Chasis Project

[Fluffy_Thunder]

Ok so I needed a project for my chassis fab class and my wife told me to take her truck and turn it into a street rod

76 f100 390 motor with a t18 4spd

What she wants is a street-able daily driver type deal so my initial thoughts were to box the frame give it a slight rake possible airbag conversion and throw a 9 in in the rear the big project I was thinking was a mustang 2 front end keep in mind really the only pre-fab things I can go too would be things like the airbags themselves

The other option would be to do a complete tube frame. Ironically with the steel prices for either project the actual frame whether in tube or boxing would be near the same price.

I am feeling that the tube chassis would be a better investment since it would be much easier to run headers I know for these years they are hard to find that fit correctly.

My question is who has done something like this what am I going to run into pictures of suspension fuel tanks and such or if you have ideas that would be nice as well

 

[Fellro]

Boxing the frame really isn't needed. Unless you are going for high torque and such, it gains nothing but a lot of work. It will not improve the ride, unless you figure in the additional weight... Actually, it could make things stiffer, and reduce ride quality.

Personally, I am not a fan of the M II suspensions. There are much better units to work with. There are some writeups on the net, might even be one here about using a later (2000's) Crown Vic suspension. They are bolt in aluminum cradles. I have also discovered that Aerostars use a bolt on front suspension as well. The trick to a tube frame is getting everything aligned and hooked up correctly. It depends what your experience level is as to how realistic a plan it is. Myself, I would stick with the factory frame and work with that, but I am not really a fan of total slammed trucks either. I like some decent ride height, even on cars.

You should already have a 9" rear already, so that aspect should already be done...

 

[79460f100]

Has anybody on here have a picture of what a " Aerostars" cradle looks like and what is the bolt pattern , 5on 5.5 or 5 on 4.5 ?__

 

[Fellro]

Pattern is 5x4.5, I will have to see if I can get something decent on how it mounts anyway. The main frame of the Aerostars are unibody, and they use shocks and a-arms for suspension.

 

[80f150]

Aerostar bolt pattern the same as a ranger

 

[Fellro]

yes, as well as many Ford cars.

 

[5.0Flareside]

SN-95 (94-98) and older Mustangs as well had the 5x4.5 bolt pattern..

 

[primetime]

SN-95 (94-98) and older Mustangs as well had the 5x4.5 bolt pattern..

Almost. SN-95 Mustangs (94-98) do have a 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern. 79-93 Mustangs were 4 lug. As were Fairmont and Ltd II. Mark VII did have a 5 on 4.5 pattern.