Well, I finally started installing the Mustang II kit on my 52 Chevy truck. Some of you might remember that I went with the bolt-on Chassis Engineering kit because I don't own a welder but still wanted to do this myself.
Anyway, I thought I'd keep a little journal of how the installation goes. I only work on the truck a few hours a week and I work pretty slow so this will probably take a while for me to finish. Sorry. This is also the first time I've ever done a MII install so please bear with me.
The engine/trans was already out of my truck (and all the front sheetmetal had already been unbolted as well).
Everything I read online told me that it was helpful to do this on a level surface (or at least level the framerails) and to mark the location of the wheel/spindle on the floor/frame for reference. As you can see, I don't have a level area to work on at all:
http://www.lowbucktruck.com/gallery2/d/311-2/CIMG0007_001.JPG Looking at that picture I can see that I really need to get some shelving for the garage. Anyway...
Step one has you cut the "webbing" of the lower framerails so that they are as wide as the top rails (2 to 2-1/8"). I used an angle grinder with a a cutoff wheel - which worked - but something a little smaller would have worked a little better:
http://www.lowbucktruck.com/gallery2/d/305-2/CIMG0009_001.JPG If you look closely you can see the pencil line where I wanted to curve the framerail to meet the existing crossmember.
After I marked the location of the old front axle I unbolted the leaf springs, shocks, and brake lines and rolled it out from underneath the truck. Here's a shot of it (after I removed the leaf springs):
http://www.lowbucktruck.com/gallery2/d/302-2/CIMG0010_001.JPGhttp://www.lowbucktruck.com/gallery2/d/299-2/CIMG0011.JPGThen I spent some time with the grinder cleaning up the framerails in the area where the new MII crossmember is going to sit. Someone had welded on the brake line mounting brackets so I cut them off and ground the weld flush. I also ground the rivets off the shock mounting brackets and knocked those off.
I spent a few minutes spraying the CE parts rattle-can black and while that was drying I degreased the frame rails and tried to knock off as much major crud as I could. It's going to take a lot of time to get all the caked on stuff off of there.
That's all I got done today. I did place the upper "top hats" on the frame rails just so I could get a feel for how everything is going to sit:
http://www.lowbucktruck.com/gallery2/d/296-2/CIMG0012.JPGIt may be a few days but I'll post more as I go.
