Forest Service Truck Coyote Swap

[miller]

I decided to make a new close out plate out of a new piece of metal, it looks cleaner to me and a bit easier to weld. I got both plates made and welded in. Welded passenger lower control arm mount. Cleaned frame, used POR15 degreaser, metal prep and semigloss paint.

[DuckRyder]

Nice!

[miller]

I put Lincoln rack back under truck and man did it fight. I had the rack in , bolted and tight when I welded everything except for the close out plates. It was almost like it was too narrow and the Lincoln rack center pins would not drop back in. It took some persuasion, but I got everything bolted down. So then I figured I did not need the front frame welded supports and cut them out. The front bumper horn came in a 1/2 inch each side. Put the bumper on to get front horn aligned and then welded some square tube back in to keep that aligned.I think I will leave that in place. Set motor and tranny. I ended up setting center of front crank bolt and center of tranny output shaft @ 16.5" off inside passenger frame. Motor and tranny output shaft sitting @ 3 degrees down. Felt like I was spinning my wheels all day! The power steering rack fittings are going to be tight no matter what I do, but it will work.

[miller]

I trimmed inner fenders about an inch on both sides so they would clear the Lincoln rack mounting bolts and installed front clip. Starting to lay out my radiator from 2005 mustang GT and my Volvo power steering pump assembly. It looks like the radiator will work with some core support trimming, but sits a couple inches below the core support opening. Not sure if that will be a cooling issue. It looks like I will be able to tuck the power steering pump on drivers side front and attach to core support. The 4 link is delayed in shipping, imagine that LOL.

[390FE1972]

It looks like it is coming along nicely!! Great job!

[miller]

I decided to get a new champion radiator with dual fans, tranny cooler and lifetime warranty. Seems like everything is $500 bucks, but will be worth it in long run. I located Volvo power steering unit on drivers inner fender. It will attach to front core support and the frame. Inner fender needs some closeout work, but waiting to get new radiator to see how that fits.

[miller]

I removed the Dana 60 and then mocked up the Ford 9". I put the bed on so I can see how well the wheel is centered in the wheel well with the axle center. I am happy with how the wheel is centered. So I am currently sitting with a 7/8" rake measured with level center of bed. The front wheel well has 2" of clearance from top of tire to fender lip and my rear only has 1.25".My thought is to have a level ride height. Both front and rear fenders measure the same from level floor to lip of fender. I guess there is a factory rake to the truck so with it level the rear tire will be tucked into the wheel well more than the front. I am going to lower the truck a couple more inches with the coil overs. Any thoughts on the rake or level ride height? I figured I would stop for the day and research what to do on this so I am squared away for the 4 link mock up.

[JoshT]

They certainly had a rake to them stock. In addition to that the rest wheel arches are smaller than the front. So if you level the truck or will look like the front is sitting higher. If I were lowering one I'd probably go more for the tires looking about the same in the wheel arches more than the truck sitting level which would result in a raked stance, but leveled doesn't look bad on them lowered either. The stance in that last pic looks good to me if it's what you are going for.

If I were good with sheet metal and had the patience I might level and make the rear arches closer to the size of the front. Actually that's something I might consider on my 4x4 as well if I had the skills and patience for it.

[miller]

Thanks for reply. I think I need to purchase the front coil overs and get the front set to where I want it and set the rear off that.I think the 18” tires are too small so need to figure out what rims and tires I want to run.

[miller]

I brought rear down an additional inch which still gives the truck a 5/8" rake. I think I am going to be at my limit due to the axle to frame clearance which is currently a bit over 6". Need to do some more research on that clearance I want the truck to ride nice and not bottom out. I think I will talk to Naake suspension and the 4 link manufacturer on that. Search on google says minimum 4".

[miller]

So another thing I just checked is the top of pumpkin to bed clearance is at 4.75” so really my travel at this ride height is limited to that.

[miller]

Purchased front coil-overs from Naake and installed. Dropped front down about 3.25 inches from previous pictures and dropped rear down an additional inch. I will only have about 3.25 inches between top of pumpkin and bottom of rear bed. If I have to cut rear bed for clearance I am fine with that, I did not like the look. This is my ride height and I'm happy. Next pull bed and get 4 link mocked up.

[miller]

Removed rear leaf springs and all brackets. Started to mock up my Welder Series triangulated 4 link.

[miller]

I measured a thousand times and then welded the axle in place at ride height, centered with the pinion @ 3 degrees. It was just moving around too much while mocking it up. For the upper links I need to order a 2x3" bar to mount the forward link plates to. I mocked up the lower links as per welder series instructions and found this to work. I will be ordering some plate to weld to frame on both sides where u currently see card board.

[miller]

Did a bit more work on the upper bars. If I move the upper forward mounts to the middle of the frame I am concerned about drive shaft clearance. I will have to mount a bar in between the frame which might cause issues. If I mount the forward mounts on the inside of the frame I will have to work around the original cross brace or remove it to have access to weld the mounts. Contacted Paul Horton at welder series and he said the upper bar angles can be adjusted to what will work and asked if I could put the upper bars outside the frame rails. I mocked it up and I think going outside the frame rails will work best. The lower mount I had to put directly under the frame rail so the rear shock mount will stay within 25 degrees when mounted to the upper mount and still clear the frame. I have just been spinning my wheels for the last couple of days, time for a break.