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Tech Time: 1965-79 F-100 | QA1 Front Suspension Install

QA1, THE ALPHANUMERIC CODE FOR ONE OF the industry’s top suspension, rod ends, spherical bearings and shock absorber companies, was founded in 1993 by Jim Jordan in Lakeville, Minnesota. 

When you think QA1, you think high quality, and that makes perfect sense as quality is the top priority in everything the company does. Its products are designed, built and tested to ensure consistent quality, ultimate reliability and unbeatable performance.

When QA1 started to develop the suspension for our beloved Ford F-100 trucks, the company did it the right way, from the ground up—fitting the suspension to the truck instead of fitting the truck to a suspension. Engineers designed the kit around the factory wheel wells and firewall, making certain each and every part fit just right for both form and function. You can now get wheels with some good offset to fill the gaps properly, and a wide variety of brake system upgrades are available.

Ditch that outdated twin I-beam front suspension. Before you head to the junkyard to find a random “front-clip,” you definitely should consider this well-engineered example of a dialed-in IFS offering both performance and comfort that’s properly engineered to make your truck handle like a modern truck while giving you the ride height adjustability so you can dial in the perfect stance. This setup also makes motor swaps a breeze as they have interchangeable engine mounts from FE, Windsor, Mod/Coyote and even LS (we all know one or two of those guys).

Here’s a good look at the engineering QA1 F-100 front suspension.

 

Some key points for this QA1 front setup:
• 3.75 inches narrower than a Crown Vic, so fitment of larger wheels and tires is not an issue
• 3- to 7-inch drop (3- to 5-inch with standard height style spindles, 5- to 7-inch with 2-inch drop spindles)
• 150+ pounds lighter than stock suspension
• Bolt-in tubular design for ease of installation and strength
• Adjustable coilover shocks to set the ride height and ride quality
• Rack-and-pinion steering

This article is not a step-by-step installation but rather a highlight of the QA1 front suspension as the guys at QA1 have a great instruction manual. (Go check it out by visiting www.QA1.net/ F100) 

[divider]SOURCES[/divider]

QA1
800-721-7761
www.QA1.net

The pallet of QA1 goodness delivered to Evolutionary Rides and posted up next to Oscar the guinea pig. Although this is no experiment because we know exactly what kind of quality and performance we can expect to see when Oscar hits the road again!

To make it easy since our project still has a way to go, we separated the body from the rolling chassis.
Our stock rolling chassis was just begging for some upgrades!
Joey at Evolutionary Rides wasted no time and got to work removing the factory front suspension.
TIP: Before removing the factory suspension and cutting anything, we tacked in a few braces to keep everything square.

There were a whole lot of rivets that needed to be cut. We also cut out and removed some old crossmembers and parts from the chassis to help clean everything up.
They braced Oscar’s bare frame and removed all of the suspension and extra crossmembers that wouldn’t be used. (Then we actually sent our chassis to be media blasted since it had seen quite a bit of weathering through the years.)
Next, they marked and drilled the new holes for the QA1 supplied lower crossmember to go into place.

The QA1 lower crossmember was installed following the provided guides and instruction manual. (Make sure to use the manual and contact tech support for any questions as the QA1 staff is full of seasoned veterans who are able to help with anything you may run into along the way.)
A notch is marked and cut out for the upper crossmember to go into place.

Next up, the upper crossmember and controls arms and coilovers were installed.
Joey double checked everything and installed the spindle. (Note: As we’re a ways off on buttoning up this build before she sees the road again, everything is only hand tightened and will be properly torqued to spec as we get closer to final installation).

Quite an improvement over that ol’ rusty and archaic twin I-beam setup, eh?

The QA1 tie rods and power rack were bolted up next.

The supplied front sway bar is installed and we get to stand back and take in this gorgeous IFS setup in all its glory from every angle.
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