Installing the new long travel IFS.
Since day one our plan has been to build a new '04 F-150 into a four-wheel-drive prerunner that we could romp across the bumps and jumps of the Southwest desert to satisfy our need for speed. We're almost there--this is written as our Ford is just a SEMA show appearance away from hitting the dirt.
If you've been following along, you read last month that we took the truck to JD Fabrication to have a long-travel independent front suspension developed. This month we'll show you what the guys came up with, and, as a bonus, we'll share a secret--you'll be able to buy this front suspension from JD Fabrication for your own '04 F-150. Not excited enough yet? Watch for the final installment next month when the paint gets applied, the 37-inch Goodyear MT/Rs get mounted, and our F-150 gets airborne.
JD Fabrication's long-travel IFS kit is designed to be a bolt-on that you can order for your '04 F-150. The basic kit will include TIG-welded chromoly lower and machined-aluminum upper control arms, shock tower extensions, and Crown extended brake lines. The new trick arms increase the truck's track width a total of 8 inches for more travel without CV-joint binding. To upgrade the kit we went with a set of Bilstein 9100 series 10-inch-travel race shocks and reservoirs, nitrogen-charged bumpstops, and 600 lb-in Eibach coil springs from Poly Performance. | 
Ford's new F-150s come from the factory with coilover shocks, but to fit the 10-inch-travel Bilsteins, JD Fabrication cut out the top of the factory bucket and built these chromoly shock tower extensions. You probably don't have to ditch the plastic inner wheelwells to fit them, but we did for tire clearance at full suspension stuff. | 
Now that's a trick upper control arm! Instead of building them out of tube, JD Fabrication had a set machined out of aluminum. With the majority of the suspension load on the lower arm, the upper arm is a perfect place for aluminum. The results are less weight, plenty of strength, and way more bragging rights! |
Dave Dinsmore mocked up the new suspension without the coil spring to cycle it and verify CV-shaft-to-shock clearance. Initial measurement indicated almost 14 inches of travel is possible (5 inches more than stock) without binding the CV-joints or tie-rod ends. | 
Jesse Nelson specs DOM tube for all structural components that JD Fabrication builds. Since the bed cage on our truck was going to bolt directly to the frame, Nelson formed it from DOM to add rigidity to the chassis as well as to be sure the shocks have a solid foundation. | 
Now that's what a lift kit should look like! Initially we're using 600 lb-in coil springs from Poly Performance and an estimated shock valving from Bilstein as a baseline. Check back next month after we've done some testing with both companies to dial in the perfect setup. In this photo we're still waiting on longer halfshafts and extensions for the tie-rod ends to wrap up the front end. |
We didn't have time to build the four-link we wanted, so the rear suspension was upgraded with a supple pair of Deaver Springs and damped with a set of 17-inch-travel Bilstein 9100 externally adjustable bypass shocks. To fit that much shock, JD Fabrication cut holes in the rear of the bed and constructed a shock mount/bed cage for our Ford. | 
After the bed cage was constructed and tacked together, Nelson unbolted it from the truck and finished welding it on the shop floor. No, he didn't TIG-weld the whole thing together, just the critical areas where the MIG-welder wouldn't have given him the results he wanted. But believe us, Dinsmore and Nelson weld so well we felt terrible painting over their work. | 
With the SEMA show fast approaching, we needed to get our F-150 to KC Customs in Santa Rosa, California, for paint, pronto. Knowing that we were in a logistical pinch, JD Fabrication's friend Scott Conley (brother of professional surfer Brian Conley) hooked up Brian's Hurricane Hunter F-350 to our F-150 for a midnight run half way up the coast of California. Thanks, guys! |