Im open for suggestions for the best front suspension to put under my 46 ford pickup. Most aftermarket suppliers dont offer a crosmember kit for 42-47. Evidently the frame is a little wider than the 40-41 and a little narrower than the 48-52. I did find one for about $2k but was wondering if Id be better off just clipping it and if so.. with what? It has a small block 350 with a turbo 400 trans..I want disc brakes and power steering and a few inches lower but beyond that Im not too particular. any comment?
How about an XJS front I used it on my 48 and a great fit.easy too.http://1948fordpickup.blogspot.com. Parts are not as expensive as I first thought. Thomas
I'm not sure but I'll bet a dropped beam axle will go right under there. I've heard of fellas doing that before. I think that you can even get a disc brake setup for one if you look around a little bit.
Just cut up an original MII crossmember and fit it to your frame or buy one of the generic cross members and make it work. I personally don't care for the clip jobs simply because they almost never look right and you can usually spot one a mile away. Or better yet do what 27TV8 said.
I had a dropped axle under my '42, and by the time I de-arched the leafs, removed a couple of leafs, bent the steering arms on the spindles and did a bunch of ther things to get it low there were two problems. 1 It wasn't low enough for my tastes. 2 The oil pan of the small block Ford was right where the axle and tie rods wanted to be. If I had it to do again, I would do what Evil wicked Mean and Nasty above said in a heart beat. I have never done a Jag fron end, but I would look into that as well. I put a tape on one in a wrecking yard last spring and found they were 58 1/2" hub to hub. That's just about right for most early trucks. I would never clip a vehicle unless it was an extreme last resort for the exact same reasons. It 's so rare to see one done right.
Thanks so much for all the imput but more specifics would be appreciated. What year XJS?.. Will any Jag work? What is MII? and with the dropped beam..where does the power steering come in? differant steering box or what? Thanks again.
Im going through the same thing with my 46, and since ive used the paul horton welder series crossmembers before http://www.welderseries.com/blog/online-store/ws14540/ I thought I would try them again....On one page it didnt show a listing for my 46, but when I went to THIS page, it shows a track width of 58"; the same as 42-52.... http://www.welderseries.com/blog/mustang-ii-application-chart/ This is the route Im going, with the 58 inch crossmember....if you dont mind welding it yourself, its a pretty nice crossmember
Choose one. If you go with a cross steer a box from an early '60s GM works real well. For a drag link style you could use the steering box from an '80s Toyota. Either box is easy to come by.
I located an '04 Jaguar x-type cross member for $275 (control arms and all but no rack)..is that a good price? will it work? What about the wheel bolt pattern? Thanks
look at the mopars with cross torsion bars, volari don't know year but has steering and disc brakes all in one package
Frankie, do a search on jag ifs, lots of info here. Don't know the frame width on your truck, but on my F1 it's perfect. You can bolt on or weld on and leave the frame intact. Cheap to buy and rebuild, parts are available. If it fits your truck, it's a good option.
Not sure on your year, but I know slightly later models and many up can use a 03-08 crown vic, thats cheap and easy
High positive offest wheels and with a track width in excess of 64" wide, the CV front would put the wheels outside the fenders. Stock on that truck is near 58"
Measure the track width of an '80s Ford Aerostar van. The whole works attaches to a crossmember that unbolts from the unit body. Common Ford bolt pattern, disc brakes, power rack and pinion, parts readily available, any tire store can align it.
My '45 has a MII front suspension corners beautifully with some healthy SBC power and rides like apassenger car, my '46 has a 4" dropped axle from Sids, http://www.droppedaxles.com/ , and being a flatmotored rig and a little slower it corners beautifully, and rides like a hot rod.
The 3" dropped axle gets you pretty low. Here is my 47 truck with a 3" dropped axle and reversed eye springs. Since this picture I went with Posie Dual flex springs because I had a weak spring. With the Posie springs it sets the same and has about 2-1/2" of clearance between the frame and axle. www.droppedaxles.com
The Jalopy Journal
