1967 Dodge D-100 (Isaacs truck)

A little further on the notch. I got the top plates tacked in, and the cross braces tacked in. Im not sure how to brace this. Im going to look at some pictures online. I made some gussets for the corners, but Im not sure if they are enough. I have more of the square bars so I could make corner braces out of them. I can get more of the bar and triangulate the top bars. I can get round bar, and do something with it. Im just not sure. Tell me what you think.

Next, Ill remove this as an assembly, and cut the top of the frame only. Then Ill re-install it, square it, and weld it. Then I can cut up from the bottom and meet the top cut, and the notched piece will be out. Then I can cap the bottom.

Going the right direction. :)

I soaked the notch in vinegar for a few hours to clean it up. It worked, sort of. I guess I should have pulled it out, and immediately wiped it and painted it. I didnt, so it rusted. Its just surface rust, but its annoying. Otherwise, I started the install. It went pretty good. I got one side completed, the other is welded, but it needs to be cut and the bottom welded up.

Im debating just going ahead and cleaning the whole thing up to make it look like the top. Grind away the welds, and make it look like a solid piece of metal. I think it looks good that way, but its a lot of work. Ill finish the other side as soon as I can. This week will be crazy. Im on overtime and my wife is helping our pastors wife out with her driving route while she is on vacation, so I might not get a bunch done this week.

On a positive note, my wife and I have decided to use the overtime money to get the Ford F100 on the road and driving. All it really needs is some work on the transmission (it shifts like crap) a tailgate, and some wiring issues fixed. Hope it works out good.

Busy week. Not on the truck, but at work and home. I got the other side cut out today, but thats about all I did. Im waiting on some flap discs to get here, and the wife went to work, so I need to stay inside with the little one.

Im trying an old camera, so I hope the pictures look okay. Im sick of google and the limits on space, and the tracking and biased searches and well...just about everything really. I got a notice the other day that my phone will no longer be supported after the 1st of the year, so Im trying this old camera. If it works, Ill get a de-googled or unlocked phone and kick google to the curb.

Goal for tomorrow is weld in the other bottom plates, clean it all up, and maybe put the rearend back in place. I bought some seam sealer, so I should be able to make everything look okay now. Im slowly getting there, should finish this notch tomorrow. Then its on to the front suspension. Im also getting stuff going for the f100 to try and make it road worthy. Im going to take it to a transmission shop and have them look at the shifter linkage where it goes into the side of the transmission. It looks like it has a lot of slop to me. Im also going to get a tailgate, which is redily available on facebook marketplace (my wifes account). I was surprised how easy to find and cheap they were, compared to the dodges. And a 67 is a one year only. Others will work, but the 67 is different.

I finished everything I wanted to accomplish today. Ill show the progress, but I think I have yet another issue. Ill mention that last.

I got the c-notch finished up. Instead of grinding all the welds and metal, I figured I would just go over them with a seam sealer. Itll make it look better, but it wont weaken the notch. Ill primer it soon, and paint it also, but I think I have to fix something first. I also got the rearend put back in. I have all kinds of clearance for dropping the truck now, and the mounts fit great. Im really happy with this notch. I also tacked the tow hitch back on with a 2 x 3 box and it looks like itll be okay. Ill put the bed back on to make sure, then Ill box it, run some supports and bars and brace it up really good. I also replaced the bolts in the 4-link with longer ones, (they are grade 5 just like the others, but these have a nice finish-maybe nickel) because the bolts that came with it were too short and didnt get into the nylon lock of the nuts. Everything is bolted in and tightened up now.

The issue is clearance between the spring and the notch plates. Ill post a picture, but it is maybe 1/16-1/8 of an inch each side, and that doesnt seem like enough to me. I have a few options- get longer upper shock mounts....move the mounting hole outward (weld it up, and drill it to the outside by a little....or space up the shock mount with a plate. Im not sure but I think I might get longer shock mounts.

I know some people watching this might be shaking their heads wondering why Im making these mistakes, and I admit it gets a little frustrating at times. But Im learning a ton on this build, and if it takes a few re-dos well then its fine. Im hoping to continue improving on my welding, and fabrication and maybe one day build a frame from scratch for this truck. Im gonna drive it for awhile, and then get the f100 going, but after the body work is done, and we are happy with this truck, Im going to try and build a frame. At least making mistakes, Im learning what NOT to do as much as learning what to do. So its all good.

First picture is the clearance issue. Its only about 1/8" on both sides
Second picture is the truck sitting on the rear shocks now. Front is still on the bars I made
Third picture is showing the clearance between the axle tubes and the frame now.
Fourth picture is a rear shot with the suspension bolted in now.
Fifth picture is showing the drivers side all welded up.
It put the pictures in reverse order, but its all the same.

So I was thinking about this and I might have a few other options. Im sure this isnt enough clearance.

First option-when I ordered the front shock mounts, I accidentally ordered 4 instead of two. With a little trimming, these would work. They have a radius in them now, so I would have to cut it flat. It would move the hole outboard by about a 1/4". This might make the shock lean out at the top by a little, but I have 5" of clearance now, with a 245. I can run a 345 if I want to, even though thats a little bit wide for me.

Second option- an adapter. I have seen an adapter to move the lower shock mount outboard and place it between the holes existing now. I hope that makes sense, but it would swing the lower shock mount out by about 1/2". This would not affect the shock performance, because when I talked to QA1, the tech said anything under 7 degrees of lean is nominal. And it would affect the tire clearance, as the upper mount would remain the same. The picture Im posting is close, but not the exact one Im thinking.

I got about 1-1/2 hours today to work in the garage. I got the old shock mounts off, and the new ones on. Ill have to go by the hardware store tomorrow before church, and get some different bolts. The ones I had are too long, and the holes are a different size. I have plenty of the bushings for the shocks, so its not a problem there. The shocks will lean outward slightly, but it has a lot more clearance, so Im happy.

I also started looking into the tow hitch receiver. I want it to be strong, but I also want it to be a jack point. Its just too convenient, and getting a jack all the way under the truck to the differential is a pain sometimes. Ill duplicate in metal what I have in cardboard, and then tie in some 1" bars to the side of the frame like it was before. Should be good.

Started the morning off getting the F100 running. It has been sitting for about 2 months. I had borrowed the coil for Isaacs truck, and the last time I drove it, it ran out of gas. I put the coil in, added a few gallons of gas, hit the gas pedal twice, and it started right up. Holy Cow. I drove it around the block and parked it. It has a ticking lifter, and an exhaust leak. I dont know if Ill fix those problems though. I plan on an engine swap, but I wanted to drive it to the F100 nationals in Pigeon Forge in September. I dont think thats going to happen. We will see.

As far as the Dodge goes, I wanted to re-do the exhaust since I added the notch. I got that tacked together, and roughed in. Ill remove it and weld it all the way. Then we pushed the truck out, and spent a few hours trying to start it up. The fuel pump was bad, so after I figured that out, I got a pump and it started up...and idled after a few adjustments. I couldnt run it long, because I dont have the coolant filled up. But it ran. And it re-started after I shut it off. Im very happy.

Then I put the bed back on. Ill end up needing to raise the bed up to make a few changes underneath, but thats a small issue.

So, the list is something like this now:
Fix the front suspension--bleed the brakes--install the driveshaft--wire the line lock--fix the blinkers--flush the engine coolant and bleed the radiator--make and install the bed blocks and bolt it in--fix the upper a-arms--initial alignment--adjust everything--re-tighten exhaust bolts--fab and install inner fenders--paint the notch.....

There are tons of things to do. Im sure I wont get it all done this summer. I still want to remove the dash and paint it as well. So I have several projects to do this winter that wont keep it from driving, so I might concentrate on making it move under its own power now. Im not sure.

I started looking into some of the wiring issues today. Im going to have to buy a few things to finish it, because even when you think you have everything, you never have everything. My wiring list includes-electric fan, turn signals, windshield wipers, blower motor, courtesy lights, aux power plugs and the horn. I started on the horn today, and started troubleshooting it. I went to test it and it blew...in half. It did make a short beep, but it literally blew apart. It was funny, after my heart restarted.

One thing that is bothering me is the neutral safety switch. The truck starts and runs now. But when I wired it, it was for an auto transmission. Now its a manual, so there should be a clutch switch. I figured I would just move the wires from the neutral switch over to the clutch switch and be done. But it works with or without the jumper/switch. Ill have to go over the Ron Francis drawings again. The ignition is wired per the instructions, for a generic ignition switch. But it is supposed to have another wire coming from the ignition to the neutral switch. That wire is missing. Ill have to dig into it. I will post a picture of the switch. The two terminals not being used are labelled "IGN2" and "GND". It starts and runs without either of these.

I also got some wood blocks under the bed to set the height that I want. I noticed the cab is crooked, and with the bed on and leveled, its very noticeable. Ill have to fix that also.

The notch will make me raise the bed floor about 3-1/4 inches, give or take. As I said before, thats okay with me. The bed floor is rotten anyway, so I have to fix it. Im starting to watch videos on raising and replacing the bed floor, so I hope to get at it maybe next year. First it has to run and drive.

I still have to fix the front suspension and install the shocks. I have not adjusted the rear shocks either, so they are as low as they can go and they are in the middle hole on the lower shock mount. I should have almost 3 inches of adjustment both ways. Im going to fix the upper a-arms while Im at it, and replace all the ball joints. They came in the kit with busted boots.

Still lots to do. Its a long weekend too, so I hope to make some good progress.

Got the front suspension apart and Im getting ready for the fixes. Ill show the upper shock mount process as I go, but I took some pictures of the upper A-arms and my plan to mod them. The upper mount is simple enough, but itll be a struggle to get in there with the front fenders on. Ill also remove those oil lines so I dont screw those up and have to replace them.

The A-arms will be a little more difficult. I got threaded rod ends and a DOM tube the same inside diameter of the a-arm bars. My plan is to weld the rod ends in the tube, then weld the tube over the a-arms. This should add close to a half inch to the length, and allow the threaded end pieces to go further into the A-arm. It only has maybe 7 or 8 threads in the tube now. I scalloped the tube so It will have more weld length. Ill turn the tube inside, so if I decide to add a support bar, I can weld to it. I also removed the mustang 2 ball joints. The boots were split out of the box it seems, and one or two of the ball joints seem bad. Im just going to get a new set. And I am going to remove one of the bars on the lower A-arms. I might add something back, but I want to be able to install the coil overs without loosening the ball joints. The two bars that are there are for an airbag mount anyway, so I dont need them.

I hit a major snag today, by accident. Ill get measurements tomorrow, hopefully, and maybe a few pictures. The short story is, it appears the upper A-arm mounts are at different angles. The through bolts for the top and bottom A-arms are at different angles. The instructions say this is for anti-dive. I noticed while fitting the new upper shock mounts that the drivers side didnt fit the same. I used a template, and measured everything. After tacking it in, I set the shock in, and noticed the problem. The upper drivers side A-arm mount is at a different angle than the passenger side. This seems like a major issue to me.

Im going to go back through the instructions, and triple check everything, but this might be major. I have no idea how to fix this.

So after looking at the instructions, they do say this is one of three critical measurements. Then he explains how he gets these measurements, and it makes no sense at all. Remember, I scraped one of these "top hats" early on, because the measurements dont make sense. But Im going to say this is mostly my fault. And I have no idea how to fix this. Looking back at all the things I have done to try and fix this IFS, I just dont know what to do now.

Here are the pictures to tell the tale...Almost 2-1/2 degrees difference.

Thats 1.4 degrees.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by egoman

Thats 1.4 degrees.

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Haha. Holy cow. Im an idiot. Still I think they should be the same.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drummerdad

So after looking at the instructions, they do say this is one of three critical measurements. Then he explains how he gets these measurements, and it makes no sense at all. Remember, I scraped one of these "top hats" early on, because the measurements dont make sense. But Im going to say this is mostly my fault. And I have no idea how to fix this. Looking back at all the things I have done to try and fix this IFS, I just dont know what to do now.

Here are the pictures to tell the tale...Almost 2-1/2 degrees difference.

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which pic is drivers side, pass side? Is the gauge straight up and down from front to back? Looks like a round bar which could tilt the gauge. Neither angle looks right in the pics. what are the angle readings referenced from? The ground? If the 38 is from horizontal and the 52.3 is from vertical, then they’re within .3 degrees cause 38 and 52 = 90 and your reference angles are 90 degrees apart. But the pics just don’t look right. Try to take some straight on and the gauge is vertical front to back.

The angle is reference from the frame. I zeroed the angle finder on the frame then set it on the tip of the forward edge of each side. The first picture is the passenger side. The second is the drivers side. Someone on another forum also complained that the pictures dont look right. Its hard to get in under the fender. I will see if I can take more. It is a round bar, but they are in about the same position. The level is on the forward edge of each, so the difference between sides is about 1.4 degrees (it reads 3.8 and 5.2, thats from zero). I noticed it when I went to put the shocks in and they didnt fall in the same place on the lower a-arm.

Ah my bad. I guess shouldn’t look at it on my phone at 11:00 at night. Are your frames equal angles? If you want them the same I guess you’ll have to cut one off and re-weld it. How accurate does the front end vendor say they need to be? It doesn’t look like it will be easy.
You could do just the top part. Are the bottom mounts ok?

It wont be easy for sure. I also measured, and the angles are just off. The bottom of the kit is fine, its these top pieces that were just so difficult.

For now Im going to continue doing what Im doing. Ill fix the a-arms, install the shocks, and drive on. Ill see how it drives for now, knowing its got to be fixed. After talking with my wife and explaining things, we discussed the future options. There are things I want to fix because I found better ways to do them, and there are things I want to fix because I feel I didnt do them neat enough. My wife knows this, so she is onboard. I am truly blessed with a great wife. So, the truck will get finished, but be restricted to local only until I can hatch a master plan to fix everything that needs to be fixed.


So, Ive been looking into this, and I think I have a solution (for the future of course) . I hope I can convey what Im thinking in my head. This might be a long post.
First, the issue is mostly my fault. I didnt check this angle before, so its my fault. That being said, the instructions were vague at best, and simply did not make sense. Add to that the fact I had ruined one of these pieces (called a top hat) before, and had to buy a replacement. And when I got the kit it said to make sure the "top hats" matched. I think there was a few that had bad angles on them to begin with. Had I caught this and corrected it, I think the crossmember would have had a slight crook at the top. Now that I know all this, I could install one of these without issue in the future. Would I? No. This kit has had all sorts of issues...Its a helix kit. Look up Helix. This is what happens when you buy cheap.

Now for the fix. Im going to keep the lower portion of the cross member, or at least I think I will for now. It had the least issues, and we fixed the only areas we felt were seriously problematic. Ill keep the A-arms, upper and lower, and the steering rack. Obviously Ill keep the Qa1 shocks too. Im going to get a Welder series upper A-arm mount, or maybe the entire welder series crossmember. I have to look at the price again. The A-arm mount will weld to the top of the frame rail, and I can get Mustang 2 upper a-arm pivot shafts that will bolt to it. This will fix the anti-dive angle, and add in an adjustment for caster. It might even fix the shortness of the a-arms, but we will see. Then I can just add a coil over mount. Ill post some pictures to try and explain, but there isnt a picture showing what Im doing. Its going to be a hybrid of sorts.

The bad news is, the fenders and hood have to come back off, at a minimum. I might even end up pulling the engine as well. Ill try and avoid it. This will probably be done after we get the body work fixed. So the goal is get the truck running, drive it and enjoy it, if its safe. Then fix the Ford. Meanwhile we slowly work on the body of the Dodge and maybe build a 360 or look for a modern Hemi. When we are ready to pull it back apart, itll be time to decide if its getting a custom frame, or just the fixes Ive looked into. I have plenty of time to go to shows and watch videos to see what will work best.

1st picture-complete kit installed. Mine will be different because itll be half and half, but you get the idea.
2nd picture-the upper mount and shock mount. These can be bought seperate. I can cut the old off flush, and install these on the top of the frame rails.
3rd picture-Just a standard mustang 2 a-arm, with the pivot shaft. Ill have to add the pivot shafts, but they will allow me to make caster and camber adjustments.

That should work, but (I know you don't like your IFS vendor) wouldn't it be easier to buy a new top hat and just replace one? You could see how the new one lines up before cutting either of the old ones off. It'd be a lot less work. You might be able to do it now instead of waiting. You've already corrected your A arm issues, right? A whole new top end from another vendor might open a different can if worms. I'm not saying the new parts won't work, I'm familiar with Welder Series, I'm using their 4 link on the back of my truck. Just thinking which would be easier.

It could be easier, IF the new part was correct. But it would still leave the other issues--the short a-arms (I havent fixed them yet, but I will soon), and the lack of camber adjustment. And I seriously considered making the changes now...and its not off the table, but...I think I still wouldnt be completely happy because of all the other issues.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have done a front frame clip swap. I think from 82 up, the dodge truck front clips can fit with mods. But Im a couple years in now, and its together and Im not loving the idea of tearing it down, because Ill start changing other things that bother me. So I think its better to just put it together, and see what happens. Then start planning to fix the rest of the issues later.