First off, what fits?

Second, what years?

I'm looking to clip the fromt of my 71 ford f100, getting rid of the evil twins. I have no clue what will fit, but i have the basic jist of what to do. someone wanna help me out? I'm looking to go as low as I can, NO AIRBAGS.

And just incase I got some terms mixed up in there, I mean suspension/frame rails so I can weld it in.

 

Hey Nick,

I installed a Fatman fabrication hub to hub IFS under my 79 check out my gallery photos.
Street rod engineering also has one.

I am well satisfied with the kit I purchased, the engineering was already worked out on it and the tech sheets and support they offer is great.
I have done much harder things than installation of this IFS, not a piece of cake but not terribly hard either.
I cant remeber the username of the other guy on this site from FL, he had a Volare front clip under his.

Also have seen several at the F100 Supernationals in Knoxville, TN held every May.

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk or anything but don't ruin your truck that way. I had a clip under my 68 for about 5 years. Yes it drives good, yes it handles good but does it look good NO! I'm now in the process of building another frame to go under it. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Oh and by the way i'm going with a fatman front end this time.

 

Carnut6870,

From the people I have spoke with that have the Fatman kit they have all been very happy. I cant wait to drive mine. I am going at a slow pace so I dont suffer burn out.

Brent is a super guy to work with and has a graet team put together down there.

He always brings several setups to dispaly at the F100 Supernationals.

Good luck with your build.

 

I'm from knoxville and have gone to the nationals twice both times without my truck. Actually I saw a truck with a fatman under it and that is what brought on the idea to redo mine. The clip drives nice but I hate the amount of space it takes up. After looking a truck with a 460 in it and a fat man front it has a cleaner engine bay with less clutter than my truck does with the FE and clip. It just seems like common sense to me.

 

Carnut.... whats so bad about doing a clip from another car in the front? Why doesn't it look good?

How much does the fatman clip cost?

 

When doing a clip from another car most of the time to lower it as far as you will want to go the clip has to come up in the engine bay. Your inner fenders will have to be cut. If it is a rear steer meaning the steering is behind the suspension you can run into problems with the steering box angle and the column in your truck. Once you have the clip on you have to fabricate mounts on the front for the radiator support and front bumper. Clips sometimes run in the way of your radiator. There is just a ton of things than can go wrong and you need someone who has done one before to help you. You need to the the geometry that is built in to the front in you use correct and dont forget axle center line.

A fat man is expensive but to give you an idea of how crowded a clip can be. I saw a bumpside with a 460 in it and a fatman. You could almost get in there and stand beside it. My truck with the clip and a 390. The upper control on one side dented my header, I had to move my drain hole in my oil pan, and I hated to work on it cause there was no room!

If you are building a super nice truck and want to spend the money go with a fatman. If you just want to lower it and drive it do the I beams, cut coil springs and smaller tires.

 

And dont forget this

www.industrialchassisinc.com

Dakota based front weld in custom fabricated to each trucks frame profile crossmember that allows your truck to be dropped and still retain the factory registered weight.....

Garbz

 

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How much does the fatman clip cost?</TD></TR><TR><TD class=thead colSpan=2>Yesterday 11:26 PM</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I have spent approx 2600.00 on my Fatman hub to hub kit, I have the air bags and optional 2" drop spindles. Dont let the price discourage you, this is a very well laid out and planned kit with outstanding tech support. If it is money holding you back consider doing what I have done. I have been selling on ebay to fund my truck build and have been very succesful with it, it has completely financed 2 complete trips to the F100 Supernationals for our family.

With the majority of the weight on the front of my truck and the air completely out of the bags my tires touch the inner fender aprons. At level ride height I still have full turning radius of the tires and the bottom of the fender well opening is slightly below the lip of the rim. I will try to get some pictures of the front set on my truck and sitting at ride height and down on the bags posted within the next couple of weeks.

The only advice I did not follow from Fatmans was using the Buick brake hoses, at 18" they were still short for my turning radius so I had a place in town custom make the hoses to 22" a much better fit for an additional 5 dollars. The cost me 20.00 each.

As far as weight is concerned, I dont plan on hauling anything in mine when done. The Fatman kit has been well tested and Fatmans even has one of these kits on thier shop truck.

 

check out my gallery.... i used a 1971 lincoln front frame section from the firewall forward. it took lots of fabrication, but there are no bags and it rides great. the lowest section of the frame which right under the cab is about 3 inches off the ground. good luck.

 

I actually spent ALOT of time looking at your gallery. I love the stance of that truck.

I have access to a machine shop, welding shop, auto and various other shops at my highschool. CNC machines even. So fabbing stuff is not an issue at all.

 

Tgowers That is similar to what I did with my truck. I used a 77 Lincoln in the front and the disc rear end in the back. I didn't like the springs in the front so I used a set out of a wrecked 90s crown vic police car. Worked well and rode good. My truck had 18x8s on the front and it would tuck about an inch of the rim. How did that mustang rack work out for you? Have any problems in turning left and going right?

 

funny story about the mustang rack. my buddy and i went the the junk yard and got the mustang rack... got to the house and he fabricated this really nice crossmember for the rack, and we even had to extend one of the tie rods and shorten the other. we spent about a week on this and installed it put the control arms and springs in and had it sitting on the ground.... we were very excited. i got in the truck and turned the wheel, and it turned so smooth... but it turned the wrong direction. the mustang rack is front steer and we needed a rear steer.... we had to go get a tarus rack and redo it all..... but it steers perfect! right to left is equal. we had to offset the rack to the drivers side about 8 or 9 inches, which is why we adjusted the tie rod lengths. but it is great.

 

I have seen others do the same thing. I left the steering box on mine. The lincoln front worked well but to me it just too bulky and big and in the way. I notched my crossmember about the same as you did yours. The engine mounts were similar but I used box tubing and instead of turning it up and down it went front to back. I'll have to look around and see if I have any pictures.

 

What about the newer crown vic suspension? Before I did my swap, I was really close to doing the fatman kit, I liked the way it looked, but the price is steep. Im sure youve seen the threads on this panther swap, it is still a good option to consider.