Thinking of putting a camaro front sub frame on my 52 f1 was wondering if any one had any pic of this in the works. Thanks Jeff
My friend Bob has one that was done... they kind of are a little wide for an F-1... you'll need narrow front wheels to make it look right. FWIW, you might want to check into a 60's/70's Jaguar front suspension... they are super easy to adapt... Sam.
F bomb, If I were U, I'd check into a Mustang II front suspension. You can get about everything for one now reasonably priced. If you start with a worn out front clip you will end up with more fixing it up. I did a TCI crossmember in my '47 Coupe, went to the junkyard and got the spindles, control arms and rack and pinion. Put in new ball joints and bushings and ended up with less than $400.00 in it. If you miss getting everything centered up with a clip you are screwed, the front of the frame is gone. With a Must. II, just cut it loose and straighten it up.
If you want to go this route, and you can't find one, I have one off of a 74 Mustang you can buy for $100.00. PM me if your interested. Mike
Gibbon (the 'gl*** body folks) has a great Mopar torsion bar set-up for '50's Ford p/u's...bolt on installation....uses "B" body suspension stuff...got one on my '56....they have been building them for over 25 years and they work great. A Camaro is really pretty wide..if you drop the front, most tire/wheel combos will hit the wheelwell.
I want the truck to be as low as possible and still drive the truck .I would like to run eaither a ford small block or chevy small block . Most likley i will run a chevy small block I already Have one wating to go . I want this truck to be an every day driver . Does any one have any positive feedback on a Gm Sub frame on an F1. Another ting to consider is my small bugdet. Thanks for all the replys you guys are great. Thanks Fbomb
I just finished a S10 subframe in my 48 F1. Yea Yea, I heard all the horror stories ***ociated with this. I set the ***** up on jack stands, measured fifteen times and cut once. The S10 stub slipped between the frame rails, entering in about 3 to 4 inches. I clamped everything up and welded it in. Very easy. I can email you pictures if you like. I did take the time to lay out chaulk lines on the concrete to line everything up. I also took off the shocks and put threaded rod in its place and loaded the springs to ride height. If you take your time and double check all the measurements, it should be a very easy install. I just added 1 1/2 inch billet spacers to the front wheels cause the track width on the S10 is 4 inches narrower than stock. This makes it look better. I have a small block Chevy and a 350 turbo trans in it. I didn't use any of the special S10 V8 motor mount adapters. There was pleanty of room for the motor in front and in the rear even with the big HEI distributer. I used 80s rear exiting exhaust manifolds. Being that the sub frame is so narrow they cleared everything. I had to cut off the front of the sub frame to clear the front end sheet metal. I only had to drill two holes in the frame to mount the clip. I did have to use the smoke wrench and move the inner fenders around a bit. I also had to cut clearance for the a arms. I modified the rad mount by cutting the bottom off and making a new lover mout to hold the radiator. I used a aluminum 19 x 22 inch for a chevy application I bought for $180.00. Really cheap! Need anymore info? PM me. Don
This is a very popular topic over on the www.Ford-Trucks.com website - read the post ***led "Front Suspension Alternatives for 1948-1960 Ford Trucks": http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41 As Sam said, the Jag IFS swap is one to seriously think about. I've seen pics of it done, it's amazingly simple, clean, and cheap. Tons of Aussies & NZ rodders recommend it. In fact, now that I keep finding complete donor Jag sedans for less than $400, I'm going to do that to my '59 F100 soon.
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