Hey all, I've been planning on changing out my straight axle and installing either the LSI or Heidt's mustang II coil suspension/power steering kit on my '51. The truck was a ground up resto-mod and everything has been altered (ie. the drivetrain consists of a Chevy V8, Turbo 350 trans, and 373 gears with posi). The previous owner had also converted the front brakes to GM spindles with disc brakes. The truck drives well but the lack of power steering kind of sucks a little. I bought it last fall for $11,500. so adding another $2500. or so wouldn't have me in too deep (I sold my Harley to fund the conversion) but if I ever have to sell her, do you think I can break even at $14K-$15K
Here's a link to the photos (I'm sure you've all seen them). Based on your own experience, how much do you think this truck could sell for if I make the conversion. Again, I'm not trying to make money on the truck, I love it and it's something I've always wanted but in this crappy economy if I had to sell it I'm just wondering what I could get for it.

Wally

1951 F1 - "Lucille"

 

From the looks of the photos I think your truck might be in the $14-15K range with or without the front suspension and PS conversion but the conversion would certainly make it an easier sale...nice truck for a bucktooth!

PS You can park it in my driveway any time!

 

Power steering makes the truck much more driveable. Mine started out with the straight axle, stock steering and original drum brakes. The first conversion was to change the steering to power. I used the straight axle mounted power steering kit sold by No Limit Engineering. Next i converted the original drum brakes to a power front disc/rear drum conversion kit from CPP. These all worked out great. I put a lot of miles on the truck with this set up. Last year i converted over to the mustang II kit from Total Cost Involved. The truck really handles much better at highway speeds and winding roads than it did with the straight axle.
By the way i really like your truck.

 

Have you ever thought of going the Toyota P/S route?

 

I have seen that conversion on this forum but the TCI/Heidt's kits are all together (with the suspension parts, brakes, and steering parts) and they're fairly simply to weld into place. Having a small block Chevy, adding a pump and bracket for the rack is easy to find as well.
I'm going to go ahead with the conversion because I plan on driving this truck as much as possible this summer and with power steering, it will be heavenly to maneuver around. I plan on keeping this truck so I'm not going to worry about spending a few grand making it nicer to drive.
I'll post some pics once we start tearing it apart next week.

Wally

1951 F1 - "Lucille"

 

Lucille is a very nice looking truck!

I guess your options for IFS would be TCI, Heidts, Chassis Engineering, Fatman Fabrications, No Limit. Most use actual Mustang steering components and you can choose a power or manual rack option.

Measure everything up....you need to make sure your engine and oil pan will clear whatever MII crossmember you install.

By the way....GreatNorthWoods is right...you did well on the purchase price. If you had bought a project and done all of the work yourself, you would have spent quite a bit more!!

Dan

 

I wish mine looked as good as yours.

 

It is a beautiful truck, but don't think of it in terms of resale value unless that is what you really want to do (sell it). If you want to have nice steering, figure out a way to do it according to your budget, not what it would bring later. The MII type front ends ride nice and with the Tbird rack the steering is nice. But you could also install a steering box that could be power. There are tons of options and in my opinion you should choose what you want for yourself.

 

The Heidt's and Art Morrison IFS conversions are quality units the use very little actual MII parts other than basic geometry. I think AM also offers a crossmember that uses Corvette C5 parts. One more option, the OEM Jaguar IFS is practically a bolt in on the Bonus Builts with excellent geometry, brakes and steering.