do i need a front clip in a 51 ford f-1?

i was gonna run a straight axle but heard it would ride better and sit lower with a clip. im trying to go cheap.i can get an early camaro clip for 800 but i dont know if its worth it.

 

800 installed?

 

Knucklehed, Because the '51 F-1 has a real straight frame in front(no kick up) a straight axle or beam axle will not get you very low. I know cause Iv'e tried it! A mustang 2 front end would be my choice,again Iv'e done one. But it wouldn't be economical for ya. The crossmember has to be wider than what you usually have in the M2 kits. I used a Fatman. So it kinda leaves you to the clip thing. Iv'e never done one but seen plenty of em. I just hate the thought of cutting off a perfectly good set of rails to weld on somthing that was never designed for that. Just my 2cents. Normal Norman

 

A friend of mine has had good luck putting Chrysler Cordova suspension into his pick ups. It's an adjustable torsion bar set up. There's a kit available much like a Mustang set up with cross member and such, then everything from the Cordova bolts up to it.

 

Not if all you hope for is this low- Dropped axle and factory springs and brakes. You can also order the springs and get another 3" out of it. That's as low as you would probably want to go. Air-bags would be out of the question with straight axle. Also you can reverse the rear eyes.


Tim

 

Do a search for El Polacko and you will have more information on this topic than you have time to read. He is the expert and recommends a Dakota front clip.

 

I have 3 F-1 trucks ,1 has the mustang ,with I would never do again,1 has a 86 Monte chevy with I like and it was cheap, rides good ,the other 1 has 79 dodge dakota with I like the best, drive like a dream,handles great ,plus is str,onger the best and cheap $300.00 .The dodge or chevy clip will out last the truck. the mustang ll truck will some day be cut out and a dodge dakota clip will be put in...I bought it in a junk yard,a rolling frame plus the rim fit a ford

 

What do you get for $300. as far as the Dakota set-up? Where did you get the stuff?

 

Jag XJ6 series 2

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?albumid=21703

 

I've got a volare under mine and I love it!!!

 

How low do you want to be? This is my old 52 F1. Mustang II, drop spindles, and no bags. I liked my ride. later,Bill

 

Heres a pic of my buddys F-3 that we put a camaro clip in. Thats my buddy next to it. He has MD so he was having lots of problems driving it before the clip was installed. It made an amazing about of difference. Easy to steer and super ride. We installed the hanging brake pedal assembly and tilt wheel out of the same camaro. Used a citation brake booster for clearance with the valve cover.

 

I got a rolling frame $300. with wheels and rims
junk yard

 

Have a volare clip in my 65 ford pick-up rides great easy to lower. Feels like it came from the factory like that. Have a Mustang II in my 41 coupe . Has a crazy dive in emergency braking situations, not sure if its just mine or if it is a common thing. The volare clip feels much better.

 

An Aerostar front end is the correct width, it bolts in but may require notching and boxing the frame. I have not done it yet, but plan to. It has 10 1/2 inch disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a huge sway bar, all for 200 buck locally, and it stays all Ford.

 

I have always heard that the Aerostar's are too wide for an F1. I think that the Dakota is the ticket.

 

Jaguar XJ6, up to 1985, is a bolt on on a F1. The complete subframe unbolts from the jag, and by making two brackets and drilling some holes, bolts in. Took me one weekend to do. Paid $200 for the subframe from the junkyard, have put about $400 in parts in it for a complete rebuild including brakes. Upper and lower A arms, coil springs, rack and pinion, and four piston brakes. Jag XJ6's weigh about 4000 lbs, so it's plenty stout. Check ford-trucks.com, the 48-60 forum, there's several of us doing jags.

 

The '52 I'm building already has a Volare, People keep telling me they handle mushy, are expensive to get parts for and are needlessly complex. It's good to hear someone say they're worth doing, cuz it's the only part of the truck that's done!

 

how much did it costfor the clip and drop spindles installed

 

You heard an Aerosatr is wrong? By someone who knows how to read a tape measure? 52 F1, center of tread on a stock tire to center of tread, 62 inches. Aerostar with stock tires and wheels, 62 inches. Like I said above, real close.
I dont post what I hear, I post what I know.

 

Its a RBs Mustang II crossmember that someone else had installed before my purchase. http://www.rbsauto.com/product.asp?Product_Id=173050&d_Id=17224&l1=17224&l2= Had all original Mustang II control arms and rack. Nothing fancy just stock stuff. Bought the spindles off ebay. If you click on the "pics" in my signature you can see more of the truck.

Later, Bill

 

I think he was trying to be helpful and pass on a constructive warning!

Facts are better quoted and posted AFTER you've installed them in your truck and DRIVEN on them.

My tape measure says a big block will fit in my Toyota Starlet...use a measurement like wheel mounting face on rotor/drum - (tyre tread centre doesnt take wheel offset into account)....and then take measurements for crossmember clearance of the oilpan for the engine you're planning to use.

Then, after you've hacked out your original chassis to make it fit, and created a trans hump in your cab to clear the tailshaft, post the pics on here and tell us how it drives, and we'll all line up to buy one of your kits.

 

use an s-10 frame. they are easy to lengthen or shorten and suspension parts(air or static) are readily available and static parts are dirt cheap for these frames. engine swaps into these frames are a snap too.

 

ELPOLACKO, WHERE ARE YOU? This thread needs some sanity injected into it.

Frank

 

Here is where I got my information: The Ford Truck Enthusiasts article about the Aerostar suspension.
"This set up is just gaining popularity now (c.2002-3). With no commercial kit to aid installation, you need to interface with others that have done it before to fully understand how to do it unless you're particularly skilled. There are several folks on this forum who have done it though and are willing to provide some level of support.
Track is apparently wider than the stock F-100; offset will have to be used in the front wheels to compensate for it. This clip is probably too wide for practical use in the narrower F-1 chassis.
To our knowledge, there are not many Aerostar equipped trucks on the road. This is not yet a time tested alternative. To our knowledge reliability issues have not surfaced yet."
So I guess there are differing opinions.
Next time I see an Aerostar, I will flag them down and measure the tread.

 

probably the cheapest way to put IFS on a 51 F-1 is a Jag IFS front end....you weld on a couple of mounts and bolt it on...simple you use a series 2 XJ6 and its the perfect width and works out really nice....and it lowers your front end about 3-4 inches...
there is some great info on this link....just do a quick search for Jag IFS and youll get a mess of threads...

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum41/

 

I just picked up an 85 Jaguar IFS for my 51 F1. Great posts on the Ford-Trucks page. It should be a bolt in just like they've been stating. I'm sticking with my 92 Explorer rear end for now, but I might pick up the IRS from the 85 Jag as well. Issues I may encounter are headers and steering configuration. But the rest of it looks pretty comfy under the 51 frame rails. This is a budget build and was the cheapest alternative for me.

 

A stock F1 with all parts in good condition is certainly driveable, and many with stock axles are still on the road. The trouble is most F1 front suspensions are completely worn out and need to be rebuilt. Switching to IFS is a lot of work, and only you can decide if it would benefit your type of driving. Installing IFS takes more skill than simply rebuilding stock suspension, and a poorly installed IFS can be a real safety hazard.

That said, my F1 is my daily driver, and it sees high-speed highway driving. The best $75 I spent on my truck was a junkyard AMC Pacer IFS. Why a Pacer? It's similar in weight to the F1, and the Pacer IFS is a modular assembly that maintains all original suspension geomety during an install. When I added the IFS to my F1 I also put in an X-member and boxed the center of my frame. The stock frame was designed to twist and defeats the benefits of IFS if not modified. With the IFS, X-member and boxed frame my F1 rides, handles and stops so well it amazes me. No comparison to the straight axle, especially on bumpy roads and at speeds above 70mph.

Remove 4 bolts and the Pacer IFS comes out of the donor car. It slides on to the F1 frame like it was made for it with less than 1/8" gap between the rails and shock towers. It comes with Bendix calipers and 11-inch 5 on 4-1/2 rotors, TRW rack & pinion power steering, stout A-arms, and a fat sway bar. It uses a standard type of steering pump that mounts on many types of engines. Ball joints and other replacement parts are available at NAPA. Best part was not having to cut the F1 frame. I did however inset the crossmember halfway up into the rails to further lower the truck, so my bumper sits about 5 inches off the ground, a good ride height for me. With the crossmember simply installed under the rails the ride height would be about 2 inches higher.

I priced a Mustang II kit with upgrades to match what comes stock with the Pacer. With 5-lug rotors, power steering and strutless A-arms the kit cost over $1000 more, but it does look a lot cleaner than the Pacer IFS if that's a consideration, and is a way to go if you're not a scrounger or there aren't any junkyard Pacers left in your area.

 

All BS aside, go to a couple of rod trots and talk to guys with F-1's and see what they are running and then ask the pro's and con's of the installation.

Unless it is is an installed price the 800 for an early Nova/Camaro stub is way too high. The average asking price around here is about 150.00 for one with drums. Although I have put about 200K miles on a pair of subframed rigs, I wouldn't do it on a truck again. They drive great but you spend a lot of time getting the sheetmetal to fit right in some cases.

The Volarie clip has been the hot lick on the F-1 and F-100 trucks for years. You do have to trim the bottom of the frame rail to fit the clip but there are patterns available for that. The one rub is that repair parts tend to be hard to get.

The Mustang II style clips are famous for doing that dive. Other than that the advantage is that they are somewhat simple to install and there is a great support system. Parts are easy to get.

I'm not familiar with the Jag setup as of late. In this area that model of Jag doesn't show up in the wrecking yards.

The Pacer would be an easy do but again those things are getting hard to find and I am not sure of the parts supply from parts houses. They are known for having issues holding alignment but are easy to align as the eccentric cams are on the lower control arms and can be reached from under the rig.
As SlamIam mentioned The pacer install is straightforward and simple. And if you get the complete crossmember and steering you have everything right there with nothing more to buy except maybe a few replacement bushings or ball joints and fresh brake pads. They are a bit harder to get out of the doner car than he said though, you usually have to take off one upper control arm to get the unit out of the Pacer.

I'm on record as not liking the S-10 swap unless you are building a dropped truck without running boards. Face it, things just flat line up better and fit better on the original frame rails if they are in good shape to start with. Just have a bare cab and no frame, then that is a different story.

 

Get a jag , can get them all day at the junk yards. The only problem is the chevy blot patern. But ride is good and disk brakes. Can't beat the price! PM me if you need pics I have a 48 F-1 with one.