amgvr4
Adventurer
I have thought about it. I will probably get everything together and make sure it all works together first then replace the steering box. Red head is local to me and I have heard many good things about their products.
OBS F250 slow adventure build
- Thread starter amgvr4
- Start date
I have thought about it. I will probably get everything together and make sure it all works together first then replace the steering box. Red head is local to me and I have heard many good things about their products.
seanpistol
Explorer
I'd definitely be interested to hear your before and after results.
I'm about to help my buddy swap his D50 for a D60 in his OBS 7.3 SCLB F250 the coming weeks, but keeping it leaf sprung with a 5" reverse shackle kit to have it sit on 37s. Your work to get your on coils is impressive so far. Can't wait to see how your truck turns out.
I'm about to help my buddy swap his D50 for a D60 in his OBS 7.3 SCLB F250 the coming weeks, but keeping it leaf sprung with a 5" reverse shackle kit to have it sit on 37s. Your work to get your on coils is impressive so far. Can't wait to see how your truck turns out.
amgvr4
Adventurer
Track bar
I got the track bar done this weekend. This was the most challenging part of the project so far from a design stand point. I had a really hard time deciding where to mount the brackets on the frame and axle so that there was the least amount of interference as possible. With as much work as I knew would go into the location of everything the last thing I wanted was to have to scrap it and start over because of an oversight. I will still have to cut some more from the engine cross member to get another inch or so clearance on the passenger side, but with 5" of up travel and as much as my shocks will allow down I am pretty happy with it at this point.
I started with 3/8" plate and drilled my 9/16" mounting hole
Then I tacked it on and checked to make sure my angle and lengths were good. Both the track bar and drag link are sitting at a 3* angle at ride height
Then I bent the inside plate out of 1/4"
Next I fully boxed it all in
Finally I trimmed the round spring plates to fit around the bracket and remove unneeded material. I love having a plasma cutter!
I will probably throw on some more gussets, it is super stout but I still feel the need for some more lateral support.
I got the track bar done this weekend. This was the most challenging part of the project so far from a design stand point. I had a really hard time deciding where to mount the brackets on the frame and axle so that there was the least amount of interference as possible. With as much work as I knew would go into the location of everything the last thing I wanted was to have to scrap it and start over because of an oversight. I will still have to cut some more from the engine cross member to get another inch or so clearance on the passenger side, but with 5" of up travel and as much as my shocks will allow down I am pretty happy with it at this point.
I started with 3/8" plate and drilled my 9/16" mounting hole
Then I tacked it on and checked to make sure my angle and lengths were good. Both the track bar and drag link are sitting at a 3* angle at ride height
Then I bent the inside plate out of 1/4"
Next I fully boxed it all in
Finally I trimmed the round spring plates to fit around the bracket and remove unneeded material. I love having a plasma cutter!
I will probably throw on some more gussets, it is super stout but I still feel the need for some more lateral support.
amgvr4
Adventurer
Function testing
These are out of order from the last part of the previous post, but I wanted to keep all the track bar mounting info in one post and the articulation and clearance stuff in another. The base 3/8' plate was plenty stout enough to function test the articulation and clearance even with just a few tack welds. There are a lot of pictures and some of them might be a little redundant but i wanted to post them to help others get an idea how everything sits when it is in place.
This is with the axle up on the pass side and down on the drivers
This is at full droop
Full stuff
From underneath
The side
Next I have to get the coil buckets mounted and then I can let it sit on the axle under its own weight to get an idea how much the springs will compress. I will probably need to mess with the lower spring seats to get the ride height just right. I am also not sure if I am going to mount the shocks in front of or behind the spring. I am afraid that if I go behind like I had originally planned there wont be enough room for longer stroke shocks. I will get a measurement and then order up my Bilstein 5100s, extended brake lines, and a few other odds and ends to wrap up the front.
These are out of order from the last part of the previous post, but I wanted to keep all the track bar mounting info in one post and the articulation and clearance stuff in another. The base 3/8' plate was plenty stout enough to function test the articulation and clearance even with just a few tack welds. There are a lot of pictures and some of them might be a little redundant but i wanted to post them to help others get an idea how everything sits when it is in place.
This is with the axle up on the pass side and down on the drivers
This is at full droop
Full stuff
From underneath
The side
Next I have to get the coil buckets mounted and then I can let it sit on the axle under its own weight to get an idea how much the springs will compress. I will probably need to mess with the lower spring seats to get the ride height just right. I am also not sure if I am going to mount the shocks in front of or behind the spring. I am afraid that if I go behind like I had originally planned there wont be enough room for longer stroke shocks. I will get a measurement and then order up my Bilstein 5100s, extended brake lines, and a few other odds and ends to wrap up the front.
amgvr4
Adventurer
Coils or coilovers?
Tonight I ran into a little bit of a fork in the road so to speak. I concentrated on getting at least one of the coil buckets mounted so I could test out the springs and figure out shock mounting options. First off I was able to use the old shock mount holes to bolt the passenger side coil bucket in place to see if the junk yard bronco springs were going to work for me. The drivers side frame has a protrusion that will require some modification to the bucket on that side before I can test both springs together. Unfortunately the springs seem way to soft. I was hoping that the extra weight of the 7.3 psd would soften the notoriously stiff off the shelf lift springs to provide just the right balance of flex and compliance, but it my be too much. The story might change when I try both together but I doubt it will make that much of a difference. They also compress twice as much as I was hoping they would which shorts me 2" of ride height that I need. The springs are 19" long uncompressed and 15" with the trucks weight on the passenger side. I could make some extended coil spacers for the bottom to get the lift I want, but I am still worried that the spring rate is too soft.
The other challenge is mounting the shocks. If I mount them behind the coils like I had originally planned, I do not have enough room to fit 12" travel Bilstein 5100s like I want to. I might be able to squeeze 10" 5100s in that location but that is eating into my droop more than I would like. The whole point of all this work is to take advantage of the flex that long arms provide so the more stroke the better in my book. I could mount the shocks in front of the coil but it would take more work and might not be ideal from a design standpoint.
With all this in mind I started looking into coilovers as it would solve both problems at the expense of a pile of cash. If I have to buy new springs it will cost around $250, $160 for Bilsteins, so about $410 for the more traditional way. A set of coilovers with dual rate springs with the same stroke as the Bilsteins would be about $700. I am going to call and talk to F-O-A tomorrow and see what they say.
Here is the spring under compression. There doesn't loot to me a ton more compression left in these. I need at least 4-5" of up travel and I can't tell if I could get it with these springs
From 19" to 15"
Tonight I ran into a little bit of a fork in the road so to speak. I concentrated on getting at least one of the coil buckets mounted so I could test out the springs and figure out shock mounting options. First off I was able to use the old shock mount holes to bolt the passenger side coil bucket in place to see if the junk yard bronco springs were going to work for me. The drivers side frame has a protrusion that will require some modification to the bucket on that side before I can test both springs together. Unfortunately the springs seem way to soft. I was hoping that the extra weight of the 7.3 psd would soften the notoriously stiff off the shelf lift springs to provide just the right balance of flex and compliance, but it my be too much. The story might change when I try both together but I doubt it will make that much of a difference. They also compress twice as much as I was hoping they would which shorts me 2" of ride height that I need. The springs are 19" long uncompressed and 15" with the trucks weight on the passenger side. I could make some extended coil spacers for the bottom to get the lift I want, but I am still worried that the spring rate is too soft.
The other challenge is mounting the shocks. If I mount them behind the coils like I had originally planned, I do not have enough room to fit 12" travel Bilstein 5100s like I want to. I might be able to squeeze 10" 5100s in that location but that is eating into my droop more than I would like. The whole point of all this work is to take advantage of the flex that long arms provide so the more stroke the better in my book. I could mount the shocks in front of the coil but it would take more work and might not be ideal from a design standpoint.
With all this in mind I started looking into coilovers as it would solve both problems at the expense of a pile of cash. If I have to buy new springs it will cost around $250, $160 for Bilsteins, so about $410 for the more traditional way. A set of coilovers with dual rate springs with the same stroke as the Bilsteins would be about $700. I am going to call and talk to F-O-A tomorrow and see what they say.
Here is the spring under compression. There doesn't loot to me a ton more compression left in these. I need at least 4-5" of up travel and I can't tell if I could get it with these springs
From 19" to 15"
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
This train of thought is seriously off track. I have been hiding out in the Land Cruiser section a bit more having recently bought another one, and then came back here the other day. Wow! You have done some awesome work! The detail in the posts showing your process is fantastic. It's like a step by step manual on how to coil 60 an OBS truck. Keep up the good work!
Sooper Camper
Adventurer
i hate to say it because i don't want to come off as an elitest in anyway, but you gotta pay to play with this stuff. solid build so far, don't go selling it short trying to bandaid junkyard parts into something else. sure, those lift springs might be "stiff" on a bronco, but you've probably got close to 1000lbs of extra weight over the front end when you start adding up the diesel, turbo ducting, crew cab, thicker frame etc. that all plays a huge factor in spring rate. and throwing SuperDuty springs in there isn't a great idea IMO either, those trucks are a LOT heavier than the "OBS". when it comes to designing custom suspension setups, the answer is 95% of the time "COIL-OVERS".
you need a 2.5" diameter coilover, anyone telling you a 2.0" will work is lying to you (which is where i'm assuming you got that $700 price). the options afforded to you with coilovers are much better, you get a shock that can be rebuilt forever, easily changed to what ever ride quality you want, and easily sprung for what ever weight you add/subtract in the future. your junkyard springs are going to always be too soft, because they were setup for something completely different, and a 5100 is not enough shock to adequately control the setup either, especially if you are using it to compensate for a spring that is too soft. i would also steer clear of FOA, seen and heard too many stories of their stuff falling apart...like they say "buy cheap, buy twice". PM me if you want to discuss further, I might work for a company that specializes in what you're doing, but we aren't setup as vendors here yet so I don't want to go ruffling any feathers. At the very least I'd be happy to give you pointers on where to go with shock selection, setups and how to select spring rates.
my buddy has the exact same truck configuration as you, but he kept the TTB and converted to 2.5"x8" travel coilovers; it cycles 10 or 12" at the wheel and is still stock height:
here is my 77 F350 running a similar setup on 2wd beams (throwing a D60 under my truck is now as simple as welding some shock tabs on, changing spring rates and adding a trac bar).
if you rode in either truck you would be blown away how well they ride for what they are, i've ridden in a lot of big dumb trucks and these are both up there in terms of "caddy-like ride from a 3/4-1 ton". the first truck has over 5 years on that setup including several 3k mile towing trips with a 30ft race trailer. and my truck gets used around the house thoroughly and often hauling a dozen rail ties, 2 yds of fill dirt etc.
carry on with the awesome build thread, and for the love of all that is safety, please make the frame side trac bar mount as burly as the axle side
you need a 2.5" diameter coilover, anyone telling you a 2.0" will work is lying to you (which is where i'm assuming you got that $700 price). the options afforded to you with coilovers are much better, you get a shock that can be rebuilt forever, easily changed to what ever ride quality you want, and easily sprung for what ever weight you add/subtract in the future. your junkyard springs are going to always be too soft, because they were setup for something completely different, and a 5100 is not enough shock to adequately control the setup either, especially if you are using it to compensate for a spring that is too soft. i would also steer clear of FOA, seen and heard too many stories of their stuff falling apart...like they say "buy cheap, buy twice". PM me if you want to discuss further, I might work for a company that specializes in what you're doing, but we aren't setup as vendors here yet so I don't want to go ruffling any feathers. At the very least I'd be happy to give you pointers on where to go with shock selection, setups and how to select spring rates.
my buddy has the exact same truck configuration as you, but he kept the TTB and converted to 2.5"x8" travel coilovers; it cycles 10 or 12" at the wheel and is still stock height:
here is my 77 F350 running a similar setup on 2wd beams (throwing a D60 under my truck is now as simple as welding some shock tabs on, changing spring rates and adding a trac bar).
if you rode in either truck you would be blown away how well they ride for what they are, i've ridden in a lot of big dumb trucks and these are both up there in terms of "caddy-like ride from a 3/4-1 ton". the first truck has over 5 years on that setup including several 3k mile towing trips with a 30ft race trailer. and my truck gets used around the house thoroughly and often hauling a dozen rail ties, 2 yds of fill dirt etc.
carry on with the awesome build thread, and for the love of all that is safety, please make the frame side trac bar mount as burly as the axle side
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
Sooooooooper camper: Don't worry. We don't get our feathers ruffled very easily around here. You can say where you work. I think the line gets crossed when you start trying to use the forum as your online sales order desk. Merely saying you work for Thuren, Fox, King, Carli or whoever is fine.
amgvr4
Adventurer
Sooper camper:
Thanks for the advice. It looks like your friend is running sway aways on his f250. I was pricing out f-o-a 2.5" emulsion coil overs and springs with the $700 price. I did a bunch of reading and it appears that it is a love then or hate them when it comes to f-o-a. I like the 12" fox 2.5 emulsions the best for my application but at $1150 with springs that is a big investment that really limits me on the other aspects of the project. Like you said, got to pay to play! If I can cash out some vacation time at work I will probably go with those just to get this thing done.
I will definetly be reinforcing the frame mount for the track bar. It was just lightly tacked on since I was really unsure if I would need to move it or not. When everything is in its final resting place and ready for paint I am going to round all the square edges and make everything more astetically pleasing.
Thanks for the advice. It looks like your friend is running sway aways on his f250. I was pricing out f-o-a 2.5" emulsion coil overs and springs with the $700 price. I did a bunch of reading and it appears that it is a love then or hate them when it comes to f-o-a. I like the 12" fox 2.5 emulsions the best for my application but at $1150 with springs that is a big investment that really limits me on the other aspects of the project. Like you said, got to pay to play! If I can cash out some vacation time at work I will probably go with those just to get this thing done.
I will definetly be reinforcing the frame mount for the track bar. It was just lightly tacked on since I was really unsure if I would need to move it or not. When everything is in its final resting place and ready for paint I am going to round all the square edges and make everything more astetically pleasing.
Sooper Camper
Adventurer
cool, i was just implying it will need more bracing not that your fab work is ugly. my buddy had one more beefy than that even and it still ripped off and caused a lot of subsequent damage. Granted, it was on a crawler, but still didn't last. I've seen guys run an extra long bolt through the bushing/rod end of the track bar with a rod in double shear braced over to the hump of the engine cross member, that takes a TON of load off the welds at the frame. wish i could find a picture, but hope you get the idea. I've seen a piece of box tube cut to be the bracket for the frame side end then notched to wrap up the outside of the frame used to good effect too. keep at it, the end product is always way more worth it than you think, especially at this point of the build i'm sure. been there, done that!
and yes, my buddy is running rust a ways. i got a smoking deal on the foxes, i was originally planning on running the same shocks as the TTB truck (had them from a van i scrapped).
at the sake of keeping this thread from derailing, i'll just say that I work at PolyPerformance and to PM me when you are ready for a smoking price on quality coilovers and advice on how to setup the spring rates. PolyPerformance offers a coil exchange program too, so you aren't out of pocket for countless springs you can't use. i help Jeep guys do this all day, always happy to help out a fellow Ford fan
and yes, my buddy is running rust a ways. i got a smoking deal on the foxes, i was originally planning on running the same shocks as the TTB truck (had them from a van i scrapped).
at the sake of keeping this thread from derailing, i'll just say that I work at PolyPerformance and to PM me when you are ready for a smoking price on quality coilovers and advice on how to setup the spring rates. PolyPerformance offers a coil exchange program too, so you aren't out of pocket for countless springs you can't use. i help Jeep guys do this all day, always happy to help out a fellow Ford fan
amgvr4
Adventurer
Thanks Java. Looks like I will be temporarily putting in the bronco coil springs on just to get the truck off jack stands. The HOA has sent me a letter informing me I'm in violation of the policy on eyesore vehicles so I will need to get it rolling this weekend just to satisfy the naighborhood commie patrol. I will figure out the coilovers I want to get this weekend and probably order them next week so I can have them as soon as possible. PM me sooper camper if you have a chance, I'd love to see what your thoughts are on the best option for my truck.
java
Expedition Leader
amgvr4
Adventurer
North end around Everett. It would be nice to have a PNW expo portal meetup some time. It is always good to put faces to screen names!