Ford F-100 twin I-beam

[rehoward]

Hi all,

Thinking of building a retro rod and thought of using a Ford F-100 truck chassis. I have a 1975 Ford F-100 with the twin-I beam front suspension and while looking at it tonight it seems damn heavy even for a low capacity F-100. Ford does build their trucks tough! Anyone know what year the twin I-beam was introduced? I like the idea of independent front suspension. It is waaaay better on the road than a solid axle but retains the solid axle look Thanks.

Randy

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Welcome to RRR.

1965 for the twin I-beam, I believe. Maybe Sam Fear can shed some light on the subject...

.

 

[BlueNorther]

I had one of those 65 f100 with the twin I beam. didn't ride or handle any better than the 63 my buddy had at the time (mid 70's). shook and shimmied like a drunk whore.

put new kingpin kits and 2 great big humongous Gabriel adjustable front shocks on it, that finally got rid of the death wiggles at more than 45 mph.

worst front suspension idea ever foisted on the American public.

 

[rehoward]

I disagree entirely. I built a 1952 Ford with a stock drop axle. You could actually feel the white stripes on a crosswalk with that setup. No fooling. The split front I-beam is immensly better. You must have had issues that you did not figure out.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Yep, '65 was the first year. The twin-I mostly gets ignored in hot rodding because when you lower it, it changes the camber. So, the axles need to be bent. Also the stock spring towers are huge. Bulky and wide. ( ...and they are Ford, which the SBC guys can't relate to.) Those suspensions were built heavy because back then trucks were real work vehicles, not haul a couple plants from the garden center interstate cruisers.

Personally, I'd like to see them used more. There is a lot of potential there - especially for an air ride set up.

 

[Neto]

I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this, but here's a write-up about this type of front suspension.
http://www.hotrodders.com/scratch-built/Chassis:_Front_Suspension

 

[rehoward]

Great article Neto. Thanks!

Randy

 

[Sam_Fear]

I wonder if you could use 2 right side beams (the later shorter ones) and narrow the trackwidth to a better hot rod size.

 

[soltz]

Ford Guy

On my 94 F-150 i used bell dropped axles and short springs, total of 4 inches, great handling good ride no complaints.[cl

On my 69 i put in a volre adju. torsion bar set up just so i could slam it a little more.[

The twins are big and can be ugly but if it's what you got, it's what you run[P

 

[rehoward]

Yeah, but when you drive it hard into a corner, or even on a rough road, the suspension handles the forces instead of them being passed onto the car. Straight axles F&R is like driving a car built on an old four poster bed frame. Most rods are designed to be driven in a straight line anyway I guess.

 

[Dgeman]

Don't forget 80's rangers had twin I beam also. If your looking to be more narrow.

 

[zzrodder]

I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this, but here's a write-up about this type of front suspension.
http://www.hotrodders.com/scratch-built/Chassis:_Front_Suspension

I just looked back at this link and realized some of the pics are of the first pickup I built from a 78 F150 chassis, it's the red one in the first pic and some of the frame and partial build shots. Sold it to a guy in WI in 2004, the pics are ones I gave him from the build. He later built a roadster using a later F150 front end but it didn't look as tidy as the 65-79 type.
Here's a pic of it finished.