Anything to be concerned with on this 47-54 Mustang II Kit?

[DENALI]

Debating going the s-10 frame swap route or keeping my original frame and going with a mustang II front suspension kit. I came across this kit on ebay for what seems like a really good price http://www.ebay.com/itm/120704564779 Anyone with any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[JumboAMONGus]

i have a 56 truck and i seen the adds on ebay to , they are alot cheaper and they include everything and sometimes even free shipping , i dont see much wrong with them ,plus most have a return police so if yo order ti and it turns out to be crap you can send it back ..

[mr48chev]

The price almost looks too good for a vehicle specific front end but it appears that they are selling similar front end kits for a variety of vehicles at that price.

I'd probably think about swapping ball joints to Moog or respected brand. Those seem to be suspect in some kits.

I'd also take a look at the welds on the crossmember and spring hats and a guy might want to run a bead on the inside as my son and I plan to do on the crossmember that I have for the 48. On it they ground the welds to where I'm a bit afraid that there may not be enough weld left for full strength.

[JumboAMONGus]

there was a guy selling complete ford mustang 2 ifs front ends on craiglist for like 100 bucks the other day i was wondering if you can use a old one and just update the brake rotors to chevy ?

[Dustin_918]

Those are the same arms I got from CPP. I got the brake kit from him, it is a 70s caprice rotor with a 80s camaro caliper and a custom bracket to mount it to the MII spindle.

I pieced mine together with-
crossmember from welder series ($242.80)
tubular upper and lower arms ($257.75) from CPP-ebay
spindles ($85.50) from CPP-ebay
arm bolts ($21.50) from Speedway
brake kit ($245.00) from gonefishing69-ebay (same guy as fatrodder-ebay)
power steering rack ($76) from autozone (88 mustang)
air bags ($162.00) from slam specialties

I have $1090.55 in mine with shipping. Took a little extra time to find the best prices but I bought it on a strict budget for my 51 build and I was able to spread the spending out over a couple of months as I needed parts.

[Dustin_918]

Gonefishing, fatrodder, rodparts are all the same people on ebay. When they sent me my brake kit it weighed close to 50 pounds and was shipped in a box that look like it was built to hold paper towels. All of the parts were just thrown in the box with wadded news paper tossed in. The bearings, nuts, caps etc were not even in a box or baggy, they were just tossed in the bottom of the box. We all know how well UPS and Fedex care about our packages, so as you know the bearings were toast the rotor has some slight damage. I emailed them pictures of the damage and never heard back after a week, so I started calling and leaving messages. It took about a week or so to get them to call me back, after we talked I received the replacement parts a few days later.
About 6 weeks later they finally replied to my email, which I already had the replacement parts for a month. I think they are a small group selling thousands of parts and rush to get things out. I personally would not buy from them if there are alternatives like CPP or Speedway selling the same parts for $5 more. Its worth spending a little more to get them to box every part nicely.

[LEEVON]

Originally Posted by Dustin_918

Gonefishing, fatrodder, rodparts are all the same people on ebay. When they sent me my brake kit it weighed close to 50 pounds and was shipped in a box that look like it was built to hold paper towels. All of the parts were just thrown in the box with wadded news paper tossed in. The bearings, nuts, caps etc were not even in a box or baggy, they were just tossed in the bottom of the box. We all know how well UPS and Fedex care about our packages, so as you know the bearings were toast the rotor has some slight damage. I emailed them pictures of the damage and never heard back after a week, so I started calling and leaving messages. It took about a week or so to get them to call me back, after we talked I received the replacement parts a few days later.
About 6 weeks later they finally replied to my email, which I already had the replacement parts for a month. I think they are a small group selling thousands of parts and rush to get things out. I personally would not buy from them if there are alternatives like CPP or Speedway selling the same parts for $5 more. Its worth spending a little more to get them to box every part nicely.

Same here. The parts came many weeks later and luckily nothing fell out of the destroyed box which should have been about 3 boxes. They had a different name then but I won't buy from them again.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Its interesting that this eBay Fatrodder guy asks $1150 for his '47-'53 kit but $1800 for his '55-'57 kit. Really, what could account for the $650 difference? BOth ads say they're Heidt's cross members I think. I'm guessing the crossmember itself is dimensionally a little different, but all THAT much? Maybe its just Heidt's pricing to him that he passes along. Opinions?

Dustin918, The specifics of how you pieced togeth?er a kit, from who, and how much is going to be REALLY helpful to a lot of guys I think. I wonder how many of those same places (parts?) would work for a '55-'57?

Fred 53, I'm gonna do a search on RODPARTS too, to see if their pricing is consistent on the later trucks and of course, better than this Fatrodder guy. As it happens, I've got a new-in-box disc brake kit from CPP I bought cheaply from a guy that sold his project so I'm bucks ahead there. I'm thinking this "piece together" appraoch is the way to go if the cross member and A arms are decent quality pieces.

[Rude Dude]

Dan
The difference between AD and TF is only the crossmembers it is wider and you have to use rack extensions, the rest of the set-up is the same.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inner-...Rack,8066.html

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Its interesting that this eBay Fatrodder guy asks $1150 for his '47-'53 kit but $1800 for his '55-'57 kit. Really, what could account for the $650 difference? BOth ads say they're Heidt's cross members I think. I'm guessing the crossmember itself is dimensionally a little different, but all THAT much? Maybe its just Heidt's pricing to him that he passes along. Opinions?

Dustin918, The specifics of how you pieced togeth?er a kit, from who, and how much is going to be REALLY helpful to a lot of guys I think. I wonder how many of those same places (parts?) would work for a '55-'57?

Fred 53, I'm gonna do a search on RODPARTS too, to see if their pricing is consistent on the later trucks and of course, better than this Fatrodder guy. As it happens, I've got a new-in-box disc brake kit from CPP I bought cheaply from a guy that sold his project so I'm bucks ahead there. I'm thinking this "piece together" appraoch is the way to go if the cross member and A arms are decent quality pieces.

[DENALI]

I keep seeing CPP, who is CPP? THanks

[Rude Dude]

http://www.classicperform.com/

Originally Posted by DENALI

I keep seeing CPP, who is CPP? THanks

[jimig1]

If you plan to order from CPP i'd check out the Bad Deals section on the forum. Just a little buyer beware.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Rude Dude

Dan
The difference between AD and TF is only the crossmembers it is wider and you have to use rack extensions, the rest of the set-up is the same.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inner-...Rack,8066.html

Thanks Rudy. What are you using for a front end? I don't have the budget yet and its a good thing I don't because I can't decide on upgrading to a dropped axle and Posie's Super Sliders w/ disc brakes (already have the kit) or an IFS. I just can't bring myself to seriously consider cutting my frame in half. Maybe a cost comparison would make me reconsider, huh?

[tmoble]

near as I can tell CPP = cheap china junk, cheapest crap money can buy.

[Rude Dude]

CPP sell TCI and Heidts I think you are confusing them with Helix.

Originally Posted by tmoble

near as I can tell CPP = cheap china junk, cheapest crap money can buy.

[Handfull 54]

You can buy a cross member from Fatman or No Limit, etc. and you can use junkyard top and bottom A frames strut rod spindles, springs etc. There are companies that sell adapters to mount chevy rotors and disc brakes to fit the Mustang spindle. Or you can upgrade to Fatman uppers and lowers or do airbags etc. as your budget allows. if you go this route you will still have your frame and the radiator mounts, bumper mounts, fender mounts etc. Dustin 918 pretty much laid it all out for you. Fatman suggests using a 79-93 Mustang R&P as it is not as sensitive as the 74-78 one. I am about to upgrade my R&P to the newer unit as I do not like my go cart feel I have now. Buy quality stuff. Were not talking chrome bumpers here it's the front suspension on your truck. Think saftey.

[solidaxel]

I just can't bring myself to seriously consider cutting my frame in half. Maybe a cost comparison would make me reconsider, huh?[/QUOTE]

WHY would you cut your frame in half?

These X-members are made to your frame width.

The OLD stock Mustang Bobcat Pinto you had to cut your frame and it ended up being too narrow, the made for your truck X-members are the right width, if you go with a GOOD suplier.
The difference is in the Rack and Pinion width, and there are extenders to correct this width

[mr48chev]

The Factory MII / Pinto ? Bobcat crossmember can be installed on an AD truck frame without hacking up the AD frame.

One does have to do some careful trimming on the crossmember though and more or less slide it on the frame from the front. I had one trimmed out and fitted a few years ago but didn't use it. I trimmed it pretty much the same way you would trim a universal aftermarket crossmember. I sawed down on each side at where it would clear the frame and then cut across at the height that I wanted it to set at and took out the pie cut. I ended up giving it to a friend and have no idea of where it went from there.

Guys used to saw a slit through the middle of the top of the crossmember and spread the crossmember enough to clear the frame rails and then straighten it back out and weld the slit back up.
The problem now is both finding a used crossmember in a doner rig and then finding one that isn't bent up or rusted out. You used to be able to get a new one from Ford at the parts counter for 110.00 but those got discontinued years ago. Many of those ended up in Kit cars and the Thoroughbred Motorcar kit cars had them welded in at their factory along with most of the 80's Cobra kit cars.

[LEEVON]

Can't remember the last time I saw a Mustang II in a junkyard...and wouldn't want the strut rods but that's just me. A true budget build maybe but would have to have a donor first!