Subframes
 

My 53 f100 is in need of king pins and new front springs. I want to lower the truck. My first intentions were to keep the straight axle and just get some lowering springs. But I am rethinking that. What are some good subframes to use that are available and parts are still available over the counter to repair them if needed? I am thinking about going with mustang II but a friend of mine that builds frames for street rods says he would use one. He thinks they are too weak and parts are not available over the counter. I think mustang II would be better since you would not have to figure out mounting points to put the frontend body parts back on. Give me your thoughts.

You will get a lot of help here,some of the guys have used aerostar ifs
someone will be along shortly to help you out

The straight axle people will be along, the Jag guys, and the Areostar(ugly shock towers) , and Dakota, (Crown Vic, now there is can of worms), all those (plus the M II) are not sub-frame in the true sense but cross member replacements, sub-frame is when you hack off the frame at the firewall and weld something else in its place.

Having said all that and having been told only to speak when I have nice things to say (kind of unrealistic) I have just installed a Heidts economy MII kit and it is much heavier built then I expected and far thicker material then the stock parts that I have used before (still on the road), IT IS MY OPINION; that the supposed weak MII is a crap story, parts are available from a multitude of suppliers (except JPL, they did me wrong, oh, oh there I go saying bad things again, real life is like that!) and once again in my opinion the MII makes the easiest, cleanest, front suspension swap. The only other one to consider would be the Jag simply because it is much cheaper, but you have to learn to talk funny.

Someday I’ll tell you what I REALLY think! :-innocent

I've installed Mustang II frontends in MANY F-100's for 15 years, daily drivers and show trucks and never had any problems with them. The aftermarket kits don't use stock Must II balljoints, they use the screw in Chrysler Volare style balljoints. The parts used in the kits can be obtained from a parts store.
Another frontend kit I liked was the Dodge Dakota kit from Industrial Chassis in Arizona. I don't know if he is still around or not. Installed like a Must II but used late 80's early 90's Dodge Dakota suspension parts. That suspension is from a 1/2 ton truck to start with so durability isn't an issue with them. Drop spindles are also availible for those front ends.
Bottom line though, you really can't beat a Must II kit. Check out Classic Performance in Anahiem Ca.

I've said this before, and the info is straight out of the Heidt's catalog, not something I'm making up, but the original Mustang II with the V-8 and air conditioning runs about 3600 pounds with a 58% front end weight bias. That far outweighs an early effie with a similar weight bias. The bulk of the engine is forward of the axle centerline adding even greater stresses on the components than would otherwise have. The stock pieces are plenty capable of handling the weight, and the aftermarket kits are stronger still and designed to fit and work in our application. They're light, compact, have plenty of parts availability and offer plenty of options from low buck to full ISCA show ready. You get all brand new parts, including every nut and bolt needed from dust cap to dust cap and they come with instructions, too, for a no-fuss-no-muss install. If I was doing a suspension swap, it's the only way I'd go.

IFS / subframe
 

I agree with the MII guys. I have been researching/saving for months. Now all you have to do is decide, based on your own research, what is best for you. Personally im going for overkill with the chassis pack from No Limit but there are plenty of guys round town running heidts and they are pleased. No to mention support and availability of parts.

Had a guy at a crusise night tell me he has had a lot of problems with his ifs from Heidt. Had to go through several springs to get the hight he wanted and keep it. The springs kept sagging too much. Also had part of it come apart at one of the welds when backing out of his driveway. Heidt did not want to do anything to help. Another guy said he had the same issue with the sagging springs. Still looking for other suggestions on what crossmembers are good swaps.

To note: any good "MII style" kit uses virtually no original MII parts any more. If they do, STAY AWAY!
3600# ??? Not even with the circus fatlady behind the wheel! specs from quick search of the internet 84 MII Ghia curb weight 2822#. The earlier ones were lighter yet. The crown vic only weighed 3700#.
All late model cars including the MII mounted the engine behind the front wheels, not over them.

If someone had an issue with the welding, it's doubtful that's Heidt's fault. I'd have to blame the installer on that one. Coil springs will settle for the first 500 miles or so. I would be inclined to believe the people having "problems" are self created, by ordering the wrong springs or cutting coils tying to get the height they're looking for, not being patient for the springs to settle. You can't blame Heidt's for that. either. I've done a lot of business with those folks and used their products on many projects. They are top notch, stand up people, and they are always my first choice. That's my 2c, fwiw.

If you don't want to use Heidts, TCI makes good stuff, too.

I used Linclon coils on my Cobra, with M11 (style) suspension. I surmised that if they would hold up a 460 in a full size factory produced vehicle they would certainly hold up the 429 in the roadster. They have been working great for the last 20 years along with the rest of the suspension.

I'm going to run a solid axle on the 49 but with disks, afterall it's still a truck.:-X04

I'm sure that Heidts doesn't make their own springs. If anyone doesn't like the ones they sell, there are plenty of other suppliers out there.

SO:
No Ax, that is not right, please note location of McPherson shock strut towers. (not 100 % sure of this chassis but it looks pinto, engine is, and I do know that the pinto engine sits right on top of the cross-member / front wheels.)

I hate to tell you there is no 84 Mustang II. The Mustang II was 74-78 and I'm almost positive the V8 wasn't available in 74. The V8 MII is 75-78. The 79+ is a Fox chassis and a whole different animal.:-D

That's not a Pinto. It doesn't look familiar so I'm guessing it's probably a euro car ( Maybe Seirra or Merkur ) . But you are correct about the engine sitting right over the crossmember on the Pintos and Mustangs II's and newer.

Dman internet! I did a quick search on MustangII specs and the first hit was what I quoted above for 84 MII Ghia (?).
Doing another search on 1978 MII specs I came up with another page that lists the weight of the heaviest model @ 2669# an even further distance from the claimed weight of 3600#.

3600# and 58% front bias is closer to our pickups weight distribution than that of an MII.
From people here that have weighed their trucks it's more like 4K# and 60/40 with a big block and AC. Even using the 3600# 58% numbers thats a front end weight of 2100#, just 500# short of the weight of an ENTIRE MII! That's why I advocate not using any IFS that uses any OEM MII parts.