1940 Ford Tudor Build Thread

[randyr]

Thanks Randy. I got the control arms from here:
Ford Mustang 2 II Tubular Control Arms Lower And Narrow Upper Coil Springs Black | eBay

I was going to get them from Gear Heads, but they wanted me to wait out the auction, and I would have had to pay tax. So I went with these guys. I got my spindles from CPP. I hope that wasn't a bad idea. I've heard many horror stories about their poor customer service.

Doesn't your car also have an OEM Mustang II crossmember like mine? If so, do you think it's strong enough to support that style of lower control arm without a strut rod? I always assumed if I went tubular on the bottom I would have to go with something like this that still uses the strut rod. Heidts Lower Tubular Control Arms, Mustang II Coilover | eBay

As for CPP, I went to an open house/car show/tour of their facility a few months ago. I've never bought anything from them but was impressed with their operation. Many of the parts (mostly Chevy) they design & make themselves. They also carry parts from TCI and various other vendors, rather than try to make their own version of everything that's already saturated in the market.

[40FordDeluxe]

Doesn't your car also have an OEM Mustang II crossmember like mine? If so, do you think it's strong enough to support that style of lower control arm without a strut rod? I always assumed if I went tubular on the bottom I would have to go with something like this that still uses the strut rod. As for CPP, I went to an open house/car show/tour of their facility a few months ago. I've never bought anything from them but was impressed with their operation. Many of the parts (mostly Chevy) they design & make themselves. They also carry parts from TCI and various other vendors, rather than try to make their own version of everything that's already saturated in the market.

The Gear heads arms come with a triangular shape gusset that you must weld in. My plan is to weld in a couple of gussets on each side of the cross member to try and help strengthen it up. I also thought about retaining the strut rods, but I don't think I'll need them. Some places say you don't need the gussets, but I'm not going to chance it.

[randyr]

The Gear heads arms come with a triangular shape gusset that you must weld in. My plan is to weld in a couple of gussets on each side of the cross member to try and help strengthen it up. I also thought about retaining the strut rods, but I don't think I'll need them. Some places say you don't need the gussets, but I'm not going to chance it.

Yes, I'm aware of the gusset but the metal used on the factory crossmember is a lot thinner than most of the aftermarket crossmembers. I've just never been that confident it could handle the new stresses put on it in that location, especially if you're going with a heavier engine. When mine was initially installed back in the day, I even had problems with the strut rods cracking the frame. A guy beefed it up with some re-enforcement plate, which is not pretty but hasn't been a problem since.

At any rate, I'm not saying it won't work. I hope it does! But I'm just suggesting some things to look out for that you may or may not have thought of.
Looking forward to some more pics!

[40FordDeluxe]

Yes, I'm aware of the gusset but the metal used on the factory crossmember is a lot thinner than most of the aftermarket crossmembers. I've just never been that confident it could handle the new stresses put on it in that location, especially if you're going with a heavier engine. When mine was initially installed back in the day, I even had problems with the strut rods cracking the frame. A guy beefed it up with some re-enforcement plate, which is not pretty but hasn't been a problem since.

At any rate, I'm not saying it won't work. I hope it does! But I'm just suggesting some things to look out for that you may or may not have thought of.
Looking forward to some more pics!

Randy, no hurt feelings here. Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I definitely do not know it all and some of this is grey area to me. You're probably right about the thinner metal and cracking. I wonder if it would help if I plated the front and rear of the cross member? Or I guess if I have to do that, install a new MII cross member.

[randyr]

Randy, no hurt feelings here. Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I definitely do not know it all and some of this is grey area to me. You're probably right about the thinner metal and cracking. I wonder if it would help if I plated the front and rear of the cross member? Or I guess if I have to do that, install a new MII cross member.

Definitely a quandry! One thing always leads to 1000 more!!!

To be honest, I don't know enough about suspension engineering to tell what kind of stress these original crossmembers can take in that area. If you went with a re-enforcement plate across the whole thing between the A-arm shafts, would that be good? I don't know. But there is a point where the amount of labor required to make the old thing work sure makes the new thing look pretty good!

Unfortunately, because if the way mine was installed, cutting the old one out wouldn't be so easy. I would have to do some rehab on the frame rails before installing a new aftermarket crossmember.

[40FordDeluxe]

Definitely a quandry! One thing always leads to 1000 more!!!

To be honest, I don't know enough about suspension engineering to tell what kind of stress these original crossmembers can take in that area. If you went with a re-enforcement plate across the whole thing between the A-arm shafts, would that be good? I don't know. But there is a point where the amount of labor required to make the old thing work sure makes the new thing look pretty good!

Unfortunately, because if the way mine was installed, cutting the old one out wouldn't be so easy. I would have to do some rehab on the frame rails before installing a new aftermarket crossmember.

That's the problem with mine too. I'm going to try to get a hold of a chassis guy I know and see what he thinks. It's always some thing.

[40FordDeluxe]

Definitely a quandry! One thing always leads to 1000 more!!!

To be honest, I don't know enough about suspension engineering to tell what kind of stress these original crossmembers can take in that area. If you went with a re-enforcement plate across the whole thing between the A-arm shafts, would that be good? I don't know. But there is a point where the amount of labor required to make the old thing work sure makes the new thing look pretty good!

Unfortunately, because if the way mine was installed, cutting the old one out wouldn't be so easy. I would have to do some rehab on the frame rails before installing a new aftermarket crossmember.

I spoke with 2 local guys that have both been building rods there entire lives, they both said it'll be just fine. Just gusset it and go on. I think when I get to that point, I'll do the dual point rear mount on the lower arms to be safe.

[randyr]

I spoke with 2 local guys that have both been building rods there entire lives, they both said it'll be just fine. Just gusset it and go on. I think when I get to that point, I'll do the dual point rear mount on the lower arms to be safe.

Good to know, Ryan. Thanks!
Now go get those pics downsized so we can see what you've been up to!!