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1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

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Ford F834

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Wow... that surprises me too... having pulled one of each at the junkyard it sure didn’t seem that way to me, but that is perception not science. Pulled a couple years apart etc., maybe the flareside just seems lighter because there are so many more places to grab hold of it and get a good grip to lift it.

SHORT BED 4-DOOR DIESEL: 1986 F350 4x4 under construction-- 7.3 IDIT ZF5+GVOD

STRAIGHT SIX 4X4: 1981 F150 2wd to 4x4-- 300 I6 close ratio diesel T19, hydroboost brakes, Saginaw steering

BIG F: 1995 F-Superduty under construction— converting to 6.9L IDI diesel ZF5+DNE2

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

A friend of mine and I carried an 8’ Styleside bed from in front of the shop to behind the shop several years ago. I’d guess I was 65 at the time, and it wasn’t all that bad.

I’d guess that the Flareside bed’s weight comes from the wood floor. So maybe they’ve rotted away by the time they get to the salvage?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Ford F834

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Mine had soggy rotten wood in it when I pulled it. I threw out the plywood sheet that was put in to strengthen it, but the factory marine plywood was still there. I had to pull it and get it out to the aisle by myself, then the salvage yard guys brought it up front with a forklift. When I pulled my short styleside bed, it was actually during Jan’s visit and he helped me pull it.

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

In reply to this post by Rembrant

Rembrant wrote

It looks like a jacked up 2wd no? Can you tell?

I know nothing about desert race trucks...but it doesn't look like it has 4x4 hubs up front.

Back in the day class 8 (full size 2WD trucks) were the fastest truck class (motorcycles and buggies could beat them). Ford was probably the most popular platform, with the twin I beam suspension being tough with lots of potential for wheel travel.

Now-days the Trophy Trucks are the fastest truck class (and can frequently beat bikes and buggies I think). And they are usually 2WD with twin I beam suspension too!

2WD has less unsprung weight, so they can run huge wheel travel (relatively speaking back in the day) and run at higher speeds than they could with a front drive axle. 4WD can be helpful in the deep silt beds they run into at times, but big tires, big horsepower and big speed will get them through too, so that tends to be the hot ticket.

Bob
Sorry, no '80 - '86 Ford trucks
"Oswald": 1997 F-250HD crew cab short box, 460, E4OD, 4.10 gears
"Pluto": 1971 Bronco, 302, NV3550 5 speed, Atlas 4.3:1 transfer case, 33" tires
"the motorhome": 2015 E-450-based 28' class C motorhome, 6.8L V-10
"the Dodge": 2007 Dodge 2500, 6.7L Cummins

Rembrant

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Nothing Special wrote

Back in the day class 8 (full size 2WD trucks) were the fastest truck class (motorcycles and buggies could beat them). Ford was probably the most popular platform, with the twin I beam suspension being tough with lots of potential for wheel travel.

Here's a cool twin I beam travel shot...although that's not likely a stock set-up, is it...

1994 F150 4x2 Flareside. 5.0 w/MAF, 4R70W, stock.
1984 F150 4X2 Flareside. Mild 302 w/ 5spd. Sold.
1980 F150 4X4 Flareside. 300i6 w/ 5spd. Sold in 2021.
1980 F100 4X2 Flareside. 351w/2bbl w/NP435. Sold in 1995

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

That is a cool shot! I wonder how hard the landing was?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

In reply to this post by Rembrant

Rembrant wrote

Here's a cool twin I beam travel shot...although that's not likely a stock set-up, is it...

I didn't say they ran stock twin I beam. In fact, I pointed out that the twin I beam had lots of potential for wheel travel. Now what it took to unlock that potential...

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Soft springs would be one part of that. Something Big Blue certainly doesn't have.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

In reply to this post by Nothing Special

Actually the Twin Traction Beam suspension is a popular base for building go-fast 4WDs too (but not with leaf springs). Below is a link to a massive (81 page long) thread I read through a few years ago. It's on GoFastBroncos.com (yes, there's a forum just for that) but it's an '82 F-250 built into a sleeper / prerunner. At places in the thread there were videos showing it going down desert trails WAY faster than I'd ever think an '82 F250 4WD would go! Kinda made me wish I lived in the southwest so I'd have an excuse to have one!

http://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=864

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Man, they've got some serious stuff in there! The length of the coilovers is amazing, so the travel must be amazing as well.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

I quickly looked through parts of the thread again. Here are a few highlights:

This page has some good still shots of the truck jumping:
http://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=864&start=440

Here's a short video of a jump, seen from outside the truck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sFRL-noXk8&fs=1&hl=en%5FUS&rel=0

Some more good stills:
http://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=864&start=720

And three videos of "test runs" shot from the truck. Look particularly at 6:53 in the third video. He commented that he probably should have slowed down a bit there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvxen02qrDY&fs=1&hl=en%5FUS&rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s_XwPX3IuM&fs=1&hl=en%5FUS&rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHMoAUG6DD4&fs=1&hl=en%5FUS&rel=0

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

WOW! That's amazing! To see how still the truck is with reference to the horizon and how much that front suspension is working boggles the mind.

Just bumps on the highway make Big Blue ride rough. In fact, we are in Owasso and took BB to get here and we hadn't even really gotten out of town and Janey said "And we are going to ride how far to Colorado in this?"

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

1986F150Six

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Gary Lewis wrote

. In fact, we are in Owasso and took BB to get here and we hadn't even really gotten out of town and Janey said "And we are going to ride how far to Colorado in this?"

Hmmm... somehow, I am reminded of a story, maybe 3 years ago, where you and Janey went for a ride in Rusty and then Blue [formerly Big Blue] was ordered???

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

WOW! That's amazing! To see how still the truck is with reference to the horizon and how much that front suspension is working boggles the mind....

Now I want one again

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

Kind of addictive, huh!? Basically it looks like they put a lift kit on and then used the lift's height to install longer coil-overs. But since the springs are much softer it brings the ride height back to fairly normal? Is that essentially it?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

FuzzFace2

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Suspensions have come a long way since the 80's when I raced 4x4 off road on motoX tracks.
All you could get was thick leaf springs and hard to compress / extend shocks to use on street and what we used off road.

Multi shocks were used because it was thought 1 shock would over heat and not work so adding a 2nd would take part of the load and the 2 would take longer to over heat. We would only run 10 laps max, with 10 trucks, so over heating I don't think was ever an issue.

Now days they use progressive coil springs, part is soft to take up the smaller bumps and the other part is stiff for the ruff stuff.

Shocks now have reservoirs so they have more oil under pressure so they don't over heat ... as fast?

If you watch some of todays off road racing on TV and see how they "jump & land" is just amazing from outside & riding along.
No none of ours landed like them remember the heavy leaf springs & shocks!
I also did not like "getting air" its just not right putting a 2000- 3000 lb. truck in the air!
Dave ----

Dave G.
81 F100 flare side 300 six / AA OD / NP435 / 2.75 gear
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1980-Ford-F100?page=1
81 F100 style side 300 six/SROD parts truck -RIP
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1981-Ford-F100

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

Kind of addictive, huh!? Basically it looks like they put a lift kit on and then used the lift's height to install longer coil-overs. But since the springs are much softer it brings the ride height back to fairly normal? Is that essentially it?

Softer springs with more travel, yes. But also progressive spring rate to allow more free movement lower in the travel, and then stiffening up to avoid too hard a "bang" at full stuff. And carefully worked out shock valving (with massive shocks with huge remote reservoirs as Dave pointed out). And with all of that there are still points in the thread where he's fixing stuff that got bent or broke when he stuffed it into the ground like a lawn dart (his term, not mine).

I kid that I want to be able to do that, but I'm way too much of a chicken to ever follow through.

Still, there's a lot to be learned there if you want to make an early- to mid-eighties F-250 ride better

. That truck has a linked rear suspension with something like 4 foot long coil-overs. But a lot of the go-fast trucks are running leafs in the rear. Longer and softer, and if you didn't want to lose the payload of a 3/4 ton truck you'd need to figure out some sort of helper springs. But all do-able. In the front I really think the leaf sprung TTB was not a Better Idea. Swapping to coilovers with not quite as much travel as that truck has could make a really nice package. There's a lot to work out, but there are people doing it.

If I opened up a rabbit hole that you don't want to get lost in, I sincerely apologize!

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

I'm not wanting to get into desert racing. But it is interesting that the suspension systems have come that far. And the movement they are getting would not only help the ride but would also greatly help the traction when on a trail. The tire could follow the terrain much easier w/o lifting the other side and spoiling its traction.

But, I think I'll be happy to get BB's rear suspension softened - significantly. We were down to two vehicles that were roadworthy earlier today and so took him on a 50 mile jaunt. It was a rude reminder of how stiff that rear is. And, how high it sits. We were sitting at an intersection and a Honda, maybe a Civic, pulled up behind us and the roof of that car was lower than the top of the tailgate on BB. And I'm sure the hood of the car would easily have gone under the bumper.

So, I really do have to pull some leafs out and both soften him up as well as drop the rear end, which will also raise the front a bit and help the stance.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Nothing Special

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

This post was updated on .

Do you know if there is any difference in front springs between an '85 F-250 and a '97 F-250? As you might remember, I used to have an '85, and I loved the truck, but I was really glad to switch to the ride of the '95 F-150 I got next. The rear was bad, but the front really wasn't good either.

Now I have my '97. It's a crew cab with a fiberglass topper, so it has more weight on the rear axle than the standard cab '85 had (with an aluminum topper very occasionally). And it has a 460/E4OD so there's more weight on the front than the '85s 351/NP435. But the '97 rides SO much better than I remember the '95 riding (edit: I meant my '85 F-250HD, the '97 F-250HD does not ride better than my '95 F-150 did. Not a lot worse, but not better). Maybe it's just the weight, but I wonder if the spring rate is different.

Big Blue has the 460, and I'd guess the ZF5 he's getting will be closer in weight to an E4OD than an NP435. So maybe if you get the rear dialed in he'll smooth out a lot. But it might be worth looking into springs for a newer TTB F-250

Gary Lewis

Re: 1981 Mint 400 Flareside Race Truck

Administrator

I don't know about the later springs. The ZF will be heavier, but I have a T19 now, so I'm not sure how much heavier. However, with the dual batteries, front receiver, and the winch plus Warn bumper there's lots of weight up front. That's one reason I wasn't too worried about the weight of the rear bumper.

Anyway, if I get the rear smoothed out and the front is still stiff then the next step would be to check out the later springs. I think I scrapped the springs off of Huck, but he was just a '90 and I doubt rode any better than BB.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

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