need some help!
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 88,826
Likes: 787
From: Simi Valley, CA
Ppl call it the Mustang II front clip, but.....
Guess what...a '74/78 Mustang II is nothing more than a re-skinned Pinto.
So the II uses the same suspension a Pinto does.
The only dif is...if the Mustang II has a 302 (1975/78), then a few suspension bits like the front coils were beefed up.
The Pinto never had a V8, only the OHC 2.3L 4 banger and the 2.8L V6, which Mustang II's also used.
Guess what...a '74/78 Mustang II is nothing more than a re-skinned Pinto.
So the II uses the same suspension a Pinto does.
The only dif is...if the Mustang II has a 302 (1975/78), then a few suspension bits like the front coils were beefed up.
The Pinto never had a V8, only the OHC 2.3L 4 banger and the 2.8L V6, which Mustang II's also used.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7,493
Likes: 7
From: Erie, pa
The "Aftermarket" MII - Mustang II front suspension conversion kits being sold only resemble a Ford Mustang Factory Front Suspension of any series if your laying on your back under a vehicle with said "Aftermarket" suspension installed with the vehicle not being jacked up, your eyes full of dirt clumps and you have a serious case of Road Rash on your Gluts.
Yes in some cases Stock Ford Mustang Components will bolt up to the Aftermarket suspensions and they are the ones that make the loud expensives noises the first time a panic stop is made or you run over a gum wrapper.
Yes in some cases Stock Ford Mustang Components will bolt up to the Aftermarket suspensions and they are the ones that make the loud expensives noises the first time a panic stop is made or you run over a gum wrapper.
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 88,826
Likes: 787
From: Simi Valley, CA
Mustang fans hated that terd of a car when it came out..and for a good reason, it was nothing more than a Pinto with a Mustang runnin' horse on it.
I wonder how many ppl actually use the real Pinto/Mustang II front suspension?
It's a weak sister on a good day, and that day was 30 yrs ago!
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 448
Likes: 1
From: La Mesa (East San Diego)
The "Aftermarket" MII - Mustang II front suspension conversion kits being sold only resemble a Ford Mustang Factory Front Suspension of any series if your laying on your back under a vehicle with said "Aftermarket" suspension installed with the vehicle not being jacked up, your eyes full of dirt clumps and you have a serious case of Road Rash on your Gluts.
Yes in some cases Stock Ford Mustang Components will bolt up to the Aftermarket suspensions and they are the ones that make the loud expensives noises the first time a panic stop is made or you run over a gum wrapper.
Yes in some cases Stock Ford Mustang Components will bolt up to the Aftermarket suspensions and they are the ones that make the loud expensives noises the first time a panic stop is made or you run over a gum wrapper.
But just to confirm, are you talking about the Genuine Ford front ends being week or the after market front ends? I've heard some really good things from engineering folks about the "Improved Mustang II Front End Design" that TCI sells.
Yep it's a design parallel that in the after market life incorporates some strength and design improvements. But, I actually ran int a guy this weekend at Del Mar with a beautiful 48 F1 who itterated that his front end really was a pinto. He said he had installed about 5 of them and they were pretty much the same as the stock Mustang II.
And just FYI - not to **** in anyones rice bowl- I use the term front end so as not to confuse otheres who also use the term "Front Clip" for the front body. Plus, because "front end" is the correct written nomenclature as stated in the service manuals - at least the ones I have - always by the book!
Poor Mario he's probably avoiding this whole thing at this point!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7,493
Likes: 7
From: Erie, pa
I too dislike the words "front" and "clip" used in conjunction.
Mario? He can wait, He's putting a Chevy in a Classic Ford.
The original rip out the front end of a junk Mustang/Pinto usuall went south when they tried not to use the strut rods, then they went further south when they did use those original strut rods.
Unless the aftermarket front ends are reengineered it can get hairy when you put the MII in a full sized Truck with a BBAnything and the slam it. That puts about 220,000 lbs of kinetic energy on that Chinese made steel welded together by an individual whose certifications were in the bottom of a Burger King Bag.
Just for S&G's the next time you go out in your Daily Driver get it going about 65, make sure there is no one close (1/2 mile or more) and plant both feet on the whoa peddle. Now translate that expierence to your 48 - 60 which was engineered for 25 miles per hour, had a solid axle, parrell 9 leaf springs, and "don't worry, we'll get it stopped brakes".
OK, Now to Mario, Welcome, Put a Ford in it.
Mario? He can wait, He's putting a Chevy in a Classic Ford.
The original rip out the front end of a junk Mustang/Pinto usuall went south when they tried not to use the strut rods, then they went further south when they did use those original strut rods.
Unless the aftermarket front ends are reengineered it can get hairy when you put the MII in a full sized Truck with a BBAnything and the slam it. That puts about 220,000 lbs of kinetic energy on that Chinese made steel welded together by an individual whose certifications were in the bottom of a Burger King Bag.
Just for S&G's the next time you go out in your Daily Driver get it going about 65, make sure there is no one close (1/2 mile or more) and plant both feet on the whoa peddle. Now translate that expierence to your 48 - 60 which was engineered for 25 miles per hour, had a solid axle, parrell 9 leaf springs, and "don't worry, we'll get it stopped brakes".
OK, Now to Mario, Welcome, Put a Ford in it.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,882
Likes: 88
From: Durham NC
Today's M II "type" aftermarket suspension are evolved designs from that original M II/Pinto design. They are as far removed from that ancestor as we are from apes, i.e. have almost nothing in common any more except maybe ball joints, wheel bearings and/or spindles.
I too had a poor experience with gearheads aka gone fishin on ebay, I wouldn't buy anything from them.
TCI, Heidts, Art Morrison, Kugel and a couple others all make a quality IFS kit, they ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for. All of the above require excellent fab and welding skills to install safely.
AFA bags: IMHO unless you are building a show only trailer queen and/or have the big bucks for a fully sensored computerized control assembly, bags are best used for bringing home groceries, not for suspensions. You can only make it go up and down so many times before there is no one left to try and impress, so it becomes really old and boring, then you are stuck with a suspension that really sucks for driving any distance.
Again IMHO the IFS to use in an F1 is the Jag SJ, it's nearly a bolt in swap, what little fab/welding required can be made as bolt on brackets that can be tacked together then taken to a pro welder to finish welding, no warped frame!
I too had a poor experience with gearheads aka gone fishin on ebay, I wouldn't buy anything from them.
TCI, Heidts, Art Morrison, Kugel and a couple others all make a quality IFS kit, they ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for. All of the above require excellent fab and welding skills to install safely.
AFA bags: IMHO unless you are building a show only trailer queen and/or have the big bucks for a fully sensored computerized control assembly, bags are best used for bringing home groceries, not for suspensions. You can only make it go up and down so many times before there is no one left to try and impress, so it becomes really old and boring, then you are stuck with a suspension that really sucks for driving any distance.
Again IMHO the IFS to use in an F1 is the Jag SJ, it's nearly a bolt in swap, what little fab/welding required can be made as bolt on brackets that can be tacked together then taken to a pro welder to finish welding, no warped frame!
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