Thanks for letting me join this group. I am helping my long time friend who is converting his stock 52 Ford sedan from original steering to the Jamco kit that has new tubular control arms and spindles with disc brakes and the Borgenson power steering.Everything supplied is built with good quality. The instructions are a little sketchy though.We have installed all of the parts but are having trouble with the alignment. The alignment shop can't do the proper alignment because the upper control arms included spacers for camber and one side is way out.The frame is straight and has never been in an accident. Also the outer tie rod ends are way to long for proper toe-in/toe-out adjustment. Has anyone used this kit on their 52 Ford and if so what problems did you have? Also the sway bar from Jamco had to be modified to fit, it was not even close to working correctly. I am not knocking the kit because I understand that retrofitting any suspension to an older car creates many unexpected issues. I just need some help from anyone who has done this conversion specifically. I appreciate any help and suggestions that you may have. Thank you in advance.
Same components same results ? Anybody use this one that has been in the "Sticky" link about five years. https://www.performanceonline.com/1949-56-ford-shoebox-custom-victoria-car/
Thank you for letting me know your issues.We were fortunate to work (both of us just retired) at a company that employs very high skilled welders and fabricators. One of our fellow employees is an amateur blacksmith who was able to modify the sway bar to fit perfectly. I am not familiar with his procedures but he knows alot about heating,bending and stress relieving metals so the strength of the sway bar was not compromised. I suggest that you find someone who has those skills. I know there are different blacksmith clubs around the country.You might check and see if there is one local to you.My friends was also to long.I believe he shortened it to the right length and then flattened the ends and punched in new holes. Did your tie-rod ends fit your spindles? The taper on the ones we received are not able to be inserted all the way in to the spindles. It barely catches two threads on the castle nut. I suggested that we ream the inside of the spindle to allow the taper to seat. I think that a machine shop could perform this without much trouble but he is hesitant to modify the spindle. I have been trying to find an alternate tie rod end. He said that Jamco told him the spindles/calipers/rotors were from a 1968 Mustang. Did you receive the same information? The camber issue is the one that has us frustrated.The owner of the alignment shop is an old school fellow who is very knowledgeable but he is hesitant to tell us what he would do because of any liability that might expose him if something failed. Seems like everyone is afraid of lawsuits if there was an accident that could be blamed on a failure of some sort.Hope you are able to get yours on the road in the near future.Good luck on the sway bar.
Thanks for the picture. We are going to put the car back up on jack stands next week.I will get some pictures of the install then. I hope we can solve the tie-rod problem then. Did you see anywhere in the instructions about torque specifications? Especially on the nuts at each end of the upper control arm pivot shaft. Did you use Lock***e on those nuts? By the time we drove it to the alignment shop they had backed off and were loose. As far as any difference between 52 and 53 I also ***ume that they would be the same.However, it seems like the 52 is sort of an odd ball in some areas. This is my first time working on his 52 so I am not as familiar with these models. My experiences are with 60's Galaxies so I am learning about early 50's cars while helping him on this car. I really appreciate your input and help.
I believe the JAMCO website states on the ball joint conversion kit's page that the stock sway bare WILL NOT work with the ball joint kit and you have to use their swaybar for the ball joint set up.
I am betting Jamco and this kit are one in the same as the same notes about the sway bar apply https://www.performanceonline.com/1949-56-ford-shoebox-custom-victoria-car/
The Jalopy Journal
