Originally posted by johnnybee
would it be better to get a ifs, low cost if possible, instead of a original setup. ...
Tough call John. That's why it sometimes better to buy as complete a car as you can. But, that's not your situation here. In part it comes down to what your real skills are. If you very good with things mechanical, if you're very good and methodical at measuring and set-up, and if you're a skilled welder with all the equipment you need (or have ready access to it through some other means) then you can do it fairly economically (always a relative term). People are putting Mustang II setups under these cars all the time, some even putting Nova/Camaro front clips on. So that means there are stock front suspensions looking for a way of being disposed of. If you look around real hard you might be able to come across one of these. I would recommend against the stock coil spring setup as it was junk when it was new, and trying to rebuild one to safe levels today would be pretty expensive. The beam axle setup worked pretty okay, but even if you got one, it would likely need a restoration too to be serviceable, which could be several hundred dollars. If you got ultra lucky you could stumble across an already restored stock setup that someone is taking out,...................but don't hold your breath.

On the other side is the Nova/camaro front clip. You can probably buy one of those for a couple hundred dollars, and if you work at it you can possibly find one that's not all worn out and needing lots of new parts right away. Again, slim chance, but more doable than the stock axle scenario. To do a front clip CORRECTLY takes some serious skill, or paying someone who knows how to do it (read $$). For the Mustang II you could look around for a stock Pinto/Bobcat/Mustang II and cut out the front crossmember with all the suspension pieces on it. These are getting harder to find so aren't as cheap as they once were, but then you're down there where there is lots of raw material to draw from. So check around. One of the members here, Brickman, did this over the past year on his late '40's Chev and posted pictures. Use the Search function at the top of this page and type in "Mustang suspension". Then there are many aftermarket crossmember kits on the market to mount the M II components as this is a popular swap. These kits (the good ones anyway, which means they aren't the cheapest.....up front) are designed specifically for a specified chassis and come with installation instructions. Again, you need to be good with measurements and welding. Companies like Heidt's, Total Cost Involved, Rod Shop, RB's, etc. sell them. Then there's another option for the less skilled that could be a good alternative. There is a well engineered system from Chassis Engineering that is a bolt in. While it's designed to bolt in with grade 8 hardware, my personal choice would be to back that up with some welds, but at least a fairly skilled amateur could do all the set up using their instructions and have it all in place so that he could take it to a welder, or have a mobile welding service come in, and just have to pay for the welding part. Here's their website so you can do some study; www.chassisengineeringinc.com

Just some words of caution based strictly on you self admission of being on a very tight budget. If you can't afford to do it right, you really can't afford to do it wrong. You need to make some serious assesments of your ability to get the job done before pouring in all the spare dough you have only to end up with something that's worse than you start with. Seen it happen too many times. And another reality is, whatever you guess it's gonna cost.............double it! Not trying to rain on your parade, just a dose of reality. Hate to see folks bite off more than they can chew and create a bigger problem for themselves.