I currently have a 76 F-100 I'm working on. Here's a list of brands I've compiled for suspension and roll cages, and any other F-100 pre runner truck parts.
All around parts:
DIY offroad offers cut files for lots of different types of suspension, from bulkheads to full chassis. This is a great idea if you have the capability to laser cut parts (or you have a good shop that can do it):
Your source for Off Road fabrication CAD files. These files are ready to download and cut. It includes everything you need to build the part you wish to build. DXF are plasma and Laser ready.
www.diyoffroad.com
Front Suspension:
These options will get you anywhere from 10"-25" of travel, and this is assuming that you are using coilovers
Giant Motorsports Beam Kit for F-150, the F-100s are pretty similar, so with a bit of fab it would work good.
www.giantmotorsports.com
Giant Motorsports also makes a Weld it Yourself kit, you would want their radius arm kit and beam/radius arm pivots:
www.giantmotorsports.com
This is for the trucks with no budget, check out Method Wheels '74 F-100 build.
F100 Equal Length Beam Kit All TIG welded 4130 Construction All plate beam and radius arm construction Dual Uniball Ends Includes Beam, Radius Arm, and swinger mounts Steering Swingers included w/heims Tie Rods and steering linkage not included Heims, spacers, bushings, and Grade 8 Hardware...
blitzkriegoffroad.com
For the best value for money, you'd be looking at Autofab I-beam lift kit
Autofab’s 1965-1979 Ford F100/F150 2 Wheel Drive Truck 3 Inch Economy Lift is a practical solution for enhancing your classic truck’s ground clearance and off-road capability. This budget-friendly lift kit is designed to provide a reliable 3-inch increase in suspension height, allowing for...
autofab.com
You can also try bending the beams yourself. Probably cheapest but I haven't found a ton of info on this, and you'd want to convert it to coilover shocks for more travel/better ride.
Cage:
Not very many options, cheapest is to buy a tube bender and fabricate your own.
This one works, but it's not a full cage. This is a good start, and you can build your own bed cage, then cage the engine:
Best option I've found is TE Designs, their cage is race legal, and you can get a full back half for it. It's for an OBS F-150, but I've researched it and it seems like it would fit into a Dentside without too much issue:
We ship weld it yourself roll cages and back half kits for you to build in your own shop or garage. Along with those, we also offer trailing arms, link mount kits, steering components and more for your off-road race truck or prerunner.
tedesigns.com
Rear Suspension
There's lots of ways to do this. The main decision is 4-link versus Leaf Sprung. Leaf springs are simple and pretty cheap, but not quite as much travel as a 4 link. Leaf springs are better for a daily driver, 4-link is superior if you're in the desert a lot. 4-links often have a full back half cage, and will have a fuel-cell, spare tire mount, and removing the stock bed.
Leaf sprung:
What most guys do is get a longer shackle, like this one:
SPECIFICATIONS Laser cut plate and CNC bent Bolts directly to stock location Fully MIG welded and powdercoated Fits Trucks with 2.5" wide leaf springs (3.0" Wide bushing assemblies) Includes bushings and inner sleeves 7.5" Center to Center of bolts
blitzkriegoffroad.com
And then get Deavers leaf springs, then add a simple bed cage, and mount bypass shocks to this setup.
Another option that is probably the cheapest is to get this raptor leaf conversion kit from Battle Born Brakes, although it is designed for a 4x4. You will have to buy raptor leaf springs, or a Deaver OEM replacement spring.
These spring brackets are designed to mount onto 1979 and older half ton Ford 4wd trucks and allow you to install 2017-21 F150 Raport rear leaf springs, Icon 198510 in particular. They are self locating on oem rivet holes, and require drilling a total of 10 new holes with a 7/16 drill bit. These...
www.battlebornbrakes.com
Or this link killer Under the Bed kit, you will need leaf springs as well though:
4-link:
This is the ultimate for rear suspension, but it will take more money and you lose some of the usability of the truck.
My favorite option is this. You get the benefits of a 4-link and none of the downsides, plus you can get 25" of travel, which is huge.
https://www.giantmotorsports.com/product/ford-f-150-daily-driver-link-kit/
Another option is to get a DIY kit like this one from Ruff Stuff Specialties. This is one of the cheapest 4 link options. I like this because it's affordable, and it comes with almost everything you need, aside from upper link tubing:
Check out the deal on Trailing Arm 4 Link Kit, Single Shock at RuffStuff Specialties
www.ruffstuffspecialties.com
Other DIY kit
This kit is already built, and made for F-100s. Threat motorsports also makes full suspension kits for F-150s, which could be a good option for suspension. :
https://www.threatmotorsports.com/product-page/f-100-rear-link-suspension.
DIY offroad has some good options as well.
https://www.diyoffroad.com/
Fiberglass:
You will want wider fiberglass fenders and bedsides to complete the look of your prerunnner F-100
Autofab makes these:
Front fenders bulged 3 inches with 3 inches larger wheel opening. Trimmed and finished in front. Nice returns for strength. Very smooth finish. These fenders sold race-style mounting using Autofab fender mounts or Large Captive Dzus fasteners. For bolt-on applications, we have a separate laid-up...
autofab.com
Or MPD has these:
1973-1979
www.mpdfiberbodywerx.com
MPD also has full race bodies, but you sacrifice doors and windows and stuff:
Dentside F100 inspired trophy truck body. 95" wide and 125" wheelbase. Please allow 3-4 week lead time for parts out of stock. Call for shipping quote.
www.mpdfiberbodywerx.com
Coilover Shocks:
There are lots of options for coilers, Fox is the most expensive, followed by King. You will want at least 2.5" Diameter coilers, with a 10-16" stroke, depending on suspension and how much travel you want. For more budget options, check out bilstein (like the 8125), Locked Offroad, F-O-A, Radflow, Swayaway.
If you want to have the best suspension, you will want bypasses as well.
The same companies have bypasses you can buy as well, you will want 2.5" or bigger bypasses.
This is a basic compilation of what info I've found, if you want more feel free to reach out to me. Thanks for looking!
