Thanks for the info Ed. Nice looking F1, hope mine looks as good as yours. I noticed your Econoline. I had a '62 Ma Bell Van (Bell Telephone truck). First thing I did was to rip out the six-banger and put in a 302/auto/9" 370 gears. Second thing was to chop it 5", but left the windshield full size...Dash was just above my shins. It didn't last long...Got tired of banging my head at every bump. Sold it to a short guy.
Anyways...I was hoping to lower the rear of my F1 without notching the frame. I figured with 8" of travel between the axle and the rubber bumper (10" from axle to frame), I could lose 3-4" and still be safe with the 9 leaf suspension I have. I'm still going to have to use a wedge at the spring/perch to get the universal to point at the transmission instead of the back window of the cab.