Thread: Newbie needs help w/front suspension, Mustang II or Straight Axle

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I agree I probably need to bite the bullet and just buy a kit, but being cheap and stuborn, Im not ready just yet. Even in gather info on what kits to use is a pain in that there can be too much info, and if I read into it too deep, my head starts to spin. Im wondering what it would take to build my own IFS. Something using tubular a-arms, and coil over shocks. Some of the set ups look really clean an straight forward. Im also aware that a true craftsman makes his work look easy.

Originally Posted by Chicken Legs

I agree I probably need to bite the bullet and just buy a kit, but being cheap and stuborn, Im not ready just yet. Even in gather info on what kits to use is a pain in that there can be too much info, and if I read into it too deep, my head starts to spin. Im wondering what it would take to build my own IFS. Something using tubular a-arms, and coil over shocks. Some of the set ups look really clean an straight forward. Im also aware that a true craftsman makes his work look easy.

You can learn to engineer and build your own IFS. I did it and if I can do it, I can assure you that anyone can do it. Get the book "Tune To Win" by Carroll Smith. Read it cover to cover several hundred times. It'll finally just go "poof" right in front of your face and you'll go...."OH YEAH, I SEE HOW TO DO IT" and all will be right with the world. Mr. Smith explains how to construct "paper doll" type suspension setups to scale with stick pins for pivot points. You can play around with caster, camber, scrub, camber gain, instant center, Ackerman and all the other neat stuff using paper and cardboard, then transfer your dimensions to steel. One word about tubing sizes and materials. I used 1 1/8" x 0.188" wall chromoly. Way too tough to bend, grind and weld and too expensive to buy and didn't look that balanced when finished. Use mild steel, 1.000" x 0.120" wall for the bottom arms, 0.750" x 0.120" for the upper arms. There is very little pressure on the upper arms, so you could even use 0.625" x 0.120" and it would look even better to the eye with the 1 inch bottoms and 5/8 inch uppers. Another combo that would look good to the eye is 1 1/4" for the lowers and 3/4" for the uppers.

Once you have read and understood Smith and mocked up some instant centers, you'll see why it is futile to narrow an existing OEM suspension system and still expect it to operate like it did when the instant center was stock.