Am interested in installing an independent suspension on my 54 truck and was curious if anyone knows about the Dodge Dakota suspension offered by Industrial Chassis, Inc. out of Phoenix. They sell the crossmember and you put on the Dakota parts that you can buy used or new. The Volarie graft looks complicated to me and I had a Dakota a while back and never a problem with the front end. I know Mustang ll are popular but I wonder how durable they really are. Thanks for any free advice. Paul

 

Hauler:

I have also been looking at IFS for my 56 F100. Is there a website for the Dakota Set up? I wonder if the Mustang II set up will stand up to a truck that will be a daily driver and also driven on some country roads (i.e. rough roads!!).

I drove a 56 F100 a couple of weeks ago that had the Gibbons Chrysler IFS with the torsion bar set up and it had easy steering but felt a little "loose" to me. It was also not sitting on very good tires so that could have had something to do with it. Can you adjust the height of the Dakota Set up? I would be interested in any other info you may have on it.

Thanks

George

 

George, Their web site is not working and they have no info they can mail or fax at this time. I talked to "Steve" yesterday and he said they had been in business about nine years. Their number is 602-278-6800. They do have an ad in Classic Truck. They said this set up is 61" when completed, same as the F-100. First check for local parts yielded all the needed parts for $300. Probably would want to replace some with new parts but still not bad for a start. I'm hoping someone will come forward that has tried this product. It's suppose to be a simple weld-in.

 

 

I bought the crossmember from I.C. and they sent the instructions with the crossmember. It appears to be as easy as welding it in the frame rails. The donor I got cost 150.00 then the bushing kit that is for sale in classic trucks is 239.00 so not to bad.

 

Have you read the "Front Suspension Alternatives" sticky at the top of this forum? It discusses all the various IFS, their characteristics, pros and cons. Written by people who have been there, done that.