Thread: H&M 4WD Supercrew Build

A little background on the truck- 2001 F150 Supercrew 4WD with the 5.4. ~70K miles on it. I have owned it since new, and it started out as a stock daily driver and occasional chase/tow vehicle. It has chased every Baja 1K since 2002 and never let me down and made it through countless other Baja trips. For a couple of years I used it to tow a 4 seat buggy around until I got the desire to build the truck- my kids are getting old enough to start coming with me, and I wanted something safer and relatively comfortable. In late 06' I sold the buggy and after much research went with the H&M LT kit on the front. Keeping 4WD was very important as the majority of my trips are down in Baja. I had H&M do the install, and they finished 4 days before the 1K- I took it down with no test time and had absolutely no problems. For a short term fix for the rear, I added a Dixon Bros bolt on bed cage, Deavers, and Kings. I knew that I wanted to link it at some point, so I wanted something that I could take off easily and sell. The setup worked pretty well for what it was.

Flash forward to June 08- my wife and I did an 8 day Baja trip down to Bahia Asuncion and I ended up bending the stock rear axle pretty badly. We made it back OK, but that started the search for a new rear axle. My goal for this whole project was to never have to buy anything twice- so I was looking at full floater housings. Then I started thinking, which is never a good thing when you are talking about prerunner projects- do I really want to weld on spring perches to the housing, and then deal with cutting them off when it got linked? Plus, I was never really happy with how the leafs worked, and the wider new axle would not help. Hey...... if I am going to all of the trouble of a new rear axle, I may as well just link the truck at the same time. And I can't link the truck without a cage, right? At least, this is how I have justified it in my mind :-).

The plans:
Cage- 2.0" X .120 DOM, tucked into the pillars which will eventually get leather wrapped.
Rear Suspension- H&M 4 link, with a King 3.0 X 18 triple bypass and 2.5 X 16 Coilover per side. Spring rates TBD.
50 gallon Fuel safe fuel cell, mounted behind rear axle
Dirt-tech 3.5" x 0.250 rull floater, with Desert Specialties hubs, 35 spline axles, Detroit locker

The majority of the cage work and the rear suspension setup will be done by H&M. I chose them for several reasons- they do amazing work, and they are just a few miles from my home. But the most important reasons are that they are willing to listen to the customers needs, and they always deliver what they promise, and on time. My truck has been in there on several occasions and they have had it done when they said they would every single time- as most of you know, that is pretty rare in this industry.

So, as of 10-9-08, here she sits. I will post updated pictures every couple of days (at least until they get sick of my stopping by at lunch and bothering them!).

Right on man . Congrats ! It looks like an awesome project . Its nice to see another super crew being built.

Sounds awesome man. H&M will do a great job

Sweet!!!

I love seeing H&M's work.... keep us updated.

I cant wait to see the finished product, H&M always does good work.

H&M is going to do the main cage tubes as well as setting up the suspension. I am going to finish the cab cage (seat mounts, dash, etc) as well as mounting the fuel cell, rear bumper, spare, and bedsides. I am an "OK" fabricator, so I want them to do everything that is structurally important. I will do all of the little, time consuming crap that is not so essential to performance and safety.

Nice!

18" BP and 16" Coilovers. Are those longer than starndard? I have never seen such a long shock on a 4 link before. Sounds like your head is screwd on tighter than most people! I love how well you have thought everything out. Can't wait to see it done. Are you trying to make the B1K? Its coming up pretty quick.

I am having flash backs

Sounds like a cool deal, its funny how an bent axle can morph into a complete redo.

I am really happy with what H&M did for me and my F150.

I am running a 16" coilover and an 18" bypass in the rear as well and its a good combo.

Have fun with the build.

-Alex

Originally Posted by WannaB-Class5

18" BP and 16" Coilovers. Are those longer than starndard? I have never seen such a long shock on a 4 link before. Sounds like your head is screwd on tighter than most people! I love how well you have thought everything out. Can't wait to see it done. Are you trying to make the B1K? Its coming up pretty quick.

Actually, those are the most common length shocks on a linked truck, at least for a full size.

No, I am not trying to make the Baja 1K with this truck. I have a 2500HD that I will take down, if I go this year. I don't think that this truck will be done for many months- H&M will probably have it 3-4 weeks, and then I will only have time to work on it a couple of days a month. My goal is to have it running (no finished interior or aluminim panels) by Jan/Feb so i can get some testing in before it gets too hot in the desert.

Originally Posted by DezertF150

I am having flash backs

Sounds like a cool deal, its funny how an bent axle can morph into a complete redo.

I am really happy with what H&M did for me and my F150.

I am running a 16" coilover and an 18" bypass in the rear as well and its a good combo.

Have fun with the build.

-Alex

Alex,

Do you have any updates or new pictures of your truck? I saw it a lot when it was in the shop. You have had it for a while now- what are your impressions so far? Is there anything you would have done differently or that you wish you would have or wouldn't have done?

You're stoked man, keep us updated.

Originally Posted by andrewh

Is there anything you would have done differently or that you wish you would have or wouldn't have done?

x2

looking good cant wait to see it finished im working on the same exact truck except full tube chassis, i bought hnm trophy truck center mount lowers, spindles and trailing arms.all work from garage.

I am really happy with the work H&M did on my F150. I have driven it about 5 times, maybe 400 miles and so far its been great. I would suggest, at least on the 2wd, that you reinforce the lower c-arm mounts as I about ripped mine off. H&M will do this for you or you can but either way its a good idea as the factory just didn't do it well enough to stand up to the abuse,

I am able to drive the truck 100% harder then when it was cage-less and leaf sprung. Never again would I waste my time with leaf springs.

If I had to do it all over again I would want to be able to have a complete truck when I went to pick it up. Dash, interior and paint all done and not have to be working on it still but really I can't complain it would just be more fun if it was done.

I have spent the last few weeks stripping the bed and painting the cage work, which is done and now I am going to spin the truck around and paint the engine cage. I will post pics when its all done

You should have a really nice truck when your all done. It will work beyond what you thought possible and will be a blast. The only draw back will be you engine....you will want Mass HP.

-Alex

Originally Posted by alloutmotorsports

looking good cant wait to see it finished im working on the same exact truck except full tube chassis, i bought hnm trophy truck center mount lowers, spindles and trailing arms.all work from garage.

Thats going to be bitchen!

-Alex

thanks didnt mean to jack this thread,but will start my own and post more pics soon.

Matt you truck is looking sick, you want to trade me trailing arms (Ha Ha)
the cage is super tight cant wait to see the truck done keep up the good work.

trucks looking good!!

thanks guys!

Originally Posted by alloutmotorsports

thanks didnt mean to jack this thread,but will start my own and post more pics soon.

Damn- way to make my build look bad.... Just kidding! Definitely start a new thread about your truck- I am sure everyone here would love to see it.

Updates as of this morning- roof section should be done by the end of the day.

More pics

lol looking good, k no more pics from me

What? no sleeves in the A pillar? There doing it wrong..... It'll never work!

Originally Posted by partybarge_pilot

What? no sleeves in the A pillar? There doing it wrong..... It'll never work!

-Alex

how much is kevin charging for this cage? if you dont mind me asking, shoot me a pm. Looks good, HnM is awesome.

chris.

Originally Posted by surfsd

how much is kevin charging for this cage? if you dont mind me asking, shoot me a pm. Looks good, HnM is awesome.

chris.

I don't think it is appropriate for me to discuss any pricing info- I'm not trying be be a dick, but every project is different and it wouldn't be fair to give out that info. Give Kevin a call at 760-510-9586. All I can say is that it isn't free, but they do great work and are very easy to work with.

Sorry kind of off topic, is that the action motorsports truck in the background (red single cab f150)? Looks like its came a long way since i was last down there.

Keep the pictures coming

wow... man.. i am totally jealous... the whole truck is gonna be amazing.. makes me want to start all over on mine...lucky for you you can spendthe cash to have it done by good guys.. awesome work

Originally Posted by rangerbrandon

Sorry kind of off topic, is that the action motorsports truck in the background (red single cab f150)? Looks like its came a long way since i was last down there.

Keep the pictures coming

Yeah- it is essentially done (H&M's part at least). It is a very cool truck.

Originally Posted by andrewh

Yeah- it is essentially done (H&M's part at least). It is a very cool truck.

Looks completely different from when i last saw it, going to have to check it out when it gets back to vegas.

Truck looks awsome!! Every time I look at it I want to redo my build as well.

Looks good, makes me want to get mine wrapped up so I can drive it again. I just have the front end apart to paint and clean up and your build is good incentive.

The red F150 looks good as well, its basically the same as my truck only a std cab.

-Alex

Updates 10-16

More

I picked up my new rear axle from Dirt-Tech today. It is a new housing that they have developed that is targeted for prerunners. Tubes are 3.5" x .250, with a plated center section. Hubs are Desert Specialites 2.5" with 35 spline axles. It will have Wilwood calipers with 13" rotors, and a TJ Rebert built third member with 4.88s, detroit locker, Strange case, and 1350 u joint.

More updates- cab cage is almost done. They have done a great job in tucking the cage tight up against the cab. I am really happy with how it has turned out so far.

looks really good man

Originally Posted by LVbLaCkRaNgEr

looks really good man

X2, looks awsome!