Thugs 65 f-100 build With Dakota suspension

[rickairmedic]

Well it is a Ford and it does need to be dissassembled . Granted its also 100+ outside for the next several days .


Rick

[Robert]

Looking good any more updates

[65f100_Thug]

Other than an aluminum water pump( took that noisy freakin gear drive timing set out) got an electric fuel pump(prep for rear tank) I got two better doors I'm slicking up and starting on body work. OH and put chrome ceramic shorty headers on

[65f100_Thug]

forgot , 86 vett seats, bed lined floor, newer 5 speed out of 97 f-150, rehung exhaust.

[65f100_Thug]

almost got the frame coated and ready to do C notches and put everything back together.

[randyr]

Hey Thug, your truck is looking great!! How did you lower the rear - flip the axle? If you said it somewhere else, I missed it.

The Dakota swap turned out really nice. Since time=$$, how would you compare the time & effort involved in fabricating the stock dakota cross member into your frame vs buying the dakota cross member kit? Just curious. I hope to do a dakota swap on my 66 shortbed someday.

Nice job! Like the ride height, too.

Randy

[65f100_Thug]

Hey Thug, your truck is looking great!! How did you lower the rear - flip the axle? If you said it somewhere else, I missed it.

The Dakota swap turned out really nice. Since time=$$, how would you compare the time & effort involved in fabricating the stock dakota cross member into your frame vs buying the dakota cross member kit? Just curious. I hope to do a dakota swap on my 66 shortbed someday.

Nice job! Like the ride height, too.

Randy

I guess an honest answer depends on several things( 1) how much time you have. (2) how much money you don't have. LOL and (3) If your a decent welder or not. I spent about 4 or five days labor in the sun at 100+ degrees and about 500.00 in rods, grinding disc, and bushings, new rack and pinion, and 88 Ram disc and calipers, run down a 03 steering linkage and 88 caliper brackets , mostly fabricated motor mounts. But most of that you will need to install a kit. HOWEVER....after doing it once I may be able to save a lot of head scratching time. yes I set the rear end on top of the springs and recently C notched the frame (which took me two more days) my answers were (1) plenty of time (2)not enough money at once to buy a kit (3) NOT a welder, I can weld but I'm hardly a welder so I worked harder not smarter. all that being said Ive drove it over a year and loaded to OK city roughly 220 miles,at 80+ MPH on rough roads and no cracks in welds or frame. I may do another one for a member and I will document it better so people can see exactly what it takes.

[randyr]

I guess an honest answer depends on several things( 1) how much time you have. (2) how much money you don't have. LOL and (3) If your a decent welder or not. I spent about 4 or five days labor in the sun at 100+ degrees and about 500.00 in rods, grinding disc, and bushings, new rack and pinion, and 88 Ram disc and calipers, run down a 03 steering linkage and 88 caliper brackets , mostly fabricated motor mounts. But most of that you will need to install a kit. HOWEVER....after doing it once I may be able to save a lot of head scratching time. yes I set the rear end on top of the springs and recently C notched the frame (which took me two more days) my answers were (1) plenty of time (2)not enough money at once to buy a kit (3) NOT a welder, I can weld but I'm hardly a welder so I worked harder not smarter. all that being said Ive drove it over a year and loaded to OK city roughly 220 miles,at 80+ MPH on rough roads and no cracks in welds or frame. I may do another one for a member and I will document it better so people can see exactly what it takes.

LOL! Well, my responses to your first 3 points:
1. Not much
2. I totally hear ya!!
3. Not great but eager to get better...

The donor Dakota trucks are getting harder find in the yards out here. Btw, I'm originally from OK. I get back there a couple of times per year.

What size tires are you running front & rear?

[65f100_Thug]

245/45/17 on front and 225/55/17 on back. There's just a ton of fabrication and work involved, but I'm the poor kid who drug other kids old bicycles out of the trash and fixed them up. I'm a gluten for punishment I guess. But I believe with patience and a lot of hard work even a poor guy can have a really cool ride. Despite all the ....It wont work....you cant do that...a rod welder wont work....Its too much work...and tons of other negative arm chair quarterback talk...Here it is, it does work, I DID IT, and not with a bunch of pre-fabed stuff. Its old school straight out of the junkyard and eBay LOL! It works ,corners like its on rails drive like a newer ride has a great sharp turn radius...and its MINE. I don't particularly recommend it because it is hard, and at times I pulled my hair out. If I could manage my money better I would have bought a Kit but I can only turn loose of a hundred or one fifty at a time. I only make about 20,000 a year and have a family of four to provide for if anyone should be negative it should be them, but the only flack I hear is my boys arguing over who gets it when I die LOL!!!

[randyr]

245/45/17 on front and 225/55/17 on back. There's just a ton of fabrication and work involved, but I'm the poor kid who drug other kids old bicycles out of the trash and fixed them up. I'm a gluten for punishment I guess. But I believe with patience and a lot of hard work even a poor guy can have a really cool ride. Despite all the ....It wont work....you cant do that...a rod welder wont work....Its too much work...and tons of other negative arm chair quarterback talk...Here it is, it does work, I DID IT, and not with a bunch of pre-fabed stuff. Its old school straight out of the junkyard and eBay LOL! It works ,corners like its on rails drive like a newer ride has a great sharp turn radius...and its MINE. I don't particularly recommend it because it is hard, and at times I pulled my hair out. If I could manage my money better I would have bought a Kit but I can only turn loose of a hundred or one fifty at a time. I only make about 20,000 a year and have a family of four to provide for if anyone should be negative it should be them, but the only flack I hear is my boys arguing over who gets it when I die LOL!!!

I applaud you my friend!!! You gotta do the best you can with what you've got and it looks great. The kit is really nice but it's $750 and you still have to acquire all the other components. I look forward to seeing how you do your buddy's truck!! Thanks for posting your progress!

[65f100_Thug]

I hope I have it in me to do another one LOL. I'm 45 and it literally killed my back bending into a pretzel welding and grinding those c notches. would help to have that youthful energy and flexibility on my side.LMAO!!!

[randyr]

I hope I have it in me to do another one LOL. I'm 45 and it literally killed my back bending into a pretzel welding and grinding those c notches. would help to have that youthful energy and flexibility on my side.LMAO!!!

LOL! Maybe you just need to raise it a little higher off the ground when you're welding!

[Robert]

What part of Oklahoma are you from Randy

[randyr]

What part of Oklahoma are you from Randy

Grew up in Crescent, just north of OKC. Still have family there and come back to visit at Christmas and during the summer (argh!) Was just there in Aug. for my mom's bday.
What part are you in, Robert?

[randyr]

Hey Thug, I was reviewing your pics again and have a question for you. How wide are the Dakota frame rails? Did you ever consider just grafting in that whole section of the Dakota onto your F100 rails then weld the F100 frame horns onto the front of it? Just curious if it could be boxed in to fit and look decent or if it can only be done the way you did it.

In my exploration I found a '94 Dakota in a salvage yard. They said they would cut off the frame in front of the cab and sell me the complete front suspension & rails for $350. Not sure if that's a good deal or not yet.
Would appreciate your input.
Thanks.

[65f100_Thug]

The Dakota frame is much wider than the ford. 350.00 sounds high to me I gave 150.00

[65f100_Thug]

Also you might review the swap threads, because I was thinking that the 87 88 was the years to use. but I guess if you're not getting the kit it wouldn't make much difference. Hey man don't take me for some kind of authority on it. Seriously... because I managed to get mine together,with much sweat and tears I might add. I would save for the kit before I paid 350.00 for a salvage front end, even though you would still need the other parts.

[randyr]

I have looked at many other threads and I believe Dakota had this same suspension from 87 thru 96. They changed to 6 bolt lugs and wider in 97. Trust me I don't have you up on a pedestal, but you've installed one and I haven.t. That makes you more of an authority than me!
As for the price, i'm in california which may explain the price difference. Argh! I got another quote for $500 for suspension alone with no crossmember! I'll keep looking till I find a deal.
Thanks

[randyr]

I have looked at many other threads and I believe Dakota had this same suspension from 87 thru 96. They changed to 6 bolt lugs and wider in 97.

Hey Thug, just for future reference, I've learned that '87-'96 Dakota suspensions all work for this swap. The big difference is that '91-'96 they started using 6 lug rotors but I'm told the 5x4.5 rotors from the '87-90 Dakota will interchange no problem. Big brakes and stock Ford 5 on 5 ½ Bolt circle is as easy as getting the rotors, calipers and bracket from 1986 Dodge Ram 1500. This is a direct bolt on.

Just thought I'd throw this in for a little clarification.

[65f100_Thug]

After thinking about this comment "the fact that Despite all the ....It wont work....you cant do that...a rod welder wont work....Its too much work...and tons of other negative arm chair quarterback talk...Here it is, it does work, I DID IT, and not with a bunch of pre-fabed stuff. Its old school straight out of the junkyard and eBay LOL!" I want to clarify, considering I'm on line with lots of people reading, this may have came off harsh or judgmental. I guess I'm a re-faber or Macgiver type. In addition to fixing up my own toys I also grew up with My dad and Grandpa working at early saw mills. As a kid I saw a lot of things incorporated into mill production. For lack of a better example you might have seen a bicycle with the forks welded straight mounted to hold a board down while it was being ripped by a saw or something. My dad actually invented the first zero turn radius mower. (without the mower deck) He used a golf cart rear end and a briggs & stratton and a steering gear box to make a cool toy we could spin on a dime and play on. (never considered putting a mower deck under it). My best friends dad built a ultra lite out of a chain saw engine water pipe and carved his own wooden prop and flew it. Its the way my mind works. I find it really cool to see something that can be altered to make something totally different.
So that being said you guys who buy a kit or if you're one of the guys building a kit from plate steel using a press break and sheer, have my up most respect. Besides most of my critics live around here and think I'm totally ruining a perfectly good truck anyway. I want to hand Roxanne down to my oldest son who has helped me every step of the way and him have something completely different than any other truck around. WOW that was alot of reading, most of you probably didn't make it through, anyway I'm not a bung hole I just act like one:)