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I'm still trying to find a manufacturer for an IFS for my 27 Cadillac streetrod project.
I spoke with the owner of Scotts hot Rods and Customs yesterday. He said they can custom build an IFS for any car.
Can anyone provide some feedback on Scotts IFS quality, installation support and customer service?
I haven't heard too much about them.
Thank you...................
My Son used one in his S10, he built a custom frame and used Scotts independent setup that they built to his specs.
Overall, I think it turned out ok, but there were some mistakes when it came in, I think the A arms were the wrong length and the steering rack was way too wide. They eventually corrected the problems, but it took some doing on his part and some time. He had to reengineer a lot of it to make it work right.
I do remember him saying one time that Scotts stuff looked so professional on the show they did, but that they really seem to be pretty disorganized, and that came as a real surprise to him. I do know he rewelded some of the parts as he didn't care for the way they had done them.
I'll ask him for more info when I see him tonight. Here is the front end he got from them.
Don
Here, I pulled up some reviews off of Google for you. Looks like others have had some problems with Scotts too.
Reviewer: Redbarkingcat from Arizona March 15, 2004
Ordered an IFS from Scott's. Three months after 50% deposit was paid, I get a call from Scott's asking for dimensions on my very common Ford truck. Six months later, received partial order of IFS, nothing fit; system was totally unusable. Scott's refused refund, take back order, correct problems or discuss situation. Told me to take a leap. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SCOTT'S!
Reviewer: Anonymous from Palm Springs, California January 14, 2004
What a joke! How do these guys even stay in business? I am building a very high dollar car and ordered a very expensive part from these morons. It was the worst piece of craftsmanship I have ever seen. It took over a two months to get my money back. I saw these guys written up in a magazine awhile back, somebody got payed off. Stay away or you'll be sorry!
Reviewer: Anonymous from California January 08, 2004
I have used Scotts Hotrods IFS system on three occasions and it was like pulling teeth to get what I ordered. Their quality control is terrible and I've had to send deffective parts back on numberous occasions only to be sent more deffective parts. Scotts parts are not for the novice because a novice may not spot these deffects and they may not be aware of geometry problems in the suspension kits.
I'm still trying to get the parts that I paid for three months ago. I tried to get a refund on this order so I could buy from another supplier but they would not do that. I will never buy another thing from Scotts Hotrods.
I decided to call my Son at work and ask him about this for you. He said if he had to do it over again he would NOT buy from Scotts. Many of the parts were mismade or the wrong ones, and the polished parts he paid extra for were scratched and used looking. They eventually made good on most of the issues, but only after numerous phone calls and runarounds. For someone of average skill level it would be an impossible task to get their front end to work right.
Hope this helps you out.
Don
Don,
Thank you so much for the feedback.........invaluable input!
Based on those reviews, I will certainly continue my search for a hi quality IFS with a company that has a good reputation for customer service.
Thanks again to you and your son.
These could be isolated cases.......maybe only a few out of the many that Scott builds, but the remarks seem to be consistant about what the problems were.
I understand Heidts makes a good front end, and there are others. Maybe some others on here can tell you of their experiences with these.
Good luck,
Don
Thanks Don.
I checked with Heidts, but my outside frame rail dimension is 30", Heidts superride is 28" .
I understand that there will not be an off the shelf solution.This is the feedback from manufacturers I looked into so far.
Kugel, Says he is concerned with the vehicle weight., will not supply
Progressive, Only front steer
Morrison, Only front steer
TCI, Their max weight is 3800#-4000#
Heidts, Only 28” frame width
Fatman, A 33 LaSalle owner not happy, already broke two bushings. I don’t like the looks of his MII setup.
Scotts, They say they can do it, but bad feedback.
Jim Meyer Racing, I just spoke with them today........they said no problem. I'll need to research further.
Thats where I am so far...........
Thank you again
Check out the Fatman. They put out an axle that looks like a stock straight axle, but it's an IFS. It's designed for 20's and 30's frames. Plus it's a lot cheaper than a full IFS, like about $600.
I have a Scott's IFS in my 59 Chevy Apache & am not too impressed. I had one of the spindles break when I put the front sheet metal back on. The instructions that come with it are terrible if it's your first install.
Update on my IFS. I did NOT go with Scotts.
I ultimately had Kugel make an IFS using their larger A arms and GM ball joints similar to their 55 chevy stuff. all stainless steel arms, spindles, etc.........
Excellent stuff and customer service.
We are just finishing the install.
The Kugel folks are great
Post up some pics when you can . Things like this are great info for some in the same situation .