The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Mustang II IFS Feedback and Opinions

Working on a 1952 3100 1/2 ton pickup and will be doing a V8 swap.

I know this has been covered, as I'm still reading threads, but I am looking for opinions on Mustang II IFS set-ups, and from those who have been using such a set-up - how do you like it?

* Not doing a front Camaro/Nova front clip.
* Not interested in doing the 73-87 Chevy truck crossmember.

** To make one step of this build 'easier', I am leaning towards a bolt-in crossmember.

Which brand IFS are preferred???
- Speedway
- Heidts
- Chassis Engineering
- Others??

And what is the difference between using struts and strutless? Need to decide that.

Anyway, looking for your feedback! Thank you.

...next question will be what you did to the rear suspension...

No feedback from anyone who has been running an IFS???

My '48 Burb has a Fatman Fab front suspension w/mustang II steering. Not a real fan. It does ok but the Camero sub-frame on my sons '53 is much more manageable.

What about the Fatman Fab don't you like? This may give me things to look for or question in other setups.

They are all roughly the same. My issues are with holding it straight and ducking and diving during turns. Fatman is quality products and my issues came with the truck. Whoever installed the kit did a poor job. It has very wide tires both front and back which doesn't help at all. Check out Scott Danforth's setup in the links section or above in the "Definitive Suspensions" thread.

this may or may not h elp

I would leave it stock but...mine had the stock sup,, drive it ever where. nice and tight..

Kept original frame on my 37 and had a friend fabricate a cross member and used original Stang II parts from a 78 Cobra as it had the V8 and beefier springs. I have no problem with it on my 37 but at times I wish I had the bigger GM rotors which I can still use if I wanted to switch.

My 52 panel still has the straight axle under it but I did put power steering on it. Running Drum front and back. No problems and I can stand it on its nose in an emergency.

Think long and hard and take a look in your wallet before starting!

It appears that you have your mind made up, and don't want to be cconfused with facts. Butchering up a perfectly good frame and suspension for some mythical "advantage" doesn't make good nonsense, when well-engineered S-10 frames are plentiful and the conversion parts to mount the old sheet metal on the newer frame are also available at a reasonable cost. With that setup you get the advantage of using a properly engineered steering and suspension system, backed up by the General Motors research and development department, not some off-the-wall adaptation of a suspension and steering system from a subcompact car. The S-10 rear suspension works as well, and it's designed to be compatible with what's up front. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!
Jerry

Not decided on any mythical advantage, I just didn't want to have to lob off the whole front of the frame and scab in a different subframe. I was hoping to gain some better driveability if possible.

The plan is to swap in a V8. Right now if I hit some decent dips in the road, the truck is still and hops slightly, so I was wondering if the IFS would make the truck handle nicer.

Swapping to a full S10 frame sounds like an idea.

So maybe take a step back....

The V8 swap is coming. Leave the front end stock? Mustang II? Full S10 frame???

I put 30-something thousand miles on a 59 Suburban with an original 283, and later a 307 V8 in it, and didn't have any steering system problems at all with the original straight axle and drum brakes. I kept up with traffic on the interstate at 70+ MPH for quite a while. As long as the kingpins, steering linkage, and wheel bearings are kept in good condition, and the wheels aligned, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that system.

The main advantage to swapping to the S-10 frame is the fact that parts are much more available than for the old straight axle system, people are more familiar with maintaining the IFS system, and power steering and disc brakes are original equipment on most of them. It's also nice to get your steering and suspension repair parts at the local parts store, rather than getting bent over a barrel without any lube by some hotrod shop when you need to replace a control arm, ball joint, tie rod, or something similar.
Jerry

Well, planning on a V8 swap with a T5 trans, so still need to change the rear axle and need ideas there. I have a Camaro axle. Not sure if I should just change the leaf pad brackets and add some type of lanyard bar, or do some 4-link set-up which incorporates a lanyard bar.

The simplest setup would be to use the original leaf springs or possibly update to one of the single-leaf spring options if you don't intend to use the vehicle like a real truck, and use a Panhard bar for sway control. A rear anti-roll bar might be worth considering. Other than impressing onlookers with the cool factor, I don't see a good reason to use a Watts linkage or one of the other pivoting bar and heim joint systems. Those things have a legitimate reason to be on sports cars or round track racers- - - - -reduction of unsprung weight, also the reason for independent rear suspension and a frame-mounted Jaguar differential, but it's unlikely a vintage pickup is going to see much of Laguna Seca or Watkins Glen, or the road course at Daytona!
Jerry

Using a TCI, Mustang II, Power Steering, Coil Spring System, Cross member with a SBC Engine (327CI+).
Original Frame but boxed about 90% front to rear.

http://totalcostinvolved.com/products/1947-1954-chevy-truck_coil-spring-ifs/

The only issue so far was that an A-Arm was not built correctly. They sent me a replacement and had it within 2-day. Great support.

Not many miles on it yet but so-far-so-good.

I have used Chassis Engineering --bolt on MII on two vehicles. On my 40 Ford I went with their sway bar kits front and rear and their rear leaf kit as well.It rides low, corners flat and steers precisely with the no power rack. For the 51, 3100, I went for the power rack since it is the wife's truck and used the lowered stock width leaf set-up in the rear--stock shackles and location. If you follow the CE directions you will find several holes line up exactly when you remove the old rivets and the others you drill are easy to access. Measure often! I did switch to grade 8 bolts--probably overkill and used the stock type MII upper and lower arms. I stuck with the struts as I thought the Ford engineers knew what they are doing and with fenders none of it shows anyway. Got about 6K miles on the 40 --trouble free and am expecting the same with the 3100. SBC in both vehicles. CE offers the side mounts in two versions ---chose the one which allowed the engine to go forward just enough for HEI to clear the stock firewall. Have them weld in the engine mounts on the crossemember. Tech at CE is very knowledgeable. My experience with them has been great. Others may differ.

I started out with a narrowed ifs from a 79 half ton with dropped spindles & cut coils. Drove it with that setup for years with no problems. I recently installed a bolt in mustang ii because I was limited on lowering the Chevy setup. The mustang has a softer ride and overall better road feel. I'm still playing with it, will be swapping out the dropped spindles for stock as it's too low & rubs the tires. I can still use the ride height adjusters to get it just where I want it.

Opting for a bolt in set up eliminates a lot of suppliers but we too have had good results using Chassis Engineering (CE) products. The very best AD set up IMHI was the American Motors Pacer bolt in from CE but they are now as extinct as Unicorns. If you use a clip from a donor find a complete one and measure (MEASURE!!) everything when it is setting at a normal ride height. Duplicate these readings and take advantage of the engineering design from some pretty smart people. We get handling Pigs in the shop all the time that when you start talking anti-dive, roll centers, Ackerman angle, etc., to the clip installer their eyes glaze over and they wallow away in their pigs in a daze. No matter what you choose opt for sway bars front and rear as they really do help, especially with a high roll center vehicle. Any system regardless of cost is only as good as the install.

Ditto on the geometry- - - -even some of the manufacturers of these IFS systems don't have the engineering background to build and install a safe, reliable system once anything other than motoring down a smooth road in a straight line is involved. I had the distinct advantage of growing up around a shop where "Go Fast- - - -Turn left" was the objective, and good handling in turns at high speed takes a lot more understanding of what a suspension and steering system is supposed to do. Starting out with a system that was originally designed to work on a light weight subcompact car and trying to make it hold up a V8 powered stovebolt isn't the smartest thing in the world to begin with. Doing a half-donkey job of installation just compounds the problems exponentially.
Jerry

ok so im in the same "boat" . I have a 55 3100 with the stock front end and has a 350 that im pulling to have it rebuilt/or replaced . it has manual brakes and steering . I would like to up grade to power steering and power disc brakes .Until I read some of these threads , I "was" going to go the Fat Man IFS route. I to don't want to make any costly mistakes . And by the sound of some of these threads , I am much less knowledgeable /mechanically anyway. Doing this restoration is becoming increasingly confusing . Do I really need IFS ..should I just replace the shocks, brakes and kingpins and install power steering and be done with it ??? one day I will passing this truck along to my grandson and I want it to be the best it can be within financial reason . sorry I ran on , I am just trying to explore all options

Thank you for all the help

Cutting the frame and welding on a IFS is not something for a weekend warrior type mechanic (I belong to that group) to try without some hands-on help from someone who knows what they are doing.
Conversely, retro-fitting power steering to the original front axle is very do-able, and lots of people are happy with this mod.

I would agree on the cutting and welding in certain systems, as you need to pay extreme attention to produce a great end product.

But there are some bolt-in applications that make ease some of that pain. After a few phone call discussions with the Chassis Engineering guys, they seem (to me) to have a sound set-up and not as intimidating to install, granted that you feel at least comfortable with a decent amount of wrenching / some fab as needed along the way.