Hey Fellas, I'm days away from purchasing a new mustang 11 cross for my 53 ford and have looked into all that make them.I thought i would ask you all about your own personal experiences with installation and companys for the best system. Thanks DJ

 

'rage,

What a shame, look's like we're loosing another one to the dark side.


Rosa,

You won't get any help from me on this one. I'm going the Cordoba torsion bar route.

(We'll see if pulling this up top brings you any response to your question. Come on guys - help my man out here.)

Patience Grasshopper!


Later,

 

Rosa,

The only Mustang II crossmember I've used was made by Progressive Automotive. I was very happy with it. I hear that Fatman Fabrications makes a good one too. I'm not totally convinced that any one manufacturer is better than another. There was a post floating around another site about some problems with a Heidt crossmember, but it remains to be seen whether the failure of that crossmember was the fault of the manufacturer or lack of maintenance by the owner. I'm with Ferg on the Volare. I think it's a better choice.

 

Rosa et all,

I'm not sure if Vern is intentionally misquoting me to get a rise out of me or not.....

I am not knocking your choice - vis a vis the MII. (I have heard less than good things about Fatman's kit, but i have no first hand knowledge of their quality).

Nor am i knocking the volare, eh, eh. (though I love to tease certain individuals about it). There is a large installed base of this alternative, so there is obviously some merit to it.

However, for the record - I will be using the (manly) Cordoba/Fury style torsion bar front end with longitudinal torsion bars not the girly Volare,eh,eh unit with the wee transverse t-bars.

There, the official record is corrected. I feel better....

 

From the research I've done and questions I've asked... I'd choose the Heidts...

regardless of the failure reported on the HAMB board...

I've talked personally to several guys who build these things daily and the consensus is Heidts is higher quality...

other comments concluded that Fatmans was not what it used to be... poor quality work...

volare is a good choice if your not using a big block... interference problems... how do I know ??? check my page...

john

 

Rosa, if you want to use MII suspension, I would go with a Heidt's style crossmember, constructed with the thickest material available. One decision you have to make is whether to use the MII strut rod or not. The problems that you may have heard about these crossmembers is inadequate design of the strutless arms and crossmembers, not lack of maintainence. Whichever crossmember you choose should have the welding checked thoroughly. Use the heaviest arms and the largest brakes available. For more information, see John Niolon's site.

 

Ferg,

Sorry, but I didn't misquote you on purpose. The Chrysler 'K' member, whether it's from an Aspen, Volare, Fury, Cordoba, New Yorker, Dodge Dart, etc., etc., is still a "Volare" is my book. I know there are subtle differences like bigger anti-sway bars and the way the torsion bars run depending on which model and year you choose, and some are better than others, but the term "Volare" seems to have been coined to describe the Chrysler 'K' members in general. I assure you no slight was intended by referring to the suspension as a Volare. Geez, do we need to start calling them Chrysler 'K' members now to be politically correct? "Volare" is so much easier.

 

Oh Vern,

You are about to get educated on the not so subtle differences of Mopar T-bars. Not all year Cordobas are the same. In your defense ,the Fergster is grossly negligent in his prior posting or I am certain your would have known he refers to straight T-bars when he says Cordoba.

His bad

 

'fenders,

Okay Ferg, bring it on! I can take it. Tell me all about the not so subtle differences in the Cordoba and Volare suspensions. They are still all Volares to me...

 

if you cut to the chase wouldn't it be....

if it's bent .... it's Volare (read chrysler, plymouth,dodge)

if it ain't ...... it ain't

john ???

 

John


Pretty much a yes. To my knowledge all bent T-bars are Volare. To say all the straight T-bar IFS are alike would be incorrect though. Not that you necessarily said that.

The Cordoba used both systems in model years. 'rage can recite the other Gibbons donors. Fury etc.

However it doesn't quite end here. This may be the part where Ferg begins wailing the "Batclip Chant" for Vern. And maybe he saves it for another day. Who knows.

I had a good look at 'rages clip when I dropped by. I was impressed with the Gibbon's kit. Is it stronger than a Volare? It is hard to say. It looks very comparable in strength to a Volare. It shares the same control arms and other stuff. You don't have to whack the frame.

How did we get on this subject BTW, I forgot

 

it all started as a crossmember question... but like all things lately on this board it soon turns into a volare, sb vrs bb or don't say the 'c' word thread...

we do tend to circle

john

 

WARNING - COMPOUND WORDS AHEAD


Vern,

" The Chrysler 'K' member, whether it's from an Aspen, Volare, Fury, Cordoba, New Yorker, Dodge Dart, etc., etc., is still a "Volare" is my book. I know there are subtle differences like bigger anti-sway bars and the way the torsion bars run depending on which model and year you choose, and some are better than others, but the term "Volare" seems to have been coined to describe the Chrysler 'K' members in general."

You'd think that Vern, wouldn't you. But you'd be wrong.

Whereas the "Volare,eh,eh" front K member is welded to the recipient vehicle's frame, in the case of the 75-79 Cordoba/Fury/Charger front suspension, you affix it to the recipient vehicle using two crossmembers found in the Gibbon's kit. One cross member in the front similar to the Dakota or MII mounting systems and a second in the rear to hold the rear ends of the torsion bars. So the differences between this and the "Volare,eh,eh" system are not so much that the torsion bars are longitudinal versus cross-wise but in the mounting system.

Hopefully we haven't highjacked Rosa's note completely (and I didn't need to invoke the power of the Bat'rage to clarify this issue). And let the record show, that not once in this thread did I suggest one setup was "better" than another. Cousin John is the only in here that could make that call with any authority, since he's the only one that has actually tried them all.

Later,

 

Ferg,

I am humbled with your wisdom. Praise be to Ferg...knower of all things Volare. Amen.

 

There's a few threads dealing with this topic. You might want to do a search on them if you haven't already.


As for me, I'm using a Fatman MII basic kit. It is the thickest gauge kit you will find. It came with step by step instructions(pictures included) and I purchased an installation video that shows them installing their kit in a 55 f100. I am very pleased with my kit. And anytime I had a question their tech support was very helpful and patient.


As for the heidts kit, I'm glad I did not get one of theirs after seeing the pics of that kit failure!!!


Also, if you have access to the Dec '98 issue of Classic Trucks you can find a very informing article on Clips vs. Crossmembers!!! It explains and shows why the MII, '70-81 camaro, '75-79 nova, and '73-77 chevelle are the best setups.

Good luck with your decision.