I'm more that likely going to be putting a M-II front end in my new project. I noticed some of them ude strut rods and some don't. What are the advatages/disadvantages of either. I will be running springs and shocks. Not airbags. Thanks, Todd
I did a M-II into a Model A a couple of years ago - if you are going to use the stock lower arms, then you'll need the strut. I converted to tubular arms, which were wider, eliminating the need for the strut. In my opinion, it looks a lot cleaner, and it's working great. Hope this helps.
do a little investigation. yes look better without them. but there are diffrent kits out there. some simply use a sleve and gusset on the back side of you tubular lower , without using a larger bolt size. these tend to not hold up for daily drivers. others are a complete diffrent lower kit and have a larger main bolt . that seems to hold up. make sure what your buying dont get you killed.
The front end is going to be covered by the front fenders, so the looks better thing is not an issue. Just from looking at the different setups I would think the struts would bind if you were super low with bags. Not totally sure though thats why I posed the question. Todd
Also depending on your motor and frame combination, the MII without struts can give you more header room
Good point. I am more than likely going with the Ch***is engineering x-member. I will give them a call and see what they say. I know they've been doing these for along time. Todd
I had one that used the strut rods on my 35 Pickup and had pleanty of room....but I used shorty headers, not full length headers. I prefer the strut rods personally, they seem better built. I also second the suggestion to use the search feature to find Elpolako posts about the kits that eliminate the strut rod and what to look for. Apparently, the braking forces try to twist the suspension out from under the vehicle so its pretty inportant to research it.
FatMan sells mostly wide lower A arms with their kits and stubs. I've built a sh.t load of these with no problems. The lower arms are upgrades to 5/8" dia. bolts also. The stockers run 1/2" Remember the stock MII crossmember was sheetmetal, those strut rods helped keep the a arms from rollong under and tearing out the crossmember. If your crossmember is made from modern heavy wall tubing and welded to the rails in good fashion there's not a problem!!!
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