front is lowered 5: and the back 4", and I go with 235/70R15 tires, the front should be about 11" off the ground and the rear 12". I think that will work.

[dsraven]

no biggie, glad I could help
its kinda funny how the GM specs are laid out. there is the standard height and there is the height they recommend in order to carry max payload. dunno what a fella could do to make the old truck taller unless there were maybe a partial load in it or something.
anyway, maybe check that spec out yourself and see if you can make heads or tails of it. if you look in the index of the 56 truck booklet you can find the body dimensions for the truck.

[8man]

Well, having decided on front and rear suspension, I finally got to start working on the frame, removing the stuff it won't be needing.

I have used a Rotocut bit, grinders and even an "All-Wrench", but these old rusty rivets are a PAIN to get out. It took almost 2 days to get the front spring perches and the other things riveted to the frame off, and I'm only back to the crossmember behind the rear cab mounts.

I was going to leave the tranny crossmember until I get the new IFS installed, and then take it out.

IMG_1485 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

That's the complaining portion of this post.

The good news is that I only have a few more rivets to get out, and the rear spring perches are included in that, and it'll be ready to get blasted or dipped. I'm going to talk to the shop that dips cars and see what they say about doing frames, and talk to another guy who media blasts frames to see which way I want to go. If anyone has some experience with this, please let me know.

[8man]

I got the frame sandblasted to get the decades of gunk off of it. I got my TCI MII front suspension, and started on the frame. I have welded up some small holes where they used a cutting torch to take off a trailer hitch, I think. Then I started reading the instructions for the MII front end. I have measured and checked level until I'm absolutely crosseyed!

So today I trimmed the boxing plates to fit as instructed, and welded them in.

IMG_1506 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Then I finished the welds so it looks smooth.
IMG_1507 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

So, boxing plates are done, the frame is cut out on the bottom so the crossmember will slide up into place, and it has been test fit at least once.

Installing the crossmember will be a job for another day.

[daveshilling]

Are you going to keep the factory front crossmember? I've seen it done both ways.. I took mine out and cut that lower frame excess flush.

If it won't interfere I suppose it's a non-issue

[8man]

Dave, I got the crossmember tacked in today. I'm still checking all the angles. In answer to your question, as soon as I can I plan to take it out. I'll look at what I have then, but I've been thinking I'd do the same as you, and make the frame look a little better under there.

[dsraven]

if you remove the cross member maybe throw a length of angle or tubing of some sort across the rails behind the bumper mounts before you cut it out. that way the rad support will have something to keep the dimension correct other than the front bumper. maybe less vibration on the bumper when driving as well. just a thought.
when you boxed the frame what method did you go with? cut the box plate thanks same height as the frame and grind an angle on the edges for the weld to penetrate into, then grind the weld down smooth to match the frame height? cut the boxing plates slightly smaller in height than the frame so the weld made up the difference in height? space the boxing plate off the frame the thickness of the plate and then weld into the cavity so the plate is actually a little wider than the frame in that spot? curious because I did full length boxing plates on a task force and opted for the "cut the plate the height of the inside of the original frame" and then ground the welds down after. that left a good space for the weld to sit even after grinding the area smooth.

[8man]

Raven, I've been thinking about a support bar up front as you suggest. I think I'll be doing that.

The boxing plate was ground down to where the top was about 1/8 below the frame rail. I welded it there and then ground it over to a smooth corner. The bottom sat on top of the lower part of the frame rail. I welded it to that lip as the instructions said.

[dsraven]

Boxing plate should be good and strong then. I only asked because I've seen some that were cut the same height as the frame and welded in with only a small bevel on the edge for the weld but by the time the weld is ground smooth there isn't much actually holding the plate to the frame.
Keep posting up your progress, it's good to see forward momentum. It keeps us inspired.