1946 Ford coupe

Who has put an independent front suspension under a '46, '47, '48 Ford?
What did you use, chevelle, camaro, or what? I want to replace straight axle with IFS, but don't want to spend the $ for the new aftermarket kits.
thanks

 

I've got a 47 in classified, it has a Nova front steer in it. The car has a 10 bolt chev rearend also.

 

If you can find a 73-74 Nova rear steer clip you might get disc brakes, power steering with it. Don't ignore 4doors as donor cars. We bought a 350-powered ugly green 74 4door Deluxe once upon a time and were surprised to find a well-maintained chassis under it with disc brakes and power steering. 4Door granny/grandpa cars actually got maintained by the schedule and are often the best to start with as a donot car for that reason.

 

Have an idea of what tracking width you want and ride height when considering your options. The GM sub frames are a good economical start but are wide (in stock form). The lower you get the more the wheels need to be pulled in for clearance. A friend of mine NARROWED his 4 inches to get what he wanted. You could go with an S-10 front clip. Good stock tracking width, for a low car.

 

My car has a 79 camaro clip. people say the camaro clips are too wide but with my pontiac rear and the right tire offset, they work fine. my tires do not stick out. mine's a 47 sedan

 

Mine also has a 68-76 Nova/Camaro rear steer clip. I have 15/7 chevy rally wheels on it with 2" lower coil springs. No big rubbing problem. Power steering but drum brakes. It drives and stops fine to me.

 

great car! Do you have some more pics? also what type of wheels are those. right now I have 17x 8 up front and 17x9.5 out back, I have a set of www's that I am planning on putting on this spring,, just need to get wheels. my ride height will be similar to yours and I have a camaro clip. thanks

 

I put a '67-'69 rear steer Camaro clip under one for a friend of mine a long time ago. I ended up using a set of narrower a-frames that I was making for an oval track customer of mine at the time so we could put some decent sized wheel/tires on it and lower it. Car handled like a go kart after the spring/shock combo was worked out. Rear was converted to parallel leaves and custom narrowed 9".

Frank

 

Mine is clipped with an S10 from the firewall forward, lines right up.

 

I had a 46 Ford Sedan, we clipped it with a '80 monte carlo.. it also lined right up, also. My Dad clipped his 49 Chevy Truck, w/ a S-10.. I loved how the wheels were inset because of the narrow frame!

 

with all of the work involved, and upgrading a used clip with new bushings, etc why not do a Mustang II ? There are all levels of kits out there. Plus, lots of options for dropped spindals, bags, etc.

 

Pintos don't have all the suspension travel as all the clips mentioned, earlier. But its the "ford in a ford" thing..

 

Whats up harley97, I have a '68 camaro front clip complete, come get it, its free. See you soon.

 

Friend of mine used S-10, worked fine. Or why not use a m2 set up ?

 

You can use the original MII cross member It will look as if it came in the car. Do a brake upgrade and you ready to rock and roll.

 

Thanks to everybody for your interest and your comments, still trying to figure out what to do. Thanks, Tom

 

Look at the pics I posted here. I built my crossmember, bought aftermarket lower control arms, and used stock MII upper control arms, and welder series disk brake mount kit.


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430444

 

I have a good friend who probably still has the blueprints for altering chevelle frames to fit under these cars, he built quite a few.
I used mustang II. Easy to use and find parts and not expensive at all.

 

XJ6 Jag.
Used a lot over here..

 

If you use the front sub frame out of a nove or camaro that has drum brakes. The cheapest way to get disc brakes is to use S-10 spindles and brakes. you only have to reem the ball joint sockets.