'95 F-150 track ready street beast

[Sbeck09]

Kick ass info man! Thanks for making me consider doing that now. Haha. I'll do some more digging into any quantifiable benefits. Obviously I'll update you guys either way. I do like the idea of being able to use the Fox tie rods to narrow.



The Mark VIII IRS is about 62" hub to hub and the S197 came out to almost 65". Seems like a really big difference to me. I was hoping to have my wheel offsets more similar than that if not the same. Otherwise I wouldn't even give it much more thought.

Would you guys really care that much about this?

[Sbeck09]

I didn't really get a ton done today. Definitely nowhere near what I planned when I woke up, but house stuff sometimes has to get done. Can't play race care builder all the time.

First thing I did was remake my main lower control arms:





But I'm much happier with the results



So now I have beyond adequate movement available in every joint. Plus I should now have enough adjustment every where to get the alignment right when that time comes.

The last thing I really did was remove the bed. Thanks to a few guys on here I did it by myself using the engine hoist. I forgot to snap a photo so all you guys get is the results.





I just power washed the frame and cleaned my work area after this. House stuff took over and so hopefully I can attack the rear end in the evenings this week. I'd love to see it hanging in there asap! And of course I now need to measure everything better and see if the switch to SN95 stuff is worth the work. Better now than later though.

[Sbeck09]

Change of plans. Something VERY awesome being announced within about a week. You are all to blame but in a great way. Front suspension is staying wide for a reason now.

Anyone want to buy a perfect Mark VIII IRS with new mustang hubs and bearings?

[Project Bike Truck]

Change of plans. Something VERY awesome being announced within about a week. You are all to blame but in a great way. Front suspension is staying wide for a reason now.

Anyone want to buy a perfect Mark VIII IRS with new mustang hubs and bearings?

Dude, what is it? Send it to my Insta on the down low!

I had 14 days off over Christmas and 4 days off this weekend and I have been hijacked by the house, family, and ADHD big time. I remade my lower links and reamed the lower link bolt holes. I feel like im not moving forward enough and then when I do I feel like im rushing. I have a timeline that has come and gone so many times, but as my uncles health starts to get worse i feel the pressure to get it running and driving. we get a bonus in march and im gunning to get my engine and transmission then.

Just rambling here.

[Sbeck09]

Yeah I'm similar in that I have set timelines for when I want things to happen. I look at it like goal setting. I'll do everything I can to make it happen before that time, but worst case I know I did everything I could. I think the pressure a date helps keep us at it for so long

Don't worry about rambling. I do it too. Haha.

Luckily March will be here before we know it and you probably still have lots of other things to do just like me while I wait on my engine. Gotta love the "Hurry up and wait" process.

[Sbeck09]

It's now been a week and I finally have an update for you all just like I said I would.

Scored a crazy deal on some 18x10 Roush wheels with decent tires. These are genuine and in amazing shape. The old guy that I bought these from has 23 cars. 7 of them were classic Corvettes in some form of restoration. He does it purely for a hobby. Gotta love the people you meet through the car world. No, these aren't the wheels I plan to run in the end, but they fit decent and will be great for now.



Had to try one out just to see...



What you all really want to see though.....say hello to my new (to me) 2015 mustang IRS. This is from a Track Pack (PP1) car so it includes 3.73 gears, 13" brakes, and a Torsen T2R limited slip unit with beefier diff housing. I'll take it all apart after I'm done making sparks with the install so I can clean it, paint it, and install all new bushings.



I went back and forth on this idea for a few days before pulling the trigger. The main tipping points for me compared to the Mark VIII was it being stronger, tons of parts availability, and includes components (like large brakes) that I would have to buy for much more to add on. I'll still have some money in new bushings, but still makes more sense to me. Plus it is about 65" hub to hub so that means it will work better with my wide front end. And yes...I have to remake the front lower arms for a third time. 3rd time is the charm, right?

Here it is just lifted up into roughly the right position (how did anyone ever work without and engine hoist?!). I'll need to notch the frame about 2.5" for it to fit at the correct ride height. Plasma cutter will make that go quickly. It's being welded in rather than making brackets to bolt in like original. Feel free to ask why if you don't understand.



All in all I'm chugging along slowly. Hopefully this weekend I can wrap up 90% of the suspension fabrication and set it down for the first time. I'm anxious to see if all my measurements resulted in the right stance.

[DrFraZZy]

Nice, I am liking where this is going.

I am definitely looking forward to this process. It is something I will like to do to my 2002 lightning. I am thinking of swapping in OBS f150 body or 1979 body. We will see how things go. I will eventually make my own thread on this link.

There is a guy that did expedition irs and convert the 6 lugs to 5 lugs on a newer f150 body obviously but this may give you ideas.


https://www.lightningrodder.com/foru...a-edition.html

[Sbeck09]

Yeah that was another option that was presented to me early on. Once again this gets into the whole thing with needing to install it and then convert hubs, find decent brakes, etc. For someone building a cruiser or something like that, those systems would be great. I'm always on the hunt to have the best I can do or afford at that time. Call me crazy, but I only paid $750 for this complete 2015 setup. How do you pass that up?

Thanks for following. I can't wait to get it in. I'm sitting at work right now thinking about it.

[frink84]

That's an absolutely badass new rear end setup!

I like those Roush wheels, even though it sounds like they are just for mock-up. I hear they are heavy suckers though.

[Sbeck09]

Thanks! I'm pumped seeing it here.

So funny enough these wheels weren't as heavy as I expected. Just by feel, I would say they are a few lbs heavier than some of the 18x10 wheels I've been around, but not horrible. I'll probably use these for basic around town stuff if they don't fit like crap. They may work really well with the now wider hubs. Or I can use them for drift tires. Oops....I've said too much...

[WallaceMFG]

Cool news! I've never looked at the S550 IRS very much to see how difficult it is to swap. But since you're doing a clean sheet install that is irrelevant. Should be cool when done!

[Sbeck09]

Cool news! I've never looked at the S550 IRS very much to see how difficult it is to swap. But since you're doing a clean sheet install that is irrelevant. Should be cool when done!

I gotta say after looking at it, the layout seems way easier to swap into various chassis. Certainly looks like it works better for mine. The mounts are slightly wider, the layout is more square, and the front mount ears aren't as low.


I REALLY do appreciate your input. It's looking into the SN95 stuff you brought up that made me think about the rear end too. I believe this wider setup will be better in the end.

[frink84]

I believe this wider setup will be better in the end.

you know what they say...

[Sbeck09]

Hahaha. Awesome. That way I can make it #hellaflush

[Sbeck09]

Somehow had some time to work on the IRS install tonight. It's not welded but it's about 95% ready to permanently install.





I do have some concerns about my ride height measurements so I'm planning to set the truck down to actual ride height tomorrow evening and see if I'm happy before going further. Goal is about 5" between the lowest point on the frame and the ground.

[Sbeck09]

Man I'm going to spoil you guys with these mid-week updates. Haha.

First off, BIG thanks to jonesbs9 on here. He texted me some great info this morning to help with the IRS install since he's already done it successfully.

This evening's task was to drop the entire truck down and level it at ride height. That was.....interesting. Aside from the crazy running back an forth from side to side to gradually lower the jack stands (yay for working solo), I ended up actually dropping the truck on the ground. Scared the hell out of me at the time. I guess a jack stand got kicked sideways and fell. Luckily nothing broke and it was already halfway down. Sorry I didn't get pics. I was focused on picking it back up.

Here is where it ended up. Bear in mind that this rear sub frame is sitting 2.5" too low. I had my suspicions and jonesbs9 told me that it would seem like it would be setting too high in the frame, but it would really be right. He knew his ****. By my original measurements, this should have been acceptable. No big deal.



The entire point of doing this was to find issues like this:



Somewhere I didn't quite measure right and you can see that my lower control arm is angled up. This will royally screw my roll center so I'll probably just cut the tacks on the cross member and shave about 1/2" off the top to raise it. At least the steering rack will have more ground clearance this way.



MOAR LOW! I'm 5'10" for reference. Lowest point on the frame to the ground is 6.5". I think this makes it manageable around town but low enough to handle great. Time will tell.

[Project Bike Truck]

This is legit!

The Ranchero is 6 5/8 from the bottom of the rocker from all my math with the shocks in the right part of the stroke and lower arms level.

Congrats on the milestone!

[Sbeck09]

Thanks man. I was going to go lower, but it's amazing how much more work an additional inch would be from here. Plus, after seeing what a little less than 6.5" looks like, I'm not sure street driving lower would be fun. My BMW was about 5" to the rocker and I had to take it easy with parking lots and speed bumps. Lance is working with me to have my shocks built to sit perfectly in the stroke. I need to get him length numbers first.

As much as it's a milestone, I'm kind of annoyed at myself for having to redo parts. I try to measure everything 10x so this doesn't happen, but better now than later.

The plan for this weekend is finish the rear install, fix my front roll center issue, and complete all 4 front control arms. Wish me luck!

[jonesbs9]

[QUOTE=Sbeck09;1290291]Man I'm going to spoil you guys with these mid-week updates. Haha.

First off, BIG thanks to jonesbs9 on here. He texted me some great info this morning to help with the IRS install since he's already done it successfully.

This evening's task was to drop the entire truck down and level it at ride height. That was.....interesting. Aside from the crazy running back an forth from side to side to gradually lower the jack stands (yay for working solo), I ended up actually dropping the truck on the ground. Scared the hell out of me at the time. I guess a jack stand got kicked sideways and fell. Luckily nothing broke and it was already halfway down. Sorry I didn't get pics. I was focused on picking it back up.

Here is where it ended up. Bear in mind that this rear sub frame is sitting 2.5" too low. I had my suspicions and jonesbs9 told me that it would seem like it would be setting too high in the frame, but it would really be right. He knew his ****. By my original measurements, this should have been acceptable. No big deal.

You will like it!! I'm so glad I went this route...Its like it was made for these trucks.. need anything, let me know

[Sbeck09]

This project is the biggest flippin emotional roller coaster. And yes, I'm being dramatic. Deal with it. Haha.

Last night I jumped right on the rear suspension install since I knew I could tack it up in an evening. I spent over an hour measuring and tweaking to try and make it perfect. Only the alignment shop will tell if I did a good job. Had to throw on the tires too and see what we are working with. Hell. Yeah. Brother. I think it looks badass already.



Of course I need to build shock mounts, finish weld, and plate it in so it's stronger, but at least it supports itself. Why can't the front be this easy?!

Which leads me to how I wasted a day working on the truck today. Not only do I have to make a 3rd set of lower control arms, but I also had to raise the entire front cross member. The angle gauge showed that the hub side was 2 degrees higher so I cut 1.25" off the top of my cross member. It's so fun making your own suspension on uneven ground....not. For the record, this thing was not nearly as heavy as I expected.



Fast forward an hour and I got it back in. I stood back and felt proud. Then I decided to throw on a fender so I could snap a pic for you guys and show off how great it looked. Only I never got the pic because I discovered the crossmember needed to be moved back almost 2 inches. Yeah....The tire was way off center in the wheel well. ****. I have no idea how I screwed the axle center-line up that bad.



So 3rd times the charm remains the theme. I moved it back and tacked it in. If you look at earlier photos you will easily see that I moved it. Oh yeah...you can also see where I'm adding the internal reinforcement. This is where I stopped tonight. I needed a break.



Not what I wanted to show you guys today. I wanted to finish the lower control arms and maybe even start on the uppers. I'm pretty confident that I can move onto those parts next. Please let the rest of my measurements be right...