The very first thing that had to go were the stock friction
dampers. I happened to have a surplus set of plastic CVA shocks
from another model (which I had replaced with aluminum) and they were a
perfect fit. This simple change made a tremendous difference in
handling and reduced the bouncing considerably. The shock on the
left is oil filled compared with the simple spring holder on the right.
Above you can see the parts I used to narrow the track width.
The left hand image compares the original upper control arm with the
newer, shorter version. It is even more obvious in the right hand
image. Instead of protruding far beyond the body, the tires are
now tucked partially into the wheel wells. I also had to install a
new front bumper since the tires would hit the old one when
turning. Of course this radical decrease in suspension arm length
comes with a commensurate decrease in travel, but I have not found the
effect to be a problem.
Here you can see the completed truck before and after. It looks
completely different now. I much prefer my new modified version
shown on the right since it looks much more how a Ford monster truck
might really appear.
My final, updated truck. I spent very little money on the upgrades but the result is huge.
