1937 Chevy Coupe

[Sunnybeach]

Looks good, keep going!

Great photos by the way.

 

[Old Iron]

It simply takes longer to clean up and redue someones mess.
I solute you A-tard and B-tard for saving the frame [cl
[P[P[P

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Sunny: The photos are all Btard's. He sends them to me and they're nice to have. (We're nearly an hour "apart" and the photos help when we talk and plan what's up and what's next. [S)

Old Iron: I can't agree more and we Duotards thank you for the compliment.


So we salvaged the cross member and placed it with the geometry corrected. We then decided to "bridge" the frame notch in an effort to thicken the frame and weld to unmolested steel.

I painted this photo to show the plate we wrapped around the upper hat section...

... we also decided to wrap around the frame vertically...

... and tie the whole works together. This shot also shows the notch we had to make for the steering rack...

... starting to look like something now.

.

 

[zzrodder]

Good work on the re-mounting the MII. A lot of people dont realize how thin and flimsy the stock frame is - proper gusseting and reinforcing like you've done is the solution. [cl[cl
Seeing the progress here is making me super twitchy to get busy on my 37 Packard coupe project but my wifes health issues right now have put a temp hold on garage time....

 

[Skip]

Lookin' good Doc.

It must be something in the air. I am talking to a guy about a 41 Ford Coupe. I really want a coupe. But they are usually gold plated! Need to sort out the "no-title" issue before I pull the trigger.

 

[Old Iron]

I just realized I have never installed a Mustang ll front end.
I didn't know the cross member installs, to the frame, on a rake of
3.5 degrees?
Thanks for posting that [P[P[P

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

It must be something in the air. I am talking to a guy about a 41 Ford Coupe. I really want a coupe. But they are usually gold plated! Need to sort out the "no-title" issue before I pull the trigger.

Good luck, Skip! Fortunately, we don't have titles (in SK) and making it legal is fairly straightforward... finding "the car" is tough enough and I wish you luck again...

Good work on the re-mounting the MII. A lot of people dont realize how thin and flimsy the stock frame is - proper gusseting and reinforcing like you've done is the solution.

Thanks, zz. I appreciate your stamp of approval!

The frame is thin, something in the territory of .093, but you already know that. (If it had any real corrosion issues it would be smelted by now.) We're happy it's solid and it welds butter smooth, like no steel I've worked with before. [

My best to you and Mrs. zz. Here's to her good health and your return to the garage!

I just realized I have never installed a Mustang ll front end.
I didn't know the cross member installs, to the frame, on a rake of
3.5 degrees?

I've never messed with one, either. Some years back, I called on a couple experienced friends and researched the subject extensively, my '38 in mind at the time. (Since then, I've decided to keep my beam axle.) Anyhow, I learned we're dealing with a common mistake and will blabber at some length, should anybody find it useful...

The stock cross member is one piece and tells it like it is. Laid flat on the floor, the cross member is level and the spring hats are 3.5° negative, slanted to the rear. This is the orientation you want at ride height.

Btard's suspension was placed with the hats level at ride height, effectively negating anti-dive and creating negative caster which cannot be corrected. Measured at the cross member, it was +3.5° or slanted to the front.

Aftermarket MII kits are usually three pieces... a cross member and two spring hats. They use the same basic geometry and the same orientation applies at ride height...

I've learned a lot and I'll keep this short... I read and hear complaints and criticisms about the MII suspension and it would be my opinion... if your project is not too heavy for the MII and it rides or handles poorly, somebody has done something (or a few things) wrong. The above mentioned geometry is a killer (of course) and I'll never look at a MII the same again. Tubular arms (improperly applied) are another failure waiting to happen, but I'll cut my opinions and babble off here.


A quick note on the subject build: The previous owner of Btard's coupe planned to drop a warmed 327/4spd in it and drive it. I'm glad he didn't, though it would probably drive beautifully in reverse and perform a perfect "Rockford"... straight ahead, I can imagine it balled up in ditch. Just this minute, it has occurred to me, to nickname the previous "build" Maytag, because it's refrigerator white and could easily have been your next kitchen appliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FImeaiVT81o

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[bob w]

Good tutorial on the MII suspension install, Dr. C. The project is going very well and quickly too.

 

[smallfoot]

Not that I'll probably ever put one on , but I'll know where to check for errors on somebody else's junk...Thanks Dr. C!

 

[Old Iron]

Thanks for taking the time to explain the install specs Doc [cl

 

[MercuryMac]

You haven't made my day Doc, but thank you anyway.
I am finishing a stalled project with a MII front axle too, ['34 Plymouth coupe]. Also, our similarities don't end here, no, no, no, both of our Previous owners are in the same club, the one where they should rips their thumbs off so they can't use wrenches.
I have not measured my hat angle yet but the ball joints look too straight up and down for my liking. I'll check tomorrow.
My crossmember is welded in very nicely, [my PO at least hired a real welder to do his frame work] and I hate to cut it out and weld it in myself, as I am not as smooth a welder as he was. I am a better engineer than both my PO and his welder.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Thanks for your comments, guys.

I only hope to save somebody the grief we have suffered.

Mac, you have a PM coming down the pipe...

.

 

[Torchie]

Lookin' good Doc.

It must be something in the air. I am talking to a guy about a 41 Ford Coupe. I really want a coupe. But they are usually gold plated! Need to sort out the "no-title" issue before I pull the trigger.

Not to hijack the thread but is it a long door or a short door coupe Skip?

And like smallfoot I don't fore see a MII font suspension in my future but I do like to learn new things so thanks for the tutorial as well good Dr. [cl[cl
Torchie

 

[Skip]

Not to hijack the thread but is it a long door or a short door coupe Skip?

And like smallfoot I don't fore see a MII font suspension in my future but I do like to learn new things so thanks for the tutorial as well good Dr. [cl[cl
Torchie

Its the one with the drip rail that slopes all the way back. I tried to download a pic from Google, but it is giving me fits. Too big. Of course the seller texted me pics, and I can not get them transferred to my computer.
No frame. Pretty much complete body sitting on a pallet. Extra hood and lt. door. $3500 OBO. Good price. But no title.

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/6065426364.html

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Skip, I'll post the pics, if you can send them to another phone...

.

 

[MercuryMac]

Well Doc, your tutorial triggered my worrying, and rightly so. I was a little down in the mouth and wanted to shoot the messenger.
My MII front end hats are about I I/2* negative, but so is the crossmember. I forgot to look and see if the axle is all one piece or not though.
This is my first MII front end, and I've learned something already. The concept is a good one so I'll probably use another one someday.
Sorry about losing my flaming optimism, momentarily, Doc.

 

[Skip]

Skip, I'll post the pics, if you can send them to another phone...

.

Does international texting cost extra? I think it does. I'll get off my @$$ and dig out my phone download cable. Pics soon.

Even if I don't get this one, I hope it goes to someone cool. The seller is having to give up the project due to health issues. We all know that story.

UPDATE: Trying to get seller to e-mail some pics. I believe he may be a bit tech challenged.

 

[Skip]

My apologies for hijacking the thread, Dr.

Pic of pic on phone. Not so good.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Well Doc, your tutorial triggered my worrying, and rightly so. I was a little down in the mouth and wanted to shoot the messenger.
My MII front end hats are about I I/2* negative, but so is the crossmember. I forgot to look and see if the axle is all one piece or not though.
This is my first MII front end, and I've learned something already. The concept is a good one so I'll probably use another one someday.
Sorry about losing my flaming optimism, momentarily, Doc.

Hard to tell what I'm looking at here, Mac. What surface are you measuring in this shot? You want to measure the surface where the cross-shaft mounts. This is the critical measurement at ride height and you might be closer than you think...

Does international texting cost extra?

You're closer to SK than FL. No idea if it costs you more. (I call or text anywhere in North America at the same rate, but I'm sure I pay for it, one way or the other.)

"Hijacking" is not a problem for me, within reason... coupe pictures and/or Mustang II discussions are most welcome!


.

 

[MercuryMac]

Doc., my protractor is sitting on the only place it'll fit on top of the hat. That pivot shaft has slotted holes under it, to help align the top A-frame so the top ball-joint can be placed behind the lower ball-joint. I'm not above cutting those slots a wee bit bigger. The front-end alignment man will probably have a canary, though. Those book-learned alignment guys nowadays have a lot of canaries, when they see a hotrod coming in.
Thank you for the tutorial, it opened my eyes.

Oh Doc, In your reading did it say anything about running at negative 3* instead of positive 3* caster.
Torchie, it looks like a short door. I thought Ford started the long door coupes in '42, maybe someone here could tell us the truth about that.