If I wanted to put a modern chassis under my 50 ford sedan....which one would be the best match without too much fabrication?
The whole job would be fabrication, lots of it ...would be easier to upgrade the stock chassis, might cost more but way easier..
I am thinking youre right...However, I have MUCH more time than money..LOL..Guess I will figure it out after im done with all the body work. I was refered to Fatman Fabrications by a friend of mine...
I would recommend leaving the factory frame, and adding a fatman frame stub with mustang II. The factory rear can work if you aren't throwing a lot of power at it, and can easily be c-notched, tri-4 linked and bagged. I have the fatman clip, and it is a nice fit with power brakes and steering.
If I were in your shoes I'd look in to getting a 2wd s10 frame, use the front section of that on the ford. I saw a guy here do it and I was royally impressed with the fit.
s10 clip or whole frame swap. whole frame will have to be cut down. check out youtube s10 50 ford swap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kvMxmBc9uQ theres a guy who used the s10 extended cab frame engine and tranny and rear end under his 50. the coupe sedan and four door have the same frame under them btw. also a maverick rear end will bolt right up with no mods if you want to run an 8 inch rear.
ive seen s10 frames go for 150 bucks if you wait til you can find someone parting one out. i had a guy offer me one with airride setup on it already for 300. just depends on what you want to do.
check these threads out. the 3rd one has the tech how to s10 clip! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296506 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394891 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=386545
also do a search here for: Definitive S-10 Frame Swap Vehicle List. As others have said you can use full S10 frame or just do a front clip. They are a little narrow for the Ford Shoebox and you will need mild deeper offset rims, but not too wide because of limited inner fender clearance. the $350 deal looks pretty good, but cash would likely get it cheaper. a lot depends on your fabrication skills. do a search for all info you can find before going forward with this idea.
If you wanna see some of whats involved in the S10 swap you can check the link to my build thread in my sig. Its a 47 but you can get an idea of the work involved in doing the swap. If your frame is solid I would only use the S10 clip . I have a really rusty shoebox with a rotten frame, but I think when I build it I will use an S10 clip and build the rest myself, mostly cause its something I have wanted to do
use the stock frame and update the suspension. de-arch the original rear springs and install a 8 or 9" ford rear. up front use the Mustang II front clip that Fatman sells , or Jim Weimer Rod Garage sells a U-weld kit that's basically the same. with this you get rack and pinion steering , add front and rear sway bars and you will have a nice riding and handling car you can be proud of and not a cobbled up mess. also, the Fatman clip has the mount for the radiator saddle so mounting your front sheetmetal is no problem the original tranny crossmember can be easily modified to accept a modern transmission, motor mounts are easy to fab too
Because he's probably already figured out that dropped spindles and steering arms alone put him at more than you can spend for an entire donor car, he'll have to notch his frame in the rear if he wants it to sit really low, and then he'll still be running around with old worn suspension and brakes that were designed in the 1940s. Cut springs alone don't do the job - I lowered the front of a '50 Ford about 4 inches and the tie rods hit the frame every time I hit a bump while turning. I'm not trying to start a debate here, I'm just saying that when you have a lot of time but not much money it is far cheaper to clip or swap than to modify the original if you want it to sit really low. If you score a complete donor vehicle in good mechanical shape for a few hundred bucks you have EVERYTHING right there. No special ordering anything, no dealing with vendors all over the country, and no worries if the idjits who designed or built your parts knew what they were doing. (Check out the thread on Mustang II failures if you don't know what I mean on that one!)
I found an S10 for $350...Bad engine but figured I could use the front clip and save a ton of dough....This is my first real project like this so I want to make sure I dont jump into anythig and make the wrong choices that will cost me more time and money then I have...... Thank you everyone for the advise!!! It is GREATLY appreciated and I look forward to reading more. I would really love to see some video clips of someone sawpping out the front end..... So far it looks like the best option would be to replace the front clip (either with an S10 or a Fatman Mustang II) What other suggestions for the rest of the chassis do you have?? Forgive my ignorance but, like I said this is really my first time
I really like what I did to mine. It's the stock 51 frame with Nova graph. Then the body fits back the way it's supposed to. Way better than any Fat Man stuff I've driven. S-10 has the steering box out front and makes issues. They all have Issues just some more than others. This was way easy for me. I now have over 5K miles and no regrets. The Wizzard
Jim Weimer's Rod Garage makes a nice Retro fit Front Mustang II set up. It is $ 1,700.00 for everything. I am going to use this set up in my 1949 Thunderturd (see avatar). Jamco stuff is just too expensive for the same result. Just my opinion. Good luck . VR&C
EXCELLENT! Thanks I looked at the website...I am leaning towards their Air bag MII Kit $1780 isnt bad
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