I found that by installing 3in extended springs with a 3in spindle kit on the front of your 97-03 f150 (along with uppers) gives your truck a smooth clean ride. keep the back an inch or two lower and your set. In your opinion i went with bilstein but what do you prefer?

 

Welcome back Z

Your method sounds good, but since you asked for an opinion I would just do a 3" body lift to retain the smooth ride and achieve the 3" lift. The result is a more rugged stance and not squatty

 

Yeah, a lot of people have combineed coils spring spacers or lifted coils with spindles to lift 97-03 4x2's.

 

Assuming his is a 4x2, he's still going to have **** for ground clearance. He can always throw a block/AAL on the back to level it out. I've never been a huge fan of body lifts on stock trucks because yeah, your truck is lifted, but the frame is still sitting stock. If he were to stack a body lift on top of what he's got now, that'd look decent.