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Topic: '70 F100 Short Bed Styleside (Read 12527 times) previous topic - next topic

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #15
I was able to buy the brake adapter from the guy over on the Mercury Marauder forum so my big front brakes will be slowly purchased as funds allow.

Ended up joining the forum due to a technical question with regards on how front end alignment is done Panther platform cars.  You may wonder why the hell I would want to know this so here we go.  Standard SLA (short long arm) front end geometry is a long LCA and a short UCA with the bottom of the shock/spring attached to either the LCA or the UCA and then the top of the shock/spring attached to the frame.  This is a pretty typical SLA setup:


And this is how you would shim one of the control arms (typically the UCA) to adjust camber and caster:


The 03-09 Panthers have the shock/spring attached to the LCA and then attaches to the k-member between the mounting points of the k-member.  Here is what one looks like removed from the donor car:


So now you can see how the SLA is set up on these cars and how on this particular suspension the rear mount of the LCA is attached further back on the chassis than a typical SLA.  The other thing you will notice is that with the way the shock/spring mounts to the k-member it does not allow for the shaft between the UCA mounts and thus you cannot do the typical caber/caster adjustments on the UCA.  So on this suspension you do the camber adjustment through the front mount of the LCA and the camber adjustment through the rear mount of the LCA.  The front mount bolt is just a bolt with a offset washer welded to it and then you put an offset keyed washer on the other end and a nut.  Looks like this:


The picture above is from SPC and they make a camber kit for these cars as they need more camber adjustment with wider wheels up front.  I will be installing SPC's kits (one per side) on my truck as I plan on stuffing as much under the front fenders as I can get.  Most likely an 18 x 9 wheel.  They have a YouTube video on how you modify the k-member so these will work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCen_aVMyco&feature=youtu.be

And here is one for another company's camber kit that shows it a little better but they have the k-member on a bench (two parts):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs09So1sqpg&sns=em

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agJ1X10spDI&sns=em

As depicted in the second picture of this post you create caster on a typical SLA by shimming the front or rear mounts of the UCA unequally which moves the upper ball joint in front of or behind the centerline of the bottom ball joint thus creating negative or positive caster.  With a Panther platform car you move the rear mount of the LCA inboard or outboard to create negative or positive caster.  I also learned that with wide tires on the front of these cars the optimum caster setting is 5.5 to 6.5 degrees positive caster.  This makes sense as the Fox platform cars respond to this just as favorably with wide front tires.  For those that do not know caster helps the steering return back to center.

What sparked all of this was learning that a couple of the builders rotated the LCA rear mount inside the body of the mount.  I could not understand why they were doing this and posed that question on the Mercury Marauder forum.  I asked if the mounts were at an angle on the cars and did some digging and finally found a couple of pictures showing how they mount on the Panther platform.  The LCA rear mount that is attached to the Panther frame is attached at an angle and on the inside of the frame.

In this shot you are looking from the back of the car and obviously underneath it.  The LCA rear mounts are directly across from the exit if the pre-cats.


In this shot you are looking from the front of the car and again underneath it.  Again, the LCA rear mounts are directly across from the exit of the pre-cats.


So when you install this suspension on an F100 the LCA rear mount ends up just about directly under the frame as you can see here:


So until the other day what I found was most were just welding them up as they contacted the frame.  The very back of the rear bushing touches the frame and then they boxed the rest of it in like this:





The problem with this is that the bushing needs to be rotated inside the housing so that the slot is parallel to the ground.  Since the Panther cars mount at an angle they compensated for this by installing the bushing at that angle in the housing.  This can be seen here:

Stock:


So the two ways I have run across to rotate the bushing in the housing are as follows:
1) Cut the housing, rotate the bushing, and then weld the housing back up
2) Cut those welds on either side of the housing where it is welded to the flat plate, rotate the housing, and then weld it back down

I am going to split the housing as I can do this where there is a void in the rubber and not run the chance of overheating it.  Should look like this when I am done:



With it parallel to the ground I will have maximum adjustment on the caster.  I am going to set it up with 6 degrees of caster with the LCA rear mount bolt in the middle of the slot.  This is going to be a little more work than I was originally thinking but this is the right way to do it so the truck will drive right when I am done.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #16
Awesome project man!  I love those trucks.  One day I'll have a 73-79 F100 to add to the stable.  I learned to drive in a 78 F250.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #17
The bumpside trucks are the shag.

Dad has a '72 F100. I've been bitching about restoring/restomodding it for years. Someday...

I have a thing for trucks, Ford trucks, particularly. Got a '94 Flareside inbound to me right now, though it won't be nearly as wild as yours.
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #18
I got the bed back from metal work and my paint & body guy sprayed it with some self etching primer and undercoated the bottom.  We got it back to the house and put the bed on the truck...holy  now I have to find some tires to fill the wheel wells.





Hoping to get to work on the Crown Vic IFS this weekend if the weather is as nice as they say it will be (60's).

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #19
Lookin' good man!

Not to get sideways, but what's the scoop on the car?
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #20
‘69 fastback that we started to prep for media blast and then my dad’s house flooded. Supposed to get back on it later this year. It getting an injected 393 stroker with Vinage Air and a Magnum T56 six speed. Already have a full Griggs Racing GR40 suspension for it as well as the 9” rear, trans with all the goodies, block, rotating assembly, and Brodix heads that are ported. Basically need to get all the metal work done on the body so the subframes, suspension, mini tubs, and shock tower delete kits can get installed. Once we get that done then we can mock up everything else. After that it’s body work and paint then reassembly, interior, stereo, etc. Then it’s pray to the car gods it all works.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #21
:bowdown:
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #22
Well I have been slowly buying parts for the Crown Vic IFS for the truck.  To date I have the following:

FoMoCo upper control arms (bushings and ball joints included)
FoMoCo lower control arm ball joint
MOOG lower control arm rear heavy duty bushing assembly
SPC Performance alignment bolt kit (basically allows more negative camber which will be needed)
NAAKE coil overs (QA-1 single adjustable shocks with QA-1 coil over kit and NAAKE adapter kit)
A-1 Cardone reman rack & pinion with inner tie rods
Moog outer tie rods
Mustang GT500 rotors (Centric Premium Series 120)
C5 Corvette calipers
Custom caliper adaptors off of MercuryMarauder.com
Custom SS braided brake lines (TCE Performance)
Crown Vic motor mounts
Outcast Autoworks motor mount adapters (relocate the motor mounts back and over for the Coyote motor)
Missing nut for the bolt that attaches the CV IFS to the frame (missed this when I got the IFS from the salvage yard)

Link to the Outcast Autoworks engine mount relocation kit:
https://www.outcastautoworks.com/collections/ford-f-series-crown-vic-swap-motor-mounts/products/pre-order-ford-modular-v8-4-6-5-0-coyote-to-crown-vic-swap-f-series-motor-mounts-relocate-mounts

Link to the NAAKE front coil over setup:
http://www.naake.com/store/mercury-marauder

So right now I lack brake pads and the ADTR front sway bar (https://adtr.net/product/ford-crown-victoria/adtr-front-swaybar-kit-03/).  I am a big fan of Hawk pads so I am thinking I will end up with their performance ceramic pads for the low noise and low dust (https://thmotorsports.com/227232-hawk-performance-ceramic-brake-pads).  Other than that it should just be time and elbow grease.

From what I could tell on the CV and Maurader forums the complete lower control arms other than the FoMoCo units were hit and miss on quality.  Problem is the complete FoMoCo LCA is around $240 each and you still have to buy the rear bushing.  What I understand is that if the LCA front bushing (the one that takes all the abuse) is in good shape then simply replace the ball joint and go on about your day.  Mine are in really good shape so I opted to get the FoMoCo ball joints for about $50 each and save myself about $400.  I have a buddy that has a press so getting them in and out should not be a problem.  I will remove the old ball joint and then clean up the LCA (most likely duct tape the front bushing of and bead blast them), paint them a durable stain finish black, and then install the new ball joint.

So I got off my ass the other day and removed the stock rack & pinion and something that simple ended up with a sawzall in my hands.  The passenger side outer tie rod nut locked up but since I was going to replace them anyhow I just cut the tie rod shaft below the nut and moved on.  So the rack and outer tie rods were off but I had to salvage the jam nuts for the outer tie rods as the new rack did not come with them.  Backing the jam nuts off the outer tie rods ended up being a pain in the ass but some PB Blaster, a little soak time, and off they came.  Assembled the new rack and outer tie rods but left that off the IFS for now.  Moved on to removing the stock CV calipers which the impact took the bolts out no problem but it did take a dead blow hammer to separate the caliper from the rotor.  Turns out the pistons in the calipers were locked up but that was to be expected.  Also removed the ABS sensor lines from the back of the spindle and all the clips associated with them.  I am going to offer both of them up for free just pay shipping on a CV forum so hopefully that will help someone out of a jam.  I also removed all of the factory brake lines and associated clips from the IFS and that got wadded up and thrown away.  Right now the sealed wheel hubs (think SN95 Mustang front wheel hubs) appear to be in good shape so I am just going to remove them, clean them up, give them a once over inspection, and then reinstall them.  SKS and Timken replacements run about $100 each and I cannot find many of the CV or Marauder folks replacing them so that should be a good indication they last a long time.

My plan was to completely strip the IFS and clean up the aluminum "frame", make the modifications for the the alignment bolt kit (http://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/87365-INS_WEB.pdf), have it powder coated, and then put all the parts on but I think I am going to just put the new rack on and use it as is to get it installed and all the welding done first.  Once we have the front IFS installed and the four link done in the rear then I will remove the IFS, strip it down, send it out for powder coat (it will be the same satin black that the frame will get coated), reassemble with all the new parts, and then reinstall on the frame.  Basically it will look like a brand new IFS when all is said and done but with it being coated black and no bling effect hopefully it will go unnoticed.

Also procured the Fatman Fabrications universal four link for the rear of the truck.  I decided on this kit as it allows me to locate the UCA's and LCA's on the outside or inside of the frame rails and with the truck being tubed I will move them inside the frame.  Kit I bought is at the bottom of the page:
http://www.fatmanfab.com/product/1948-1991-ford-pickups

Here is a really good article on how this rear suspension gets installed on one of these trucks:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0705ct-1968-ford-f100/

Nice thing is that it also comes with QA-1 single adjustable shocks and coil over kits so the truck will have the same setup on all four corners.  I cannot weld but I have a good friend who does and he is willing to help me with all of this so I am in a holding pattern until he has the time and the weather is cooler as his shop is just waaaay too hot right now for either one of us to really want to do this especially with the added heat of the welder.  I have all of the old I-Beam front suspension removed but now I am down to removing the engine cross member and the I-Beam rear brackets off the frame.  Lots of rivets holding this stuff one and the only way to get them off is an air chisel followed up with a punch and hammer.  I have most of them out but I need to weld two temporary braces at the front of the frame so that when the engine cross member comes out it does not spring on me.  Once the IFS is in place I will cut them out but a permanent one will be welded in once the Coyote has been mocked up.  I am hoping to make is part of the intercooler bracketry so it will take time and thought.

Needless to say lots of research and asking the folks on the CV and MM sites some questions of which some I don't think had ever been asked before.  Lots of builds over on Fordification.com so that site has also been a big help.  Several videos on YouTube, some good some I question and some I would not ride around the block in their builds.

Anyhow that is the update.  As soon as we get rolling on the installation of the IFS and four link I will post back up and hopefully with a lot of install pics.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #23
Got a picture of the 14" Mustang GT 500 rotor (left) compared to the stock 12" Crown Victoria rotor (right).



I think this thing might have some stopping power when it is all said and done.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #24
I installed the Outcast Autoworks engine mount relocation pieces last night.  You have to drill a hole on the back side of the K-member for an additional bolt and on the passenger side the top side mount has a slot in in that goes from side to side.  I duplicated that slot on the back of the K-member so that mount can still mover side to side for ease of engine installation later down the road.  So in Post #16 there is a picture of the complete CV IFS (not mine but mine looked the same) and here is what mine looks like after this evening:



So basically it is a K-member and the front spindles of which all are aluminum.  The complete UCA's, strut/coil overs, sway bar, sway bar end links, outer tie rods, wheel bearing hub assemblies, rotors, brake pads, LCA rear bushings, LCA ball joints, LCA front bushing bolt kit, and what was left of the frame of the CV all go in the trash or in the recycle pile.  I still need to salvage the tubes out of the stock frame rails so that will be later this week.  K-member and spindles are going to get vatted at a machine shop and at that point I will decide if I am going to powder coat them or not.  Leaning towards it but not 100% sure.  Old rack and pinion was used for a core as were the CV calipers.

I am going to order new wheel bearing hub assemblies tomorrow as the driver side was showing signs of being on its way out.  I think I am going to go ahead and order the Hawk brake pads for the Vette C5 calipers in the morning as well.  The stock sway bars are junk so I bit the bullet and ordered the ADTR unit yesterday which is made by Eibach and has Energy Suspension frame bushings with greaseable fittings.  So pending my decision on powder coating the K-member and spindles that is all I lack in putting this back together.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #25
So I got the k-member cleaned up. Took it down to the car wash for a quick pressure cleaning to get the loose dirt and power steering fluid off of it. Got it home and used Eagle 1 mag cleaner on it with a stiff scrub brush and was very surprised at the results. I did this twice and let the mag cleaner sit on it for 30 minutes or so. Definetly not what you would do on a rim.

This picture is the back of the k-member. You can see where I drilled the new holes for the Outcast motor mount relocation brackets below the factory cast pedestals. The one on the right is the one that had to be slotted left to right like it is on top of the pedestal.



This is the front of it:



One more pic of the front after I removed some of the calcium deposits off a few places (note the mag cleaner):



Working on the NAAKE coil overs next. Will have to disassemble the OEM struts so I can reuse the spring isolators and top plate. Gonna head to the parts store and rent the external spring clamps and the ball joint tool so I can get the ball joints out of the LCA’s. The strut assemblies Are just as dirty as the k-member so I’ll need to get the parts I need off them cleaned up and most likely paint the top plates as they have some spots of rust on the tops.

I am doing a little research on the LCA front bushing. It is the one pressed into the LCA but it seems no one offers a replacement bushing. I emailed Rare Parts today to see if they make it.  Currently if it needs to be replaced you have to buy a complete LCA which is right at $260 for a FoMoCo fleet unit (read taxi/police interceptor). The reason I am looking is I want to clean up the LCA’s and paint them. I don’t think I will be able to get behind the bushing to remove the dirt and surface rust. The bushing is in good shape so if I could press it out and then reuse it that would solve my “problem”. When I get the top plates for the coil overs painted I’m gonna take a hard look at the LCA’s and see if I can find or devise a way to clean them up without removing the bushing.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #26
So it has been slow on the progress as I make up my mind on what to do with the lower control arms.  No one and I mean no one has the bushing available for the lower control arm that is pressed into the LCA.  I emailed Rare Parts and they do not have one listed but asked me for dimensions.  I am not willing to try and press one of mine out and ruin it so I am going to call local salvage yards tomorrow and see if one of them has a front end hit car to see if I can get one of the control arms on the cheap.  If I can then I am going to cut the bushing out of the control arm (not damage the metal sleeve) and send that to Rare Parts and see if they can find a match.  If they can then I am going to get two of them and remove the ones in my existing control arms.  This will allow me to completely clean up the LCA's and get them powder coated.

If all else fails then its gonna be a lot of cussing and manually cleaning them for paint.  I just don't like the paint option as they chip up and look py in a couple of years.

I did take the spindles and upper retainers for the coil overs to a local powder coating shop and should have them later this week.  Went satin black on those parts as the spindles will be between the UCA and LCA which will be black so I just thought it would look better.  I am gonna try and salvage the tubes out of the stock frame rails this week in the evenings.  Ford wants $28 each for them so I will see if I can get them out for $112.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #27
That K-member cleaned up really well. Are you going to clear coat it to keep it that way?
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #28
I loaded it up this morning and am going to run it over to the powder coater after work.  The aluminum is really porous and it is going to stain again with just general road grim let alone any kind of fluid leak so the more I thought about it over the last week the more I was leaning towards a clear powder coat.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

'70 F100 Short Bed Styleside

Reply #29
Quote from: Aerocoupe;464059
Snagged some pics of Jerry's conversion on his Marauder...huge difference.

The calipers are very close to the wheel and some have had to grind the cooling fins and relocate the stick on wheel weights but these are 17" wheels.  Right now the plan on the F100 is to have 18's on the front and 20's in the rear so this should be a moot point for me.


Just an FYI, the stock Marauder wheel is an 18" not a 17" so hopefully this setup will still clear the wheels you are planning on using.

Very cool project, watching from the sidelines.  :cool:
1985 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - 5-speed 
One of 1,246 built