Am considering putting a Fat Man hub to hub stage II IFS in my 51 Merc. Comes standard with manual rack and pinion but power rack is also available. Not sure which steering to use. Car weighs about 4100 pounds.Engine weight is around 700 pounds cause its a 354 hemi. What springs are neeeded to keepA-arms level? What other questions should I be asking re: this move. Any feed back or sugestions you may give me is appreciated. thanx jim
Thats a lot of weight to expect an MII setup to carry but then, aftermarket setups have come a long way these days. Heidt's and some of the other mfg'ers have gone to using late front-steer Tbird power racks on kits for the heavier, wider wheel based cars. They're wider than the Pinto/MII units and stock tie rods can be used instead of the extra long ones. As far as ride height goes, I'd try the springs that come in the kit. it's easy to change them out if they aren't stiff enough and even easier to cut a coil if they ride too high. Air bags are another thought.
check out jamco they can convert your factory a-fames for modern spindles with out chopping your fame up.
03 full size Merc (NOT BENZ) has aluminum upper and lower control arms (polishing anyone?), power rack, and carries 12" discs and is mounted on a full frame ch***is. Can't help but think someone willing to think outside the box, do their homework, and put in a more than a little hard work could a. use these components adapted to the stock frame, b. possibly use the Mercs front frame section as a sub, c. adapt the entire frame.
Did anyone read that mag article (CustomRodder or R&C) where they put the Jamco setup in a shoebox? Looked like a pretty hefty amount of work. Was in fact frame clearance issues...friends with the owner...he's happy with results though. Seems like alot of work to basically get to 1954 technology with discs. I was thinking about using a Jag front clip...didnt do all the measurements but from just quick ones looks like it would fit. 80s XJS XJ6 I believe. Power rack/ball joints/discs w/ 4 piston calipers. Good stuff and cheap/plentiful. Also Jag weights like 3950 or 4100...somewhere around there.
If you go w/ the Fatman kit, be sure to tell them what you're running... they are usually good to supply the springs for the correct application. MII's used the same ball joints as the FE-powered lincolns of the 70's... I'd definitely go with power steering. My SBC powered 52 Chevy has a manual MII rack. It's pretty tough in tight parking (My wife WON'T drive my car for this reason.), but nice on the road. I only have a 13.5" steering wheel... I'm prepping a 59 Chevy (~17") wheel for the car to give more leverage. The big wheel + power steering would be too much for my taste.
Man, I'm trying to make a decision on the same thing (51 merc), everybody has a different idea. I've got big impala and camaro front ends laying around, how hard would it be to build a crossmember on the merc frame to accept one of these and keep the stock track width ? Just need to know alignment specs, scrub line , what else? Anybody done it ??????
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