'95 F-150 track ready street beast

[frink84]

Now the "I told you so" award goes to frink84. I thought I accounted for full steering lock on the rear of the lower control arms. Fail. They are about 1/4" too far back. No biggy I just get to cut and move them forward slightly. But you can say it buddy. You were right.

Woo! Though in this case I hate to be right, as it's more work for you.

[egoman]

The answer to using the bolt is a positive YES.

[Sbeck09]

So as much as I adhere to the southwestern tradition of Taco Tuesday, I am making a new one for today only : Test fit Tuesday. It's been a busy parts week for the road race F150 already.

For starters I grabbed some factory parts as well as new parts from the engine builder real quick today so I could start on motor and trans mounts. I also scored a WELL used 351w block from an old circle track racer down the road yesterday. I still think the coolest thing about the car hobby is the people you meet. The guy was a wealth of information about Ford and Chevy small blocks.

Here is one of my heads fresh out of the box. Easily half the weight of the factory heads and MUCH bigger ports and valves. I like an engine that breathes.



He is of course going to clean up the ports a bit and add all the valve train goodies we got. Should be a very reliable top end.

What you really want to see is this:



Yes it's all kinds of crooked and not far enough back, but you get the idea. Tranny is bolted up along with the headers. as far as clearance goes, I'm solid all the way around. Might have to set the engine about 3/4" higher than I expected due to the monster oil pan we got, but I'll accept that compromise. And the bad news...the headers were advertised as being good for a stock fox body with 351w swap. Driver side header looks good so far. Passenger side not so much. The rear primary is all over my factory starter and I am not sure it will clear the oil pan either. So I guess I get to cut up $1300 headers which really annoys me. I should have made my own from the get go.

Bright side, my suspension design fits better than I hoped. After my couple of required tweaks and finish welding that will finally be done. PROGRESS!!!!

Speaking of, anyone have a solid recommendation for a MIG welder that is $1000 or less. I'm gonna have to retire my poor Miller.

[Sbeck09]

The answer to using the bolt is a positive YES.

You're the real MVP here. Stick around...I might end up needing you to save my ass again.

[Project Bike Truck]

I Dig my Miller 211

[SSLance]

I Dig my Miller 211

I like mine as well...

- - - Updated - - -

I also scored a WELL used 351w block from an old circle track racer down the road yesterday. I still think the coolest thing about the car hobby is the people you meet. The guy was a wealth of information about Ford and Chevy small blocks.

Don is awesome isn't he. He saved my butt on my third member repair last summer. Friend of a friend...it's not always what you know but who you know. ;)

[Sbeck09]

Man you guys are the worst influence on my wallet. Haha. I love Miller, but their stuff is so expensive even used. I do like the specs on that 211 though...

And yes, Don was great to just listen to. You've proven to be an invaluable resource on this project already Lance regardless of if I need parts or people. Thanks a ton!

[Sbeck09]

Ok guys I feel I should voice a concern here so you can all hit me with blunt constructive criticism and make sure I'm building safely. Really, don't hold back.

I keep thinking about my lower control arms. I love that they are so adjustable, but I am concerned about the amount of load each side is going to deal with. Plus the arms are made from 1.25 x .120 DOM so I'm worried about bending even if I reinforce the shock mount well. Would I be better served to completely dump the clevis pin on the wheel side and move up to 1.5 x .120 DOM? This way both sides of the arms are welded to the outer bearing cup and the arm has more meat all around. I would still maintain the inner heims for some adjustment.

Remember that this thing will probably weigh around 3500lbs with sticky 315s. Front weight bias could be up to 60%.

Thoughts? Best guesses?

[Project Bike Truck]

Ok guys I feel I should voice a concern here so you can all hit me with blunt constructive criticism and make sure I'm building safely. Really, don't hold back.

I keep thinking about my lower control arms. I love that they are so adjustable, but I am concerned about the amount of load each side is going to deal with. Plus the arms are made from 1.25 x .120 DOM so I'm worried about bending even if I reinforce the shock mount well. Would I be better served to completely dump the clevis pin on the wheel side and move up to 1.5 x .120 DOM? This way both sides of the arms are welded to the outer bearing cup and the arm has more meat all around. I would still maintain the inner heims for some adjustment.

Remember that this thing will probably weigh around 3500lbs with sticky 315s. Front weight bias could be up to 60%.

Thoughts? Best guesses?

How often do you see adjustable lower control arms?

I Feel like I comment too much on your page as it is?

[cornfedbill]

Ok guys I feel I should voice a concern here so you can all hit me with blunt constructive criticism and make sure I'm building safely. Really, don't hold back.

I keep thinking about my lower control arms. I love that they are so adjustable, but I am concerned about the amount of load each side is going to deal with. Plus the arms are made from 1.25 x .120 DOM so I'm worried about bending even if I reinforce the shock mount well. Would I be better served to completely dump the clevis pin on the wheel side and move up to 1.5 x .120 DOM? This way both sides of the arms are welded to the outer bearing cup and the arm has more meat all around. I would still maintain the inner heims for some adjustment.

Remember that this thing will probably weigh around 3500lbs with sticky 315s. Front weight bias could be up to 60%.

Thoughts? Best guesses?

Okay, but just because you asked.

Circle track racers use often use strut type front lower control arms (loosely based on the old Ford design). See https://www.speedwaymotors.com/AFCO-...ss,241256.html.

They do not use a clevis on the lower arm though. the forward strut bolts to the lower "arm" with two bolts. I would suggest changing the clevis to a bolted strut like this example or a Mustang II front end. I think you are pretty close.

[CSG]

I don't know if this helps with any ideas but these are what Griggs makes for road race mustangs.

[Sbeck09]

I don't know if this helps with any ideas but these are what Griggs makes for road race mustangs.

That's exactly what I was looking at when designing all of this. I can't find any info on what material size they used though.

[Sbeck09]

How often do you see adjustable lower control arms?

I Feel like I comment too much on your page as it is?

I never see it, which is probably why I'm questioning it. Please...keep the comments coming.

Okay, but just because you asked.

Circle track racers use often use strut type front lower control arms (loosely based on the old Ford design). See https://www.speedwaymotors.com/AFCO-...ss,241256.html.

They do not use a clevis on the lower arm though. the forward strut bolts to the lower "arm" with two bolts. I would suggest changing the clevis to a bolted strut like this example or a Mustang II front end. I think you are pretty close.

Thanks! I was hoping to have some more experienced folks jump in. I had that direct bolt-on thought in the beginning, but I copied some circle track arms I saw with a clevis so I could have threads on both ends of that rear arm. I figured it allowed the rear arm length to have more adjustment. Am I misunderstanding this setup?

Seems you all have no doubts about the material size as long as there is plenty of gussets? Thanks again for the quick input here everyone. This is how I learn best.

[CSG]

I can't comment on material strength in that application. I do know that Griggs builds stuff what Bruce calls "racer light". With that said I don't feel he would have added that large reinforcement if it was not needed and I have heard of that arm breaking on cars with sticky 315's. Of-course like you said we do not know the material.

[cornfedbill]

Thanks! I was hoping to have some more experienced folks jump in. I had that direct bolt-on thought in the beginning, but I copied some circle track arms I saw with a clevis so I could have threads on both ends of that rear arm. I figured it allowed the rear arm length to have more adjustment. Am I misunderstanding this setup?

Seems you all have no doubts about the material size as long as there is plenty of gussets? Thanks again for the quick input here everyone. This is how I learn best.

I think you have a good design. It is not without precedent on the track. Sometimes public roads can be more severe than a race track.

Good gussets and good welds will be key. Keep up the good work.

[CSG]

The cortex design looks nice as well.

[frink84]

I'd look at what some of the drift folks have done, as they usually have a ton of adjustment in their arms. I found these pretty quickly: https://driftamerican.com/stage-3-dr...79-04-mustang/

[Sbeck09]

The cortex design looks nice as well.

Agreed. Almost like a beefier Griggs arm in some ways. Both of those companies make me wish I had an S197 to just throw money at.

I'd look at what some of the drift folks have done, as they usually have a ton of adjustment in their arms. I found these pretty quickly: https://driftamerican.com/stage-3-dr...79-04-mustang/

That design is basically what I was thinking about doing if I redesigned out of bigger tubing. Those guys beat the hell out of stuff so you know it would be fine for what I'm doing.

OK fine. You all have talked me into it. I'm gonna gusset and weld the hell out of these lower arms. We shall find out the results together!

[Sbeck09]

Not the most productive weekend I've had and it's totally my fault. I had some buddies come over to check the project out and then we rode our project scooters (yes that's a thing and you're missing out). And I just kinda worked slowly overall.

When I was at the engine builder last week he let me steal the actual oil pan for mockup which was sweet! I have to say that it's a MONSTER. Not the biggest I've seen, but I think this is about 7.5 qts. It's got all the trap doors around the sump too. True road race piece.



This brings me back to the epic failure of my headers again. You'll notice they are no longer bolted on. Because neither side fits with this oil pan. I'm really frustrated about it and should have made my own. That's what I get for trying to mix and match parts. So to attempt to get my money's worth I'll be cutting these and hopefully making lemonade out of these lemons. Ugh.

Finally had a reason to unbox the motor mounts I ordered 3 months ago. Cool pieces. Similar to the LS swap stuff everyone likes, me included. This is the only company I could find that offers such a thing for SBF. Perfect for this build too.





And of course once I got to sliding everything in things went out of control again. The person I am, never being content with "that will work," meant the motor is going to be offset only .5 inches to the passenger side (much more centered than the factory setup) and is about 98% behind the axle. Like, the timing cover and accessories will be the only things in front of the axle center line. But hey, because race truck.



The out of control part comes from the fire wall cutting this brought on. For the record, I hate sheet metal welding. But the driver's side cylinder head was bumping just slightly and I probably need to cut a bit more for the valve covers. I'd love to have one of those handy right now...



After using my neighbor's Lincoln 210 MP all weekend for this work I have this to say: not a big fan of the inverter welders they make now. I don't feel it's as smooth. The one positive is that you can turn it WAY down and it doesn't blow out thin sheet metal nearly as easy, but that's the only positive I have.

That's it for now. As always, more to come soon.

[cornfedbill]

Getting closer to wrapping up the front suspension.

Today was one of those days where you spend 75% of your time on cutting and shaping little brackets. First bracket up was the upper uniball to clevis pins. Nothing fancy here, but I like it.

Attachment 161571

Then I started playing around with where everything would mount. Thanks to Lance I had a shock to feel out what interference I might have. Turns out I had to move my upper control arm mount back outboard by about 1/2". No big deal since wider wheels will likely not need much additional backspacing. I'm prioritizing suspension geometry over possible wider wheels here. It was kind of exciting to see this all together for the first time.

Attachment 161572

After making some measurements and moving mounts around I landed on this

Attachment 161574

I feel good about how it all came out thus far. Obviously I need to add some material to the top of the frame rail. Thanks a lot Ford for making the most crooked frame ever. I'll see if I have any 3/16" steel plate handy. If not, I can work on finishing the rear end welds until I get some this week. Then onto shock mounts and actually ordering coilovers (Yay!). I really need to find an empty 351w block to make motor mounts too. Clock is ticking there. Anyone know where I can find a bare block for cheap in Phoenix?

I was looking at the upper control arm photos. What is to prevent the ball joint assembly from rotating in the two clevises? Normally you would have one clevis and weld the other leg to the flange on the ball joint sleeve. Take a look at SPC upper control arms and some of the circle track uppers. It should be an easy modification from what you have.

Overall, your craftsmanship is great. This is a very interesting build.