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Is there a difference between an F1 and F2 chassis? I had a shop install a front suspension from Speedway in my F2 .When I got my truck back something didn't feel right. I took it to a front end shop and was told the lower control arm was to short. It was cambered way off and couldn't be adjusted I looked up the cross member in Speedway's catalog and in small print it read *1/2 ton chassis only. The shops fix was to extend the lower control arm. The upper control arm was as short as it could be. So they extended lower arms.
I drove my truck for about a month and things got real ugly after that. I was pulling up to a gas pump and one end of a control arm failed. So now I'm putting together information to help me resolve this nightmare Thank you
First, I'll say I'm sorry for your misfortune. This definitely sounds like a mess you have there. With the F2 truck being longer and heavier duty than the F1, there is some definite differences between the chassis'. However, afaik, these differences have more to do with the frame rail length and longer wheelbase, and the transmission crossmember. The F1-3 trucks all use the same front crossmember, which says to me the the front portion of the frames (firewall forward) are the same or extremely similar. Years ago, there was a discussion here about this question, and it was determined that the basic shape was the same, but there may have been a slight difference in the thickness of the steel used in the side rails. Like a few thousands of an inch difference. Not enough to make a hill of beans difference in the way a Mustang II-based front suspension kit from any reputable constructor/supplier would fit in the chassis. Surely over the years there have been many successful installations of MII hardware in F2-3 trucks.
All this aside, without knowing more about what parts you used and what Speedway was selling, it's quite possible you've fallen victim to Helix or Hoffman Group parts, a company with a less than stellar reputation. Instead of me going into all the details, you can do your own research on Hoffman Group.
The statements above are strictly one person's opinion, and may or may not have any basis in fact. Your mileage may vary.
There should be no difference between the front of the frame for an F1 and an F2. Here is the Ford dimension drawing for the 49 which was the same for the 48. There is a lot of differences between the various M-II IFS kits offered on the market today and over the years. My friend Steve Szymanski, owner of Industrial Chassis, before it closed, fixed a LOT of M-II kits that were either designed incorrectly or the "shop" that installed the kit did the installation incorrectly. :Your kit may have been installed incorrectly. Lots of "shops" out there do NOT know what they are doing when it comes to M-II suspension geometry.
I had a 48 F-3 I converted to an F-1 and I also had a 49 F-1. I put Volare front suspensions in both. The ONLY difference in the frames of an F-1 and an F-3 is the thickness of the frame. The F-3 frame was noticeably thicker and possibly a hair taller than the F-1 frame. My guess is that the shop that installed your front suspension screwed up or the kit was bad. It's not rocket science but it can be screwed up if you haven't done one before or have incompetent people installing it.
04-22-2019, 02:23 PM
