Don't Pick Your Nose, Slam It! - Ford Drop Kit

To illustrate how new some of these parts are, we have a stock lower shock mount on top and the CPP mount that was R&D'd while I was there. (It will have a part number assigned so you can buy it to use with their dropped axles.) The underside of the plate on the axle that mounts the spring is narrower than stock, which would require altering a stock part or just ordering some of these while you're on the phone with CPP.

Before the U-bolts are snugged down, remember to put the tie plate on top of the spring pack. It helps protect the springs and align the U-bolts.

With the new lower shock mount in place on the front side of the dropped axle and the shock hole to the outside, the hardened flat washers and nuts are tightened down to clamp everything in place.

It's all part of product development. We should have drilled out the holes for the new bump stops before the new parts were in place, but with the help of a right-angled drill Jeff zapped the stock holes to 3/8 inch.

These slick low-profile bump stops take the place of the tall grungy stock ones. The hole we drilled sat right above the tie plates. Slam dunk.

The end result of using the stock shock location is simplicity; no need to reinvent the wheel. CPP has lots of different shocks to suit your needs. These short nitrogen gas Doetsch shocks are just what the dropped axle and spring combo needed.

With the spindles back from blasting, they were shot with some grey cast-blast paint, followed by new kingpin bushings.

The new kingpins come with all the needed parts--shims, bearings, bushings, O-rings, and cross-pins. Make sure to line up the zerk fitting holes in the new bushings before pressing them in. A local machine shop should be able to fit the kingpins for you if you're not up to it or don't have a reamer.

These O-rings seal off the kingpin bores and pop on after the kingpins are in place. The nut on the front side of the axle holds in the tapered cross-pin/steering stop that locates the kingpin. With the Master Power disc brakes we had to install it from back to front so the nut wouldn't hit the caliper bracket.

Because the steering arms move up with the spindles as a result of the CPP axle's increased drop, the tie rod bar moves up as well and now hits the leaf springs before it gets to the steering arms. CPP figured it all out and makes these 2-inch tie rod drop brackets that put the tie rod bar back where it needs to be. CPP's new tie rod bar is 1-inch diameter compared to the stock 7/8-inch and is used with new modern tie rod ends. It's a must for power steering and rigidity.

The taper in the steering arms for the tie rod end needs to be opened up just a smidge with a reamer or drill bit to allow the 1/2-inch bolt that holds the tie rod drop bracket to pass through.

Abel put a little loctite on the bolt's threads and used a big crescent wrench to hold the bracket from spinning while he used the impact gun to snug it down. The tie rod end seats up in the bracket's taper, just like it would in the stock steering arms.

From here, reassemble the brakes just like they came apart or upgrade 'em with some from CPP or Master Power.

Low down and clean! CPP makes it easy for those who don't want to cut their frame to still get the front end down. We're anticipating a nice nosebleed-free 5-inch drop by the time the motor and trans are back in and everything settles into ride height. Next time we'll show you how CPP gets the rearend down and riding smooth as we work our way to reassembly! Check out the Wheel Vintiques Gennie 16x6 and 7's wrapped in Coker Tire's Coker Classic 600R16 And 750R16 big 'n' littles, can't wait to see it all together.