Mustang ll front end question.

I have the old mustang ll front suspension (with the strut rod) on my 46 Chevy truck.

Whoever put it on the frame did a good job on the fabrication part but the A-arms, spindles and calipers need help.

To look at the truck, the front tires are too far set in. They need to be pulled out about 1.5 inches each side to look right.

The A-arms are the stamped steel (stock) and I dont like the way the caliper mount is attached to the spindle. I want to replace it all for several reasons.

My question is can I build longer A-arms to push the wheels out a bit?
Do they have them in some catalog that are made in different legnths or is one size all that is offered?

I cant find my speedway catalog (my wife has been picking up behind me).

Thanks

Maddog, I'm no expert but I'll chime in with a little bit of info. Generally, that practice is frowned upon because the widened control arms change the pivot points of the spindle in relationship to the pivot points of the tie rods on the rack. Thus changing the geometry and causing bumpsteer. The widened units that I have used had stock dimension control arms placed farther apart on the chassis and used a widened rack and pinion steering unit.

That being said, I have used narrowed control arms before with no real adverse effect. I have not seen widened control arms before, but they could be made without too much trouble.

maddog said:

I have the old mustang ll front suspension (with the strut rod) on my 46 Chevy truck.

Whoever put it on the frame did a good job on the fabrication part but the A-arms, spindles and calipers need help.

To look at the truck, the front tires are too far set in. They need to be pulled out about 1.5 inches each side to look right.

The A-arms are the stamped steel (stock) and I dont like the way the caliper mount is attached to the spindle. I want to replace it all for several reasons.

My question is can I build longer A-arms to push the wheels out a bit?
Do they have them in some catalog that are made in different legnths or is one size all that is offered?

I cant find my speedway catalog (my wife has been picking up behind me).

Thanks

Click to expand...

i know that the mustang II suspension is suppose to be the all purpose front end but imo it shouldnt be under that truck. it to narrow and to light duty .

Mii

maddog said:

To look at the truck, the front tires are too far set in. They need to be pulled out about 1.5 inches each side to look right.

The A-arms are the stamped steel (stock) and I dont like the way the caliper mount is attached to the spindle. I want to replace it all for several reasons.

My question is can I build longer A-arms to push the wheels out a bit?
Do they have them in some catalog that are made in different legnths or is one size all that is offered?

Click to expand...

Dog,
Sounds like those are narrowed a-arms. I put those on my Nova because they said that would give me more room for bigger tires. All it did was recess the wheels which looks unnatural. You can buy a bigger offset wheel though. I also bought the standard tubular a-arms from Speedway for my '41 PU & they are much better & pretty cheap too... I also went with coil-over shocks! Is yours aligned properly?

Attached foto is a little distorted because I used a very wide angle lens.

maddog said:

I cant find my speedway catalog (my wife has been picking up behind me).

Click to expand...

Hummm, that sure sounds familiar... now where is *my* Speedway catalog!?!

BoB

Looking at the picture that Tripper posted ( Thanks BTW) it seems to me that all 3 of the critical points move out together. The upper, lower balljoints and the tie rod.
I do see the problem of mounting the inner pivots further out with a stock rack, because that changes the relationship of the inner arm pivots to the pivot at the edge of the rack.
But I just dont understand why moving all the ball joints out with longer tie rods will create bump steer.

It seems to me that the spindle and all attached stuff just moves thru a slightly larger arch.

I'm not being stubborn here, something tells me your right and I'm missing something.

So what am I missing, besides my Speedway catalog?

knotheads said:

i know that the mustang II suspension is suppose to be the all purpose front end but imo it shouldnt be under that truck. it to narrow and to light duty .

Click to expand...

It does seem a little light duty, but it was in there when I bought the truck.
What would you use?

Tripper, in re-reading your post, yes its aligned. Narrowed arms? That could be the problem. So they make them? If thats the case, I could use stock and move things out a bit.

Cool
Thanks

Tale of da tape!

maddog said:

It seems to me that the spindle and all attached stuff just moves thru a slightly larger arch.

I'm not being stubborn here, something tells me your right and I'm missing something.

So what am I missing, besides my Speedway catalog?

Click to expand...

Dog,
Since I have both styles... I'll measure both & u can see which u have.

BoB

Tripper said:

Dog,
Since I have both styles... I'll measure both & u can see which u have.

BoB

Click to expand...

Who needs a stinking Speedway catalog?

I have you guys!

Thanks Tripper.

Measurements!

Dog,
Shortened - 7.5" centerline to centerline
Stock - 8.5"

BoB

Tripper said:

Dog,
Shortened - 7.5" centerline to centerline
Stock - 8.5"

BoB

Click to expand...

Thank you, getting my tape.

Mine is 8.5"
They look like stock parts, not tubes like yours in the picture.

Can I get a 2nd opinion on legnthing the arms?

If that is just not gonna work, I will have to increase the offset in my wheels.

There is always wheel spacers, but they have pros, and cons.

maddog, here's a link from Heidt's Rod Shop's site that has some info and diagrams on the MII geometry. Take a look and see if it helps you out at all.

http://www.heidts.com/heisinfo.htm

Here's a cheap way out for a wider stance:

http://www.rocky-road.com/wheels.html

I run this setup on my 40 Chevy Pickup

If I remember correctly the stock width of you front axle is 58 inches and the stock Mustang two is 56 inches. You really don't want to widen the a arms for this reason: The Mustang two front end lowers the front of your truck about 4 inches. Moving the spindles out further on each side is going to cause your wheels to rub the opening of the fenders when you turn into parking lots and even in some cornering situations. I am running a Fatman crossmember with stock upper and lower control arms and spindles. I am using Heidt's lower tubular strut rods instead of stock as this allows the stock lower a arm to move straight up and down like a tubular control arm. I am also running ECI disc brake brackets with early S-10 disc brake rotors and calipers. I have had this setup under my 40 since 1999 and it has performed flawlessly. I am running a 402 big block with m22 4speed and 12 bolt posi rear axle. This front end is stronger than a Camro or Monte Carlo subframe. If you don't believe it just look a the size of the balljoints and tie rod ends of all three and compare. The Mustanb two is the right choice. Good luck with your build.