|
|
|
|
Original Message
|
| RE: 1955 f100 |
| By Painter Wayne - 12/01/2005 3:23:58 PM; IP 71.115.221.57 |
There's a lot of ways you can modify the chassis and suspension on these trucks. They can be a lot of fun when they're done right, or be a miserable pile of crap and worth nothing if done wrong.
I've built several trucks for many people over the years, and by far the best, easiest, and in the big picture, cheapest way to do this is with a Mustang II front suspension crossmember kit. If you want to go low buck, get the basic kit, about $350, and find a donor 74-80 Pinto or 74-78 Mustang II front clip, available at the junk yard for about $150. This will give you a modern suspension design with rack and pinion steering and disc brakes, and have an excellent ride. With a 3500 pound truck, I'd recommend upgrading the front disc brakes to 10 or 11 inch, but the stock 9" rotors may get you by for a while. Also optional would be to install new bushings and ball joints in the control arms while you've got it apart. Modify your steering column or replace it with a fancy tilt unit and you're good to go up front.
At the rear, Chassis Engineering and probably several others make nice, comfortable leaf kits for just a few hundred dollars to compliment the front and level out the stance.
I highly discourage swapping entire frames from some unknown car. Width, length and wheelbase will have to be extensively modified, body mounts will need to be fabricated and body panels chopped up to pull off a deal like that. Reasle value on an abortion project like that will be nil.
Even grafting a camaro front clip the truck frame isn't a desirable way to go. It adds hundreds of pounds of dead weight to the front end, and again, major hacking of inner structure is required, not to mention ease of making a mistake in placement and having an ill-handling ride when done.
With a M-II crossmember kit, it includes detailed instructions, templates and all the parts you need ready to weld. Above all, the engineering is done to ensure your geometry is correct so you'll have a safe and comfortable driving truck when it's finished. They're realitively easy to install if you're mechanicly inclined at all, and the resale value will be there if you take your time and do a professional quality job.
Good Luck with your project and enjoy.
|
|
|
This thread, so far...
|
|
|
|
Post A Response
|
|
|
|
|
|