the reason my screen name is qmanconfused is because of my lack of computer skills....not my resto skills or knowledge of this hobby that we all love. i had the best 65 gto in the country at the gto nationals in 2000 (i still have it) and in 2002 i had the 2nd place truck at the all truck nationals at carlisle. it was a total custom 54 chev panel. all of the work on these cars was done by pros but i did watch every step, all the way. i obsorbed these skill thru osmoses !!!

i had the 3rd best gto at the nationals NOT the best....but what do they know!!!

 

i had a m II sitting around for a long time , now it's gone as of not too long ago . white coupe with a blue top and interior of 76 vintage . you can get a complete MII kit the way you want it inluding the x member for what i think 1900 dollars from speedway . take a look at them or member the box vic fits the new is too wide . check out mytbtrk on here he took a 95 4.6 bird like mine that just died and put the ifs , the irs , everything into his bonus built , and a lot of guys are sticking the bird irs under their trucks on here . donor vehicles like this include the 91-97 birds , cougars , and mark 8's which have all sorts of lightweight aluminum suspension parts and the all uluminum 4 valve in it .... give ya any more idea's ? you think were funny now just wait .... it get's worse

 

What you don't do is read very well!
There is NOTHING from an original MII that you can use on your truck! The OEM IFS is too narrow, was originally built for and was barely strong enough for a Pinto and came with TINY brakes more suited to a go-kart. In other words it's total cr**!
The aftermarket MII TYPE suspensions use no OEM Ford MII parts with the possible exception of the spindles and/or ball joints. (oops! there goes your no other parts but Ford! emphasis...)

If you meant you are going to look for a previously owned MII type kit, make sure it's one designed for your truck, there are a lot of them out there for other makes and models, as well as Chinese clones of dubious quality and replacement parts interchangability.

I find it "curious" that someone with two GM product show winners is so set against anything but Ford parts?

 

go with the M2 kit. you wont regret it. here's my "modified" heidts kit.
<a href="http://s103.beta.photobucket.com/user/rjinator/library/F100%20BUILD" target="_blank"><img src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m156/rjinator/F100%20BUILD/2012-02-21210836.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App"/></a>

 

The only reason NOT to go with a MII designed especially for your truck might be expense. I used a MII kit on the 29 Ford in my avatar and it is a bit pricey but works quite well. If you feel the cost for a MII is out of your budget you can consider a Chrysler torsion bar suspension which is what I did in two trucks (a 48 and a 49) to keep costs down. The Chrylser T-bar hasn't been made since '89 and is becoming scarce but it does work well. I was able to find two Chrysler 5th Avenues (an 83 and an 87) and replaced necessary parts myself (ball joints, tie rods ends, brakes) for around $500. I know it's dated but it's a tried and true suspension with no coil springs to consider, disc brakes, PS, and you don't have to cut the the frame completely off to install it. If you can afford the MII kit, it IS the best route to take...

 

Rjinator:
That's a lot more than a modified Heidts kit! Who's tubular frame is that? How about some more pix.

 

Hey Quentin,
Welcome Aboard! We were up in Syracuse last summer - beautiful
countryside.

Some thoughts below:
o Rear Suspension - An easy one weekend job to replace the stock rear end with the granny gearing. Most folks go with a 9 inch Ford F100 rear axle from a '57-'72 or an 8.8 inch from Ford Explorers. You looked like you were interested in going the Donor route for something - replacing the rear end is pretty straight forward. Our's is from an '01 Explorer & came with disc brakes, emergency brake, & 3.73 gears - $125 from salvage yard.

o Front Suspension is a lot more complicated - The most successful Salvage front end is from the Jaguar discussed above. Otherwise it's around $2K for a Mustang II Style kit from Heidt's, No Limit, TCI, etc.
We went the Mustang II coilover route - took months to do cutting into the frame, welding, steering, brakes..

Good luck over there & have fun!

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

once more, great info...no axracer,i wasn't still after someones oem must2 but something that some one has bought and changed plans. i use the local "swap sheet" news papers and come up with a lot of things in this area that i need for my street rods. yes, i'vegot some and have had more gm toys but only by chance. i had the gto made for show competition cuz i had one back inthe day & always thought they were pretty. the chev panel i built was only because i couldn't find a 53-55 ford at that time i put a 455 poncho in that one. i actually built it to tow my gto around with. anyway, nuff of that crap. i always had ford trucks in my const business. i always said if you want to go for a ride you could go in a chev but if you are going to work, get a ford....nice work rjinator!!! whats nicer than what you have there i won't be going to that extreme but wow!!!! only the best with no expense spared was the way i built those 2 but this time i trying to save where i can....later guys...q in syracuse

 

hey ben in austin....yuo are right in my wheel house. thats exactly how i'm going. my 54 has a 9" in there i now nothing about. the guy i bought it from sez its good but had no details about it. all the numbers are readible but i haven't decoded them yet. and, i know where there are a coupla jags in yards close by so....maybe! later,q in syracuse

it sat am and i'm thinking....were you here in the syracuse area to attend the syracuse nationals? i was there and you must have walked right by me!! i/m the guy parked in the middle of the walk way where i shuddent be, the blue 65 gto hard top with the loud mouth,obnoxious owner, don't you remember??? (so, you think you guys were wacky!!) anyway, its a really good show. and if you come back this way give me a jingle and we'll get together. i cud show you around and take you bass fishing, its my other vise

 

ok, i got a pretty nice m-8 to use as a donor. i/m still going to use my late 60's 302 with a c-4 behind it cuz its so simple. but, i/m going to use the irs,ifs,all steering components,window motors and tracks,power locks,seats to recover, 4wdb,2 sets of wh& tires, one is 18's w/50 ser tires. maybe the a.c. stuff, and anything else that fits my fancy. so.....anything i should stay away from or not even try?


q in syracuse

 

You're probably going to need a rear sump oil pan and pump to clear the suspension crossmember, modify or replace the steering column Graft the original frame front section back on in the original location so the front sheetmetal can be reinstalled, the entire front clip hangs on and is aligned by the radiator horseshoe.

 

Hey Quentin,
Somewhere up above you mentioned that you were thinking of putting a Lincoln seat into your truck. I've got a 1950 - our space limitations are pretty challenging - no more than 51 inches wide so we stuck with a small pickup seat from an S-10. Others have used Dakotas, Rangers, etc.

Your truck is a bit wider so you have more choices. Here is the
article posted on the forum regarding available wisdom on seats that fit..
Just for your easy bedtime reading - from the starter link up at the top of the forum... Everything you ever wanted to know about seats...

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

"Here are some measurements that you might want to consider when looking for a new seat.
· Inside cab width from door panel to door panel (where the seat bottom is the widest)
o 1948-1952 F-1 = 53.5 inches
o 1953-1956 F-100 = 58 inches
· Distance between the door handle tips
o 1949 F-1 = 51.5 inches
· Distance between the fat part of the door handles
o 1949 F-1 = 45-5/8 inches
· Distance across the cab at the rear door post
o 1949 F-1 = 57 inches
· Distance from door panel to door panel
o 1957-1960 F-100 = 62 inches
· Distance from door handle to door handle
o 1957-1960 F-100 = 56 inches
· Stock bench seat width
o 1960 F-100 = 59 inches
There seems to be an issue (particularly found by older members of the forum) with the space between the steering wheel and the seat shrinking over time, resulting in limited intestinal accommodation. Fortunately the newer seats use a different type of spring so they tend to be thinner in the back. This provides more room in that area. This is something to think about before you buy a big, fat seat out of a Cadillac or Lincoln or some other land yacht. With a newer seat, you will usually pick up storage space under the seat bottom as well.
The following suggestions are based upon input from this forum. There is also an article in the August 2004 issue of Classic Truck that deals with this subject and contains many pictures of the suggested alternative seats. Note that we are not spending time discussing bucket seats. Once you ditch the console, you can pretty much fit any bucket into any truck, although generally you’ll end up with a built in headrest sticking up in your back window.
1948-1952 Trucks – Seat Width No More Than 52 Inches
· 2000 Ford Escort buckets
· Mid/late 1980s to 1996 Ford Ranger or Broncos
o 60/40 bench or buckets
o Perfect fit
o Used by many
o Bench is 51” wide at it’s widest point
o Back folds forward
o No headrests to poke up in the back window
o 2-door donors fold, 4-door donors don’t
o Very popular with members of the forum
· 1989 through mid 1990s Ford Explorer
o Buckets or 60/40 bench
· Middle or rear seats out of a 1996 Dodge Caravan
· 1996 and newer Chevy Astro Van
· 1996 and newer full sized GM van middle or rear seats
· 1995 and newer Toyota Tacoma
· 1994 and newer Chevy S-10/Sonoma
1953-1960 Trucks – Seat Width No More Than 58 Inches
· 2001 F-150
NOTE: There are several different styles of bench seats used in the late 1980s through late 1990s GM trucks – quasi-buckets, 60/40s and full benches. They all tend to have thin backs which helps to increase leg space where needed. Some have built in arms rests and a level of seat bottom sculpturing to them, some don’t. These seats are also well liked by a number of the members of this forum.
· 1988-1998 GM truck seats
o Excellent looking brackets
o Easy to adapt
o Headrests tend to be removable
· 1988-1994 Chevy Silverado bench
o No headrest
o Fold down arm rest
o Very stylish
· 1997 and newer F-150 bench
o Has a built in headrest
o Brackets are a bit of a challenge
· Late 1990s Chevy Suburban
· 1987 Chevy pickup bench
· The 2000 and newer Suburban
o 60/40 bench
o Removable headrests
o Not the most stylish thing
o Brackets are clunky looking
The 1999 and newer GM Silverado 40/20/40 “bench” is an interesting possibility. It’s 60 inches wide, but it’s really more like two buckets with a “jump seat” between. You could easily omit the middle section and put in a narrower console or nothing. They do have built shoulder belts, saving you the issue of mounting the shoulder restraint to the wall between the rear window and the doors. You might fit this whole set up into a 1953-1960 F-100. The 1994 through 2001 Dodge truck also has a similar set up, though less stylish than the GM version. It will have the same pluses and minuses.
Another issue to consider is that you need to build some sort of bracket to mount your new seat(s) to your truck. If you’re using the 1988-1998 GM seats, it’s pretty straightforward. Just look at the stock GM mounting brackets and it’s a no brainer. However, if you’re using Ford seats or buckets, this can get a little tricky. For a few good pictures of the brackets one member made to install a later model seat check out this thread. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=114729 The work was done by KAI - our German buddy. He was putting a 1980 F-350 seat in a 1954 F-100. His brackets deal quite nicely with the weird bend/angle in the front of the stock Ford brackets. They are wonderful in their simplicity and could easily be modified to compensate for a shorter driver.
For an excellent example of brackets fabricated to hold the 1996-2000 Ranger 60/40 bench/bucket, check out those made by Scott123 (Scott Jones). He has provided pictures and plans, so you could make a copy of the “Scott123 Super-Duper seat frame 2000” if you wish.
Check out their galleries for the pictures/plans referred. "<!-- / message -->
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Fomoko1..Morris
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i/m all smiles.....axracer....i'll have to cross the oil sump problem when its looking me in the face, i/m so "visual" at this point . great info to keep in my peanut brain....and ben73, if i don't get the right seats it won't be yer fault!!! but to make it a little clearer...its buckets out of a 95 mark 8. without measuring i'm sure they'll fit.

just went out and cut some 4" square 1/4" plates off the front of my frame, just p.o.i....they must have used my f-100 for a snowplow at some point.

q in syracuse

 

hey guys....

today's a good day. i'm taking my m-8 to a local racing/rod motor builder for evaluation of my 4.6 and tranny AND going to a town 40 mi away to buy at least 2 more front fenders and a clean hood. the one i have has louvers all over it and it warped a little when sandblasted. and, drew, if yer watching, yesterday i had to clean the bottom of my bass boat and the motor. holy crap!!! working on my f-100 is much more satisfying. anyway i'll post tomorrow am

q in 'cuse

 

some bad news

i took a 100 mile ride for nothing. the guy who listed the "54" ford hood and front fenders 4 sale were actually "52's" waaaaaaa. i guess it was too good to be true.....they were rags anyway and if they were 54's i wouldn't have bought them. he said they were in good shape...not really.

hope the evaluation of my 4.6 turns out better than that.

q in 'cuse

shi--- happens & then you buy a che--- (no, not yet)