Exactly. And that is the point I was trying to make. Nevertheless, there seems to be few folks here (and yes, their opinion is respected, even if misguided) who are willing to totally condemn a perfectly good, well engineered and long tested suspension system simply because it is loosely based on a design that was once used under an economy car, without any basis in fact. At least, that's my opinion.

 

That's all very well and good, Sir...if people use the aftermarket re-engineered suspension kit, but...

What if some people go to a wrecking yard, cut one out of a 1974/78 Mustang II...what are they getting?

Heavier coil springs if from a 1975/78 302, otherwise the whole shebang is dang near identical to a 1974/80 Pinto.

 

Not all the aftermarket "re-engineered" systems are done well, either. The term "Mustang II suspension" is a generic term and people should be cautioned that "one size does not fit all" and there are significant differences in what is offered by the many vendors. Do not shop on price alone!!

 

FYI -- here you can see the difference in length of a stock Ford 3-sp, an S-10 T5 and the Mustang T5. The Mustang is not even close to the correct shifter position. If you're serious about twin turbos, you are going to need a TKO or a similar hardened tranny anyway. IMHO, you'd be better off with a torque monster big-inch engine if you want that kind of power.

 

Thank you! That is definitely going to be a problem. I'll look in to the S10 tail housing swap then, that would put it in a much more realistic location.

I'm not going to race it, it's just for fun. I doubt I'll ever run stickies on it so it will never hook up well and the tranny should do just fine. I'm not looking for big HP I've just always wanted something forced induction, roots blower or turbo. Since turbo is by far the cheaper route that is where I'm thinking of going and only running like 5 to 8 PSI. That part will be a long time down the road, I want to get it all up and running in "stock" form then modify from there, get the initial kinks worked out before adding turbo's in to the mix.

 

I don't believe anyone here has ever suggested the way to build a truck is by cutting out the sheetmetal crossmember and grafting it into their chassis. But that does not mean the basic geometry and design is not sound. Forty years and billions of miles have proven otherwise.

 

So is a stock Mustang II clip a bad platform to start with? I see one for sale near hear complete for $100. I've emailed them to get what year mustang and pictures. The ad says it is a Mustang II out of an actual mustang.

 

Here's the deal. There are parts of it you can use if you're on a budget. But it's not something you can use as a "clip" in the sense you would like a Camaro front frame stub, since there is no "frame" because the Mustang (any Mustang) is unitized body construction. In it's stock form, it's also about 4" too narrow for our trucks.

What you can do is purchase a bare crossmember that's designed for your application from a company like Heidts or TCI, someone with a good reputation for building a quality part with the correct geometry built in, and order it with their triangulated lower control arms and a rack extender. You can use the stock upper control arms, stock forged steel spindles and rack and pinion unit (if it's in good shape) from the $100 deal you have. (That's top dollar, btw, imo) You'll also want to use different brakes, since using the stock 9" rotors is not recommended. You can get those with your crossmember kit or from someone else, like ECI.

The beauty of ordering a complete kit and not hassling with someone elses left over junk is all of your parts will be brand new and ready to bolt together, no worries about possible past collision damage. Control arms, bushings, bearings, brake parts, rack unit, nuts and bolts, etc. Oh, and instructions and customer support, too. Nothing to clean, rebuild, or have any hidden items to worry about. And buying everything from one place ensures it will all fit together like it should. Do some research and price out the difference. You might spend a little more up front, but it will save a ton of time and aggrevation. To me, it's well worth it.

 

chop it you will love it.

 

Excellent information, thank you very much. With as little as you can actually use from the stock MII it doesn't seem like it makes much sense in starting with one. I'll stay on the Volare path for now since I already have one unless something comes up between now and then. Complete poly-graphite rebuild kits for those are under $300 and I've rebuilt 2 torsion bar suspensions so far and they are fairly straight forward to do. I also checked and rebuilt steering box's are a little over $100 if it turns out that is worn.