When I am asked about the Chevy High Performance stickers on the side windows of my '97 Ford F-150, as in, "Bud, shouldn't you be driving a Chevy?" I confess that I made the deal on it before I became editor of CHP, and I truly love this truck. It's practical, comfortable, fairly economical to own, and it had less than 34,000 on the clock when I traded for it two years ago. I saw it as fertile grounds for a little bit of foolin' as well as an avenue to combine pragmatism and function and swap some new parts for ones that would inevitably need replacement.
In CHP, we ran a three-part series on Jeff Smith's and Tim Moore's early-'90s GM 1500 trucks, one powered by a 350, the other a 305. Reader response was loud enough that I offered a similar deal for the Ford. As the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 15 years or more, the F-150 has become the primary transportation mode of many households, so finding an audience for the changes I intended wouldn't be difficult.
The way the relatively small (281ci) 4.6L engine performs, especially when encased in 4,000 pounds of full-frame blubber, has always amazed me. Naturally, I wanted to improve the torque value (300 lb-ft stock) though not necessarily up the power, and certainly didn't intend to reach for anything above 5,000 rpm. It's a work truck, a hauler, not a street gremmie. I wanted more low-end grunt and knew that the computer could be mildly reprogrammed and that I could clean up the exhaust system with aftermarket devices.
Perhaps the worst things about the '97 F-150 are the OE brakes and tires. From experience, I knew that the disc/drum brake combo would be adequate, but it is controlled by an antiquated ABS that, when invoked, doesn't do anything for the first second of hurried pedal application; then the front tires chirp and the antilock feature begins to "work." Certainly not confidence-inspiring and not at all a comfortable feeling when a sea of freeway taillights suddenly begins burning bright. I was immediately suspicious of the tall and skinny OE BFGoodrich Long Trail tires, ones that never failed to emit a low squeal around ordinary turns and were downright unnerving on wet, running pavement. I wanted to add nominally larger tires and wheels as well.
A smooth ride and good handling mean more to me than going scary fast. By nature, the truck's suspension was designed to handle a loaded extra cab and 6-foot bed rather than sticking to the tarmac like a spider, so the center of gravity is naturally high and naturally anathema to the notion of meaningful handling. I'd change the ride height, increase the spring rate a bit, add aftermarket dampers, and finish up with some anti-wriggle polyurethane bushings and links for the front sway bar. Since the thing is already too light in the back end, I thought adding a rear bar would be overkill. I wasn't looking for a corner carver per se, but rather a vehicle that I could steer out of trouble before it began.
Even before I imagined this article might ever appear, I wanted to enhance the sleek lines of the F and make it more agile, too, without going to dropped spindles, lowering blocks, or a Z'd frame. Roush Performance delivered its three-leaf rear spring bundles (which sit on top of the axle); shorter, stiffer coil springs; and Bilstein shock absorbers with valving to suit the combination. All of this is a bolt-in procedure providing a 3-inch-front and 4-inch-rear drop.
By Ro McGonegal
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