I've seen one set up in a street rod type magazine once and i can't find where and when....If You guys know of a company who makes something pretty much like the Mustang II for the early 60's Fords......Let me know!!! Thank you!!!
I couldnt find one either, so I rebuilt the stock IFS and added the FAT MAN drop spindle-disc brake kit. It worked great.
Are you possibly thinking of these aftermarket tubular control arms? http://www.ndgearheadscruiserproducts.com/id35.htm The Galaxie front suspension is actually a pretty good design --- not sure you'd want to replace it with a Mustang II type front suspension. Also, if you need any help finding rebuild parts for your stock front suspension, I can point you in the right direction. Malcolm
why would you want to change the frontend on that?, the early 60's Ford's have a great ride and they even ride good with just cutting a coil.....the dropped spindles and disc brake setups are even cooler and cheaper...... save your money for paint man......
That basic front suspension was used by NASCAR for years. I laugh when I think of a Mustang II running in that pack... Kinda like a Schwinn springer on an Electra Glide...
Because the guy who bagged this car did some serious cutting and it's a disaster!!!! Ill post some pics when i get a chance, the car is at a friend's house. I thought instead of hunting down old parts to rebuild it or..... might as well put a modern suspension on it?!?!?! I'd love to save it , but it'll definitely be a lot of work!!
Thanx man!!! That link is great!!! the worst of the damage is actually on the top hats , if i can call them that!? And the bottom A-arms
A friend of mine has one of those cars and he recently cut it at the firewall and took the complete front frame and suspension from a mid 90's Lincoln big car and mated them. Said the frame rails lined up almost perfectly and went inside each other. I don't have any pics but it turned out to be a pretty neat and inexpensive swap when he was done.
Stay away from the MII, it will never stand up to the weight of the big Gal (especially if you run the FE and Cruiso). I would recommend finding a donor car, any fullsize 60-64 Ford or Mercury will work. They were well designed suspensions that rode and drove well. The being said, Air Ride Tech and a few others do make tubular a-arms for the Galaxies. Good Luck.
People that know me know that I am one of the biggest fans of the mustangII front end when it is properly set up. But I would really have to look a little sideways at the thought of putting it in something as big as your Galaxie. I have never put a tape to one, but I would suspect the late Crown Vic and Lincoln clips to be bit wide for this car too. I think that if I were in your shoes, I would possibly look for a same era donor car and mate the two, possibly with a bit of a Z to get it down a bit as long as I was going to the trouble.
people knocking the MII should realize that a great many MII front suspensions use 4 cylinder springs rather than the 6 or 8. the original motor was right on top of the suspension which put more weight on the springs. my 49 the balancer is right above the rack, so the motor is way back compared to original MII. the ball joints are larger than what is found on Camaro clips which people think are the cats ***. not saying that is the best fix for this car... just pointing out a few facts.
Bottom A arms for that car should still be fairly easy to find. I think I would think about picking up a set of replacements and then figuring what I needed to do to repair the hacked up section on the frame. Although, swapping the stub from something like a 90's lincoln may be the cost effective way to fix it. Or if a guy could find a doner car with a good frame and rebuildable suspension as it could be simpler to swap the whole frame and start over. I don't think that MII pieces are right for that particular car but I have to agree with 49Ratfink in that the MII pieces are a lot stronger than most people give them credit for. The wheel bearings are the same ones as about half the Fords made use and just do a cross reference on the upper ball joints to see what else they fit besides the MII and come back and tell me that they aren't strong enough to put under other rigs.
Thanx for all the great info guys.....Im sure im not the only one who can use this information!!! Early Galaxie info and aftermarket parts are always hard to find!!!!
Ian, I picked up a complete set of upper and lower A arms from the auction site complete with spindles for $150 shipped. I have seen them for more and for less. I think 60 to 64 all interchange. There is some crazy offset lower arm nut on the 63 and 64 that I am pretty sure you dont need to deal with.
why would u wanna change it. The ifs on a 6 2 galaxie rides great.I rebuilt mine and its a great ride.BEWARE of ND CRUISERS i ve heard BAD THINGS about them on the internet.Maybe the 90s lincoln is the way to go.
i was thinking about the 2003 up bolt in crown vic cross member if the frame rails are 34 a cross it should work. big brakes power steering r&p the whole nine yards
I think the only thing i would add to the front set up is a rack 'n' pinion. That control valve power ***ist can be kinda L