I am looking to swap out my straight axel front suspension. I looked in the articles and spec and read about a mustang II would fit.

Did I read that right?

I just want to make sure....

does anyone know for sure? anyone swap out their front end suspension? if so what did you go to?

help would be greatly appreciated

 

i am doing a front end swap in the near future, the possible donors i am looking at are a 1967 kaiser full size jeep and an early 60's IH truck, but i am going for a 4wd package. from what i have read, you have a few decent (though costly) options for the swap if you don't want to rig the heck out of it like i am doing.

main things to consider are:
do you want to keep your oiginal frame (beams) intact
if not, are you extremely competant at aligning a donor frame section before welding it into place?

the list of donors for f100 swaps are varied, mustang II, camaro, volare, i've even seen one that used the fron end off of a cj5.. not the prettiest thing, but worked for his purposes. a few companies make (or made) kits including fatman, and bobs f-100 parts..

my plans are to use another straight axle, weld in new shackles for the wider springs, upgrade the absorbers to rancho 9000 or similar stabilizers, and spend a month or so sorting out the new locations and fabbing mounts for power steering and such... in the end, it should all be worth it... the front disc brakes alone should be worth it, not to mention the availability of parts, as finding new front wheel cyl's for my 63 f100 2wd drums are almost impossible.

hope this helps a bit, if not, someone will probably be along shortly with more info

trin

 

Thanks for the info.

I would like to keep the stock frame. The frame on the truck is in great shape.
so I was thinking a mustang II front end. I want to swap it out so I can improve the handling of the truck and at a later point put an air ride suspension in it.

do you have any forums or places to go for info on swapping the straight axel for a mustang II front end?

Thanks

 

http://www.clubfte.com/users/jniolon...nginstall.html
http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/Te...rontend01.html

You can find more if you google them.

 

A stock mustang II front end will not work. Too narrow and too light. An aftermarket Mustang II style will. There are options other than the MII that are more economical and better suited for our slicks.

 

The 53-56 guys have done a lot of the Mustang II swaps and since the frames are the same 34"s, you may benefit from their experience. I personally think that it is too light duty for truck use but how many actually use them as a truck anymore. I wanted to keep mine as a truck and use it as such so I went with the Twin-I-Beam frame, a good ride but lowering it is another issue altogether.

Check the tech articles for more information. https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/10/0/

 

So what would you guys recommend?

what IFS would you go with and out of what vehicle?

 

If I had to go with an IFS in a truck it would most likely be from an LTD. If I wanted to get rid of the straight axle and had a 63, I would look for a 65-72 f100 frame.

Understand before you start that a frame swap is a lot of work, requires a lot of room and plenty of time. It is not easy and should not be undertaken without a lot of thought and planning.

 

I'm thinking about getting rid of the volare in mine now and putting in an aerostar. My goal is to put air bag suspension in it.

 

You can also weld a 70's big Lincoln front clip under your current one. I saw a 63 F-100 that had this done to it and is rode pretty low to the ground and it could handle the 4000lbs a truck weighs. Most big car from the 70's weighed in at more then 5000lbs. You may want to look at 1997 and new Ford trucks as well. When I get around to it I will crawl under mine and post some measurements.

 

Just finished a 53 to 56 kit and started welding together a crossmember Kit for for a 61 to 64.

Garbz

www.industrialchassisinc.com

 

so would it be cheaper to just buy a crossmember kit or to buy the whole suspension kit?

 

If your budget is limited go for a complete front end from a donor. If you have the $ get a hub to hub aftermarket kit. The work involved is about the same.

 

It would be easier to answer your question if you told us how you intend to use the truck, what your budget is, and what skills and tools you pocess. These will all play important roles in your decision. Read the 11 articles in the 48-60 forum about front suspensions. Their frames are 34" wide just like the 61-66 trucks. A lot of time and experience were used to research those articles.
I have Volare', Aerostar, and Jag IFS available and I have no 1 answer. It depends on the use.