Suspension Upgrades

quick liNks

Home

Message Board

Chat

Photo Gallery

Links

maintenance

General Maintenance

Wiring Diagrams

Lubrication Charts

Specifications

modifications

Engines

Transmissions

Rear Ends

Front Suspension

Tilt Steering

Fuel Tank

Straight Axle Mods

Brake Upgrades

Power Steering

12 Volt Electrical

F-Series history

Changes 48-52 year by year

What is Bonus Built?

Canadian Ford & Mercury Trucks

F-Series 50th Anniversary

Early F-Series in Film & Television

Online Tools

Online Survival Guide (links)

VIN Decoder

community

Message Boards

Mailing List

Owner Registry

Contact Bonsbuilt.com

My 1950 f1

History

What I've done

What I'm planning

Dependability

Pictures

Artifacts

So, you've been driving your truck around and found that it drives like a 50 year old truck. Isn't that odd. A lot of people chose to upgrade the front suspension for a softer, more modern, ride.

What's available? There are many options for independent front suspension. There are 3 that are equally popular though: Volare, Mustang II, Camaro. I've heard of others lately (Dodge Dakota, Ford Aerostar) but I know nothing about them. If you have information please write in and tell me about it.
NEW NEW NEW!!! A reader wrote in suggesting an IFS swap I'd never heard of: AMC Pacer. Before you die laughing you should read about it.

*Volare: This was the first ifs swap I ever saw (back in 1993). It uses parts from a Plymouth Volare or Dodge Aspen (mid 70's--don't remember exactly what years though). With it you get power steering, disk brakes, and since it's a torsion bar setup you can adjust the ride height in front. People "in the know" tell me this is about as goof-proof as you can get in terms of installation.
*Mustang II: I've always hated the 74-78 Pintostang, but folks love to use their front ends. With this swap you get rack and pinion steering (power or manual), disk brakes, and the satisfaction of using Ford parts. Installation is not rumored to be too tricky, and I've even seen bolt-in kits for it.
*Camaro: Again, exact years escape me--mid 70's. Gives you the usual--disk brakes, power steering. This is said to be the smoothest riding ifs of the 3 discussed here. It is also the trickiest to install because it involves grafting on the donor car's entire front clip (with the other 2 you bolt/weld in a crossmember to the F1's frame and attach everything to it). If your cuts are a little off, or your welding isn't quite perfect then you've just ruined the whole truck. This one is definitely an expert only job.

Cost on the Volare.MustangII setups is about the same. $400 for crossmember and $1600 and up for complete kits. Cost on the Camaro would probably be whatever you could buy the donor car for.

BonusBuilt.Com suggests: Mustang II seems to be the best bet. We're very pro-Ford though.

How do you do it? Take careful measurements and work slowly whichever way you do it. You should get good directions with your kit (not that you necessarily will, but you should). On the Mustang II and Volare you attach a crossmember to your frame (I should mention that this happens after you get your stock suspension out of there) and attach the suspension components to that. With the GM setup you have to cut your frame off just forward of the cab and then graft on the donor frame.

Any common problems? The potential is there. If you work carefully (measure twice, cut once) and don't stretch your abilities as a mechanic you should be alright. Potentially you could have vibration, alignment problems, harshness, unsafe steering, or your truck's frame could crack in half when you hit a dip. For further reference, read the article called Overcoming the Shortcomings of the Stock Suspension and Frame.