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Air Bagging a 2004 Ford F150 - Tuckin' 'N' Rollin' 22s
CGS Motorsports and Devious Customs Show You How To Lower an '04 F-150
From the March, 2004 issue of Sport Truck
By Joe Pettitt
Photography by Joe Pettitt
You'd have to live in a cave on the Afghan/Pakistan border not to know about the new Ford F-150. It's a great new truck, with a new shape that has all the aftermarket designers working overtime to enhance and personalize what we predict will continue to be one of the great success stories in the history of the American pickup. Ride height sets the tone for your truck's style, so altering it is always a priority for top-tier sport truck enthusiasts. In this instance, Casey Scranton of CGS Motorsports teamed up with Jeff Davy and his crew at Devious Customs to develop a set of components to 'bag Ford's newest F-150 and roll it
on 22s. The new F-150 presented a few challenges beyond the usual design and fabrication challenges present with any extreme custom suspension. The first design obstacle to overcome was the short-arm/long-arm-style front suspension with its attendant, overly tall steering spindle. This restricts the width of the tire that'll fit in the Ford's front wheelwells and the drop in ride height, mostly because of where it locates the upper control arm. Of course, given enough time, money, and welding, even this could be overcome, but that's another story. The second design obstacle had to do with forming and welding the rear frame notch, 'bag, and shock mounts to the compound curves (round) of the new Ford's hydroformed framerails. Hydroforming is a cost-efficient means of producing the frame, and its smooth, sculpted looks give an air of quality, but it makes fabricating much more difficult. In fact, during the build, we thought about giving Casey and Jeff style points based on degrees of difficulty on some of the brackets, but that thought occurred at 1:30 a.m. after a hard day of photography, and after reloading with a few hours of sleep, we realized you had to be there to appreciate the humor. That said, Casey and Jeff's crew deserve kudos for whipping up a reasonably scienced-out custom suspension. It's not a suspension that'll set lap records or allow you to carve corners with your bullet bike pals, but it makes a grand entrance when you hit the switches and it settles down to street-cruise trim.  1. Devious Customs crafted...  1. Devious Customs crafted this kit to help you 'bag the nose of the new F-150. The lower 'bag mount is particularly clever.  2. The rear kit, currently...  2. The rear kit, currently under development, consists of a preformed notch, shock and 'bag mount brackets, and several reinforcement components.  Front Suspension 3. Installing...  Front Suspension
3. Installing the front suspension components requires you to remove the stock shocks and springs before welding in the upper 'bag mount and the mounts for the replacement shocks.  4. This view shows the upper...  4. This view shows the upper 'bag mount after it was properly welded. It's a good, stout design, reinforced with a couple of trusses.  5. The Devious Customs design...  5. The Devious Customs design attaches the lower shock mount to the front antiroll bar via two tabs that you weld to the side of the bar.  6. The upper shock mount is...  6. The upper shock mount is attached to the frame.  7. Fasten the airbag to the...  7. Fasten the airbag to the lower 'bag mount before installing it on the lower control arm.  8. Install the airbag and...  8. Install the airbag and mount assembly by inserting them between the lower control arm and the spindle. Position the bracket so that it aligns with the stock shock mounts on the lower control arm.  9. Before installing the stock...  9. Before installing the stock shock bolt in the lower mount, insert the upper 'bag studs into the upper 'bag mount.  10. Use the stock shock bolt...  10. Use the stock shock bolt and mounting brackets to secure the lower 'bag mount to the lower control arm.  11. Install the fastener on...  11. Install the fastener on the inboard side of the lower control arm to further secure the lower airbag mount.  12. Here's how the upper shock...  12. Here's how the upper shock bolt should look.  13. Fasten the shock to the...  13. Fasten the shock to the upper mount.  14. Fasten the lower shock...  14. Fasten the lower shock mount.  15. When you get all the components...  15. When you get all the components installed properly, this is how it should look.  Air Tanks, Pumps, and Valves...  Air Tanks, Pumps, and Valves
16. Before our team notched the frame, it had to reposition a few subassemblies. The crew repositioned part of the emission control system by welding mounting tabs to the frame.  17. The crew also chose to...  17. The crew also chose to mount the air tanks, pumps, and valves. At this stage, you can see how the guys mounted the air tank and are in the process of fabricating brackets on which they'll mount additional subassemblies of the air suspension.  18. Here's the finished mounting...  18. Here's the finished mounting scheme. The system uses 3/8-inch line and valves with each corner independent, but the front and rear are controlled separately. This arrangement allows you to give the ride a rake, but equalizes pressures across the axle, preventing body lean.  Rear Suspension 19. Before...  Rear Suspension
19. Before you cut or mount anything, you need to measure all the angles and dimensions on both sides as well as fore and aft. Here, Casey uses the front spring mount to confirm the distance from the spring eye to the rear axlehousing. You need to use some judgment in positioning the axle, keeping in mind you have to install the rear suspension links, shocks, and air springs.  20. He also makes sure the...  20. He also makes sure the axlehousing is centered in the frame by checking the distance the housing ends project past the framerails on each side.  21. After taking the measurements,...  21. After taking the measurements, our team marks the frame to guide in positioning these Devious Customs pre-fabricated frame notches.  22. Slide the pre-fabbed frame...  22. Slide the pre-fabbed frame notches over the frame as shown. Our team had to persuade the notches with a rather large hammer to get them into position. The next step was to grind the paint in preparation for welding the notches to the frame.  23. A large C-clamp gives...  23. A large C-clamp gives Jeff leverage to align the notch with the frame, while Casey tacks it into place.  24. Working with the notches,...  24. Working with the notches, we found we had to cut the outboard front tab. This detail shows the tack welding as well as the compound curvature of the hydroformed frame. This made welding more difficult, but it's common for good welders to form metal for a solid, highly reliable weld. If your welding skills aren't this developed, you better give Devious Customs a call.  25. With the notches tacked...  25. With the notches tacked in place, our team places a blanket over the back of the cab to protect the glass from pitting from the flying sparks of intense welding, cutting, and grinding that's about to begin.  26. Use a C-clamp and hammer...  26. Use a C-clamp and hammer to slowly bend the mounting tab of the frame notch to match the sides of the frame.  27. After you get the notches...  27. After you get the notches welded in place, remove the section of the frame. Here, Jeff does the honors.  28. Since this is a display...  28. Since this is a display truck, Casey works the welds with a grinder. When doing this, you have to be very careful not to grind the piece such that it weakens the weld.  29. Next, weld butt plates...  29. Next, weld butt plates to close and support the hollow frame ends under the notch.  30. The rear suspension uses...  30. The rear suspension uses three control arms and a Panhard rod. All components will come in the kit. The lower control arms key off the front leaf-spring eye mounts. The trick to mounting the brackets that connect the rear of the control to the axlehousing correctly is getting the proper pinion angle, then tacking the mounts into place. These angles and detailed instructions will be included in Devious Custom's new '04 F-150 kit.  31. Installing the upper control...  31. Installing the upper control arm begins with welding the brackets to the crossmember. Use a floor jack and an assistant to help position the axle properly to find a good pickup point on the crossmember.  32. Welding the upper control...  32. Welding the upper control arm brackets to the axle requires the use of an angle finder. Casey welds the metal as Jeff holds the rear axle at the proper angle. Notice the lower airbag mount welded to the top of the control arm brackets.  33. After you get the brackets...  33. After you get the brackets tack-welded, raise and lower the axle using the floor jack to verify proper geometry.  34. The next item to tackle...  34. The next item to tackle is mounting the rear airbags. Jeff decided to put the 'bags over the control arm brackets using a hoop attached to the frame notch to provide the upper mount.  35. It's important that the...  35. It's important that the upper and lower airbag mounts are parallel and remain that way through the range of the suspension travel. You may have to break and re-tack-weld some of the control arm mounts to achieve that alignment.  36. Installing the Panhard...  36. Installing the Panhard rod means following the same technique used to install the control arms. Weld the extended mounting brackets to the axlehousing and the shorter brackets to the frame. The Panhard rod controls lateral motion between the frame and axle during cornering.  37. The last components of...  37. The last components of the suspension to be installed are the shocks. Jeff used the lower control arm and the frame to mount the shocks. This arrangement allows the fabricator to choose the angle at which he lays the shocks to allow full suspension travel without bottoming out the shocks.  Air Lines, Switches, & Wiring:...  Air Lines, Switches, & Wiring: Putting It on the ground.
38. The front and rear ride height are controlled separately using individually activated switches mounted just below the cab on the side of the frame.  39. To run the leads to the...  39. To run the leads to the switches and relay as well as provide access for the air lines, we drilled a hole through the floor of the cab right under the center console.  40. We mounted the pressure...  40. We mounted the pressure gauges in the center console.  41. We also mounted the control...  41. We also mounted the control switches in the center console. Tape up the surface, mark where you want them, and drill. Then install the switches and complete the wiring.
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