Recently I had the opportunity to pick up a new project vehicle (a ’60 Ford F-100) from a good friend of mine, John Meadows at Deuces Wild Hotrods & Customs Inc. The truck is not perfect and the motor is not running, but hey, all that stuff is coming out and being replaced with quality aftermarket parts anyhow. So where do I start? How far should I take the build? Do I want to show it or just drive it? This is when my wonderful wife got involved and said, “If your going to build another truck, it better be for me.” I responded in my usual sarcastic tone, “Can I call it ‘honey do’ and get out of doing chores?” It was worth a shot, but hey, I have a new project ready and waiting for modification.
To be honest, it was John’s idea to use the Morrison tubing – and a great one at that. John started off by clamping the tubing onto the ’60 frame that he leveled on his frame table. This can also be done with jackstands and the bed off of the truck. Note: depending on how high you go with the C-notch, you may need to modify the bed.
A game plan is not set for the truck yet because my wife and I need to research what she likes and doesn’t like. What I can tell you is that I will be starting with the frame and suspension to get the stance correct. John’s original plan was to make the truck handle, but be geared for the street and not the autocross. I think I may stick with that plan and do my best to show you guys how to do it with off-the-shelf parts and minimal fabrication skills. Getting ready for suspension you need to consider how low you want to go, but maybe more important is suspension travel. Have you ever been driving down the road and BANG – you hit your rear bumpstops because of a small dip?
An axle centerline measurement was taken before the frame was stripped apart. Here, John is measuring the centerline to make sure the Morrison C-notch will be straight in the frame.
I have, and I know plenty of trucks that could use a few more inches of travel in the rear suspension. To get more travel in the rear and a lot more room to lower the rear suspension, we called up Art Morrison Enterprises and ordered a set of their pre-bent, 90-degree mandrel-bent square tubing (part # 32347200). The square tubing is bent the hard way, and to be honest, we were expecting it to be kinked in spots, but when the tubing arrived it was almost perfect.
