I am thinking of installing a MII front suspension in my 49 F1 but something about it kinda scares me. I have never done a large project like this on any vehicle and I want to hear from other people that may have been in my shoes and bit the bullet and did it anyway. I do know how to weld and have some experience in structural welding and in doing very tedious work with a tig.

My big thing is I want this truck to be something that my wife and I can enjoy and of course I want it to be the cats *** but at the same time I don't want to get in over my head and get discouraged?

In other words, I don't know. It is a lot of money and a lot of work but it also seems like a fun project so what I need is a little help making up my mind one way or another.

 

I did mine from T.C.I. and I had no prior experience. A mech aptitude and very little stick welding experience was all I had. I found it to be very straight forward but I didn,t use any used parts, Everything I needed I got from T.C.I. with instructions.

 

i did mine with only a little welding experience. the directions are very simple. just measure, then measure again the measure a couple more times then right before you weld.....measure again.

 

I have done a Camaro clip, a Volare clip, and an MII. The MII was by far the easiest. I have a TCI but I hear good things about the Heidt. Just dive in and do it......measure read, measure read, measure read......did I mention measure?

 

I have almost completed my TCI mustang II install. You can find pics in my gallery. I will like everyone else tell you to measure your dimensions several times but will also tell you it is not as bad as it looks. I started by putting the frame at 3 degree rake and leveling across the frame in 3 places for level. When all was level I placed 1/16" shims between the frame and boxing plates to allow for good weld penetration. After welding in the plates I trial fit the crossmember and found that it was not level with the floor so I had to notch out 1/4" on the front braces of the crossmember that sit up against the bottom of the frame (this was only after talking to TCI on the phone If you go TCI and need tech support talk to Evan). After notching the 1/4" out the crossmember it sat perfectly level so I tached it in. I leveled the crossmember off of the A-arm mounting points as well as the middle of the crossmember.
After taching in the crossmember and verifying everything at least 3 times I tached on the spring perches on the crossmember centerline. I mocked up the A-arms and spindles minus the springs and will soon verify the wheel well centerline and camber adjustments and if all looks good I will final weld and call it done. Check out my gallery for the pics and if you have any questions feel free to ask. My opinion is that if you have the welding skills and can read a tape measure -----go for it.

 

I've done a couple of MIIs though not recently. If you can weld, measure, and follow directions you can do it. However, I disagree with a prev post regarding ease. I have also done a GM clip and a Volare and the Volare is the easiest by far...not nearly as much measuring, fabricating, or guesswork involved with the Volare.

 

You could go the route I'm going and get a MII IFS from Chassis Engineering. I wanted to do this type of project myself you know but I knew I couldn't have welded the cross member so I searched and found Chassisengineering.com. They have a bolt on cross member where all you do is drill some holes and bolt together. I have a crossmember from them right now and am going to install it in the next few weeks hopfully if I have time. I am going to order the rest of the kit (upper and lower A arms, brakes, spindles... etc.) from them when I get some more money coming in here in a few months. Hope this helps

 

thendrix; Have you thought about using a Jag IFS. That's what I used after reading about all the IFS choices. It's by far the easiest. It's a bolt in unit. The only welding is on the front mount perches. You have to fab them yourself. But I have had no experience at all and did it with the help of the people here on FTE. Look at my gallery for pics. It is very simple and only took me about 6 hrs to install. BUT what ever you decide to use remember this if nothing else. MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE and when you think you have it right MEASURE again. Look at 48STEEL gallery it is very well documented and has very good pics. Good Luck. Keep us up to date on your build.

 

THENDRIX,

I've done the MII also... the only thing I can stress that the other didn't is the welding. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFICIENT WELDER have someone who is do your welding. This is no place for a rookie welder to be daubing around.

I can stick two pieces of metal together and it will hold. But, do I trust my welding at 70 mph on a rough road ?? ABSOLUTELY NOT. These crossmembers get stresses from several different directions. Front suspension (especially with a heavy big block) takes a beating on a good day. I did all the fab and fit up work and had someone who does welding for a living put the final welds on mine.

so my recommendation is DO IT !! but if you have the slightest hesitancy about your welding, find someone who is competent then you can relax.


The fit up and prewelding is easy and anyone who can accurately read a tape and use a square can do it... the others mentioned taking your measurements several times. That is really good advise.

Go for it !~

later
John

 

I agree 100%... also read F100man's post. Get your frame at ride height, locate the centerline of crossmember per instructions, check the dimension between frame minus thickness of boxing plates and compare with dimension between crossmembers mating surfaces, make adjustments, by grinding frame or crossmember, as necessary, tack in the boxing plates, set your crossmember in and check it for being square to the frame centerline and level before tacking it in place. You might want to put your front fenders back on to see if you are comfortable with the placement of the tires in the wheelwells. Some like to increase the wheelbase even more than suggested by the crossmember supplier. Then remove the fenders, check for square and level one last time before welding it up for good.

 

I installed a Fatman Fab MII kit on mine. When I first recieved the kit, they sent the wrong rack. I ordered the power rack and they sent a manual one. I didn't notice this for quite some time later because I didn't need the rack to setup the truck. I notice it was the wrong one when I went to install the rack. I gave them a call and they said to send the manual one back to them and they would sent the right one to me. This was on a Friday afternoon. UPS was at my door the following Wednesday. If I was to do this again I would buy the Fatman kit again. They produce a quality kit and are very helpful with tech support.

Rick