I bought my '53 f-100 project 3 years ago. It has been sitting ever since. I took the first year and did a lot of research on what kind of truck I wanted to build. I decided on building a truck that I can still use as a truck. Some light towing and hauling ( yard work type stuff ). I have a bare frame to start with and decided to use a Dodge Dakota IFS with a cross member from Industrial Chassis, a 9" in the back, a 351W and an AOD. I aquired a nice '88 dakota ifs, a 9" and a 351W and that is as far as I got.
My wife and I then had a baby and all things '53 stopped!!
My daughter is now 2 and I'm looking to get started on my project.
Here is where my problem starts. Everyone I've talked to that has a dodge dakota set-up is absolutely thrilled with it. I was really looking forward to this set-up. I e-mailed Steve at Industrial Chassis a couple weeks ago to order my crossmember only to find out that he and his partner split in 2008 and they are nolonger making the crossmember.
So I am left to re-think my options.
I found a '56 f-100 rolling chassis on craiglist the other day and am looking for your opinions. It has an 87 chevy pick-up front clip, and a ford 9" out back. I haven't gone to see it yet. Just looking for your opinions on this set-up. Is anyone driving a truck with a chevy pich-up front clip? Do you like it? If I do look at it What types of measurements should I take to make sure it was put in right?

Thanks

 

I've never heard of anyone using a Chevy truck front clip, but my initial thought would be it's far too wide to be useful under an effie, and the reason it's for sale is because the owner discovered that for himself, and is now trying to pawn it off onto some unsuspecting sucker. Don't let that be you.

Measurements you would want to take would include wheelbase, cross square, overall width, ride height, checking for twist, etc. Also find out what or how they are placing the core support back in it's original location. That is key to having the front sheet metal fit. If that's off more than 1/4" up, down, or sideways from where it needs to be in relation to the rest of the original frame, you're going to have problems. That's the number one issue with regards to cutting a frame in half and grafting on some foreign part. A close second is the safety and squareness of the modification.

Just my 2c. Good luck.

 

Take a look at the Jag front ends. They seem to go in easy.

 

An option you may want to consider is rebuilding the stock front end as needed, and installing a Toyota power steering box. It seems to me that this is the simplest solution that will help you get your truck on the road sooner, and still give you the driveability you need.

You can still use the 351W, AOD, & 9".

And, when you're actually driving your truck, it's a lot easier to keep up your enthusiasm about finishing it!

 

I've built my 56 panel on a 72 chev pickup frame and can tell you that the hub to hub measurement is 65 inches wide, if you are intending on lowering your truck to the point where the tires are close to the fenders you don't want to go that route. I've lowered my panel and now I am looking at purchasing custom rims or purchasing a hub to hub crossmember from Fatmans Fabrication that will be expensive any way you look at it. 10 years ago when I started this project I thought I was doing it on the cheap and did a frame swop because lowering the chevy was cheaper than buying the M2 setup, with my inexperience in doing a project like this and not having the money at the time,well enough said. I will get it done one way or another $$$$$$$$$$, lol.

P.S. when I do my pickup I'll be sticking with the original frame but will likely still be on the darkside

 

Aftermarket Mustang two!

 

I started out the first time around with a '73 to '87 style front end from a chevy pu. As already stated if you are lookin to do any kind of lowering, like having the fenders down over the tires the chevy pu is WAY too wide!! I'm NOT a fan at all of the MII front ends at all. I'm a big fan of the Dakota frontends, cause I've done several complete Dakota complete frame swaps. Before anyone complains, yes there is a big kickup in the rear and yes you have to deal with raising the bed floor to deal with it, but you can work it out. The main thing you have to do is adjust the wheelbase from the Dakota to the Ford F100 and make cab mounts. The Dakota has the worst rearend of any trucks going, but you said you were goin to use a 9" Ford so that is no problem.

If you dont want do venture this far out you could cut out the Dakota crossmember to the point you could weld it into and around your stock frame and basiclly subframe your stock F100 frame with a Dakota similar to a MII setup, but alot better. P.M. me if you need any help

 

I was thinking the same thing. This would let you stick with your original plan and give you the components you wanted in the first place.

What makes the Dakota a better option over the others, say a Jag or M2? Just curious because my wife drives a '99 Durango and they are notorious for bad front ends, there was a huge recall back in the day for these and i've had to redo the front end on ours because it was falling apart.

 

I think that the 4WD stuff all had problmes with ball joints? The Dakota frontends that I"m talkin about is the mid '80's to early '90's models. If you happen to get a later model one that's 6 lug you'll want to change it to 5 lug by changin the rotors and such to get back to an all Ford pattern on your wheels too, but the frontends were pretty good on the 2WD Dakota's.

 

Other then personal preference is there really a difference?

Yes, the MII looks wimpy and weak and skinny (just like some tough ladies who will kick your butt) but it has been well tested, do you actually needed HD truck type components? All conversions have pros and cons, so it might come down to dollars spent vs. time spent and the convenience of an engineered kit with critical pre-alignment angles built in.

 

For me alot of it comes down to price. I don't have $2,000+ to put into a MII set-up. I know you can buy crossmembers and use junkyard parts but from what I have heard the original MII parts truely were not build to handle the weight of a F-100. I am looking for a good quality IFS for a reasonable price. Everyone I have talked to that has used the Dakota absolutely loves it. But now that the Dakota crossmember kit is nolonger available it may nolonger be such a great option. Does anyone make a good quality MII set-up built "Ford Tough" enough for an F-100 for around a grand?

 

You get what you pay for. If you have a short budget and MUST have IFS (don't know why that would be?) then the Jag swap would be the way to go IMHO. The size, geometry, design weight, etc is about perfect and it's nearly a bolt in swap. You can get an entire donor car for less than an aftermarket crossmember.
Please don't use any OEM MII parts especially the single pvot lower control arm with the trailing bar or 4 bolt hubs/brakes.

 

I just had this conversation. You need to take everything in the right context. If you're building a hot rod truck or a street cruiser, there's no better way to go than with an aftermarket, engineered for the application MII-based kit, imho. If you want a work truck, you're probably better off leaving it stock.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ml#post9118546

 

I'm working on a very small budget. The reason I must have IFS is that I currently have a bare frame. I don't have the original front suspension. I hate to spend the money to take it back to original only to have to handle poorly. When I bought the truck I was new to the idea of rebuilding an old truck and didn't really know what I should be looking for. The guy I bought it from was planning on mounting the truck to a mid 70's ford F-150 frame and never did. Instead he sold it to me. So I ditched that frame and bought a bare 55 f-100 frame. So if I need to redo the suspension I might as well go IFS. I am looking to build a truck that can still be use as a truck. I currently drive a small ranger and am hoping to replace that with a working f-100. I won't be doing any heavy hauling with this truck but would like to still be able to use it for projects around the house. With that said I'm not sure that the Jag set-up would give me what I'm looking for. Or would it???

Truxx1956 I would like to talk to you more about the dakota frame swap or IFS options. I tried sending you a PM but am not sure if it went through.

Thanks for the opinions. There are so many options out there it is hard to know what will give you the results you are looking for. I hate to invest a big chunk of cash only to be disappointed with the results.

 

The original front suspension when in good condition, handles 95% as well as any aftermarket IFS, and better than most. The Ford beam axle was a good setup.

Be glad he sold it first!
? you can buy a stock front suspension setup much cheaper than an IFS if budget is an issue. Find someone else who tore one out thinking IFS would be better.
More reason to put a beam back under it. Besides the hidden problems like oil pan sump interference, finding the right springs, exhaust routing, brake compatability, etc.

The Jag would give you everything you could possibly want without all the problems of putting in a aftermarket IFS or grafting a front clip. The only thing it won't give you is stock ride height, the Jag IFS will set several inches lower.

Then forget about installing IFS IMHO