The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1960 1 ton Dump

Guys, My pa gave me his 1960 - 1 ton. He is retiring.. So the truck is pretty much retiring too, I just plan to haul mulch and stuff around the farm...nothing heavy..
As far back as I can remember this truck seemed to lay down in the front and at times the 18" front wheels would rub.

So can you adjust this? Has something to do with the torsom arms? Is there any risk of these breaking etc?

My buddy had a '60 1-ton flatbed,and it hauled,and handled better than my '73 Derge D-300! This was in '79! Check your coils,and torsion bars. Make sure all A-Arm bolts are tight against the frame. You should be able to adjust your torsion bars,IF I'm not mistaken. They're made of spring steel,so they're built to take way more torque than you could dish out.It may take some doing to pre-load them,(on re-installation),though. You could replace the shocks with heavier-duty ones,as well. This fix shouldn't be too expensive,as long as your coils are O.K. Hope this Helps!

My 1 ton only has the torsom bars under the front. It does not have coil springs. I am assuming that is the way it should be.

Can someone give me some advice on adjusting those?

I had a similar truck back in the mid seventies however it was classed as a 1 1/2 ton, it also had 18" wheels. I adjusted the torsion bar suspension so the front end was sitting up like a 4x4. The truck rode like a tank so I dropped it down a bit. The adjustment is at the rear mount of the torsion bars, I used a breaker bar and socket but I imagine you could use an impact wrench if you do it slowly.