ive decided to put in a new front end on my 56 3/4 ton

ive been told to use mustang 2's, and seen that alot of people have used them
but also ive been told about camaro and nova front ends and also a lariat?
would the lariat be to heavy?
which would be best/easiest to get my hands on?
or should i just buy one of those new front end set ups?

i want to keep it the stock height and it going to have a 429 in it

thank you, john

 

See Post # 12 From the steering and suspension section –

( all 12 parts of our front suspension series) –

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-articles.html

 

Whatever you decide, DON'T try to use an OEM MII setup out of a junker. Most of the so called MII setups today are only loosely designed around the MII geometry and use almost no original OEM parts, and that's a good thing. One setup that has become quite popular of late is the IFS out of a jag sedan. Almost as if designed for the application and flat out superior to any MII new or old.
Note than almost any IFS is going to have oilpan clearance issues with any Fomoco front sump oil pan and the crossmember.
Any particular reason for wanting an IFS besides "everybody does it"? The beam axle and leaf springs can be made to drive like most any IFS you could replace it with. How's your fab skills and welding abilities as well as your budget?

 

You can also try the I.C. dakota cross member kit, or what is probably the easiest of all: the 03 to 07 crown vi/ mercury marquis cross member. It is made of aluminum, and bolts in with no welding. plus, if you can find one out of a police cruiser it will be plenty strong enough for your heavier truck. there are a hundred ways to go.

 

03-07 vic front ends are too wide for 53-56 trucks

 

saw the results of a camaro clip in a 53 a few weeks ago, and it really lifted the upper A arms into the engine bay (read clutter), such that the owner had a devil of a time getting his 460 positioned in the engine bay. the passenger sided exhaust manifold header bolts just short of touching the arm adjustment bolts..

Sam

 

AXracer I share your feelings regarding the MII front suspension. Why do something that ever other Tom, Dick, and Harry are doing? Cookie cutter hot rods, be it cars or trucks are IMPO boring and lack creativity. An I-beam axle is a perfectly acceptable alternative to the belly button MII! But again this is just my opinion.

 

ive decided to change my front suspension because im puting in a 429 and building it to go when i wanna go and since im adding all this extra power and wanted power steering and discbrakes that this road would be the most efficient

also another reason is that this seems to work seeing as how so many people do it

i can fab some stuff but i cant just come up with a whole custom suspension setup off the top of my head

and since i will most likely have to have a custom made deepend oil pan i wont have to worry with that either

 

Any IFS you put in is going to need some substantial fab work especially welding. Deepening the oil pan will make the interference problem worse, you will need a rear sump oilpan and relocated oilpump pickup to clear any IFS crossmember They all run under the front of the engine and just a couple inches below the frame rails.

" also another reason is that this seems to work seeing as how so many people do it" That's exactly the thinking that makes aftermarket suppliers rich.
They give their product to enthusiast magazines and pro builders to use and write up. There is a certain Charlotte based IFS builder that has become one of the biggest names simply because they gave away a lot of their product and even installed it for them on a large number of magazine projects. Their products were not considered top of the line by those in the know, but the magazine writers loved them, since wrote the install articles for them they didn't have to get their hands dirty, and they bought advertising in their magazines.
What beside what other people are doing makes you think an IFS would be superior to the beam axle? Power steering is easy, disk brakes are also easy both a bolt in swap. If what other people are doing is the criteria, go to any dragstrip and look at what the modified cars are running for front suspensions. Beam axles will be under most of them right up to dragsters. They certainly go. Now if you are building a show car or a park and polish lawn queen and have a couple thousand extra dollars laying around go for it.

 

jlang, One thing I would suggest, do your own research about which front end you want to use. Call the companies. Talk to people at cars shows. Don't base your decision on the personal bias of one person. Input is always good and you'll get a variety of opinions on this site. If you like straight axles fine, if you like an IFS thats fine too. Make that decision base on facts and how you are going to use your truck.

One thing I must say concerning straight axles under drag race cars. True, straight axles are used under many drag race vehicles. Some of the best were the old gassers. However, they go straight and on a smooth track. How would they handle on todays roads? How will you use your truck?

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

EXACTLY! That was the exact reason for my posts, to start a dialog, to get the original poster thinking about exactly WHY he wanted to go thru the work and expense of installing an IFS, and get him to consider the positive and negatives of the various options as per his original request for suggestions for the "easiest and best" choice. I have no dog in this fight, so I can be UNBIASED when explaining the pros and cons. I like IFS (and IRS) as well as anyone here, but I also know that making a choice based on "everyone does it that way" (the fact is that IMHO there are a lot more of our trucks running around on beam axles than IFS, with running being the operative word, a large # of those being converted are sitting on blocks or have been passed on to others when the owners realized they had bit off more than they had the skills or money to complete. Just look on ebay to see how many projects are there with 1/2 finished IFS conversions under them. I too thought that my first mod on my panel was going to be a IFS conversion as I read all the horror stories about beam axles and all the IFS install articles in the mags. Fortunately for my wallet I bought the panel in NM and drove it clear across the country to get it home. After driving it >1800 miles on the upgraded front suspension I found the beam axle to be more than suited for my needs. The only thing I did change was to remove the sloppy ram style power assisted steering and original steering box and replace it with the Toyota PS box setup.

There are many beam axles being driven on the roads today besides our old trucks, most every 18 wheeler is riding on one as are many lighter duty trucks. Look how long Ford continued using them.

 

Your situation does make a stock axle a probable good choice based on these facts....

You are running a bigblock (heavy like original)
You want stock ride height

IF you thoroughly restore the stock suspension it may be just what you need. Any worn out suspension is not much fun to drive. Some bumpsteer is likely in a straight axle no matter what you do. Even the 2001 F250 Superduty I drove for five years had an attitude on road irregularites. It would jump towards the other lane a couple times a week on the right bump. Not certain if it was bumpsteer, or the suspension was just too heavy.

If you wanted to lower the truck drastically, or desired a real smooth ride I would be here arguing for IFS. My F100 drives like a midsized car from the 80s.

I would suggest you read the IFS FTE article Old F1 posted. It's a bit dated, but it includes input from many people that frequented this forum 5 years ago. It is not the work of one or two people. There is a lot more info on the Jag and a few other IFS options since then. A search will bring those discussions up.