ive recenntly picked up a 50 merc 4door, anyone want to recomend a front suspension setup? ive done a few camero sub-frames in the past with good results. i have access to a camero clip and also to a nova clip. i think id rather use one of these than do the frame clip nessessary to use an MII type front suspension. or, is there any kits available to put a more modern style front suspension on the existing frame without doing a clip? thanks in advance-Brian
What is the reason for you wanting to change it? Have you ever driven a merc with the stock front end? They drive very nice, really a hard car to beat, do a disk brake conversion and leave well enough alone. Just because you are customizing/hotrodding a car does not mean you have to subframe it. Jim
with the stock front suspension, is air ride an option? if not, what is the best way to lower the front end aside from dropped/cut coils?
Brian, if you're going to leave the stock flathead in your Merc consider keeping the stock suspension. If you're going to change to another engine where the exhaust won't clear the Merc steering box then you might consider using the Chevy or Nova clip. I think the Nova clip has a narrower track width. The Merc has a front wheel track width of 58.5 inches so pick a clip that keeps the wheels tucked in under the fenders. But seriously, the stock Merc suspension is great if you rebuild it.
See the links below. I rebuilt my suspension using the coils and shocks listed in the first post: CHEAP and Great Alternative Coil Springs '49 thru '59 Ford and Merc: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260795 1949 - 1951 Mercury Parts/ Reproduction Parts List: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331564 How are everyone's Mercury projects coming along?: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=379656 HAMB Merc Club! who's in?????: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308494
My 49 does is air bagged all the way around, but it still have the factory front suspension. It rides like a dream. I would keep it if at all possible. The money it will cost to put an aftermarket in it you could rebuild yours totally and put cash towards an air ride system if you wanted it. Just my opinion though.
thanks for all the info/help guys! looks like stock front suspension is the ticket as i was wanting to keep the original steering wheel/column anyway. does any one have any info on dropped uprights? or can they be flipped? a static drop in the front and bags in the rear might be the best bet.-Brian
My '51 has the stock front suspension with Fatman dropped spindles and original springs. It's all rebuilt and rides real nice. Go stock. Fenton headers on the flat head clear the steering box.
I thought the Fatman dropped uprights and steering arms were pretty nice. If I recall, There are how to's on here on how to flip the uprights and heat up and bend the steering arms.
89-93 crown vic fits real nice and will keep it ford 5lug....stock fronts ride great on mercs,but at 90mph its not as tight as newer stuff....if your going stock motor,trans,rearend ect..use stock front sus. and no bags....but if you want modern upgrades like bags, new suspension works soo much better...im building one as we speak....51 merc with 91 crown vic frame and drive train..im going to bag it just so i can ride low through town and stock on the hwy...pm me, ill help any i can...
Won't flipping the stock uprights cause a problem with sway bar mounting? It would move the mounting location all the way to the top of the upright.
Did this to mine as well. i found this pic on some other post here. Although, i welded mine all the way around. really simple to do actually, and it gets it down nice. i also used jamco front springs with this set up. i'll be ordering the fatman spindles to go along with the whole combo.
It does shift them up a little, I dont remember if I bent mine or it all cleared.(sway bar) I cheaped out, all stock, flipped the stocks side to side. I heated and bent the uprights to get my kingpin inclination back. I bent the steering arms for bump...stock brakes, etc. It rides good. I dont know if the fatman upright keeps the spindle height the the same. My frame was good, I just didnt have the heart to cut it up.
Here is the complete Fatman suspension package installed on my 51 Merc. It includes, disc brake package, dropped uprights, and anti-bumpsteer package. Your Merc spindles must be machined. I also rebuilt the stock Merc A-arms and spindle bushings,etc while I had it all apart. It was not cheap,but it's worth it as the steering geometry is not altered. There is also another kit on the market that does not require machining your Merc spindles. Can't recall who sells it right now. As I recall, I spent about $1200 total for rebuilding the front suspension and the Fatman kit. My labor not included. Then, after all that.......I subframed it because a hemi wouldn't fit. Doing this stuff always costs more than you think, so do your homework.
My 51 Merc has a Fatman Fab front clip. I think that EXK is also marketing a front clip for Mercs. Search the HAMB for Pro Stock John's thread about Merc parts. It is a wealth of info on who supplies what for everything Merc. The thread will be helpful if you plan to rebuild your stock chassis.
I'd think that the Crown Vic front end would be several inches too wide for a Merc. Back to the original question in post one. I ran a rear steer Nova subframe under my 51 Merc for several years with good results. The car had a 350 Olds under the hood then. We cut the stock frame just behind the stock front crossmember and slid the Nova subframe in and trimmed the back ends of the subframe so that we could weld them to the Mercury X member. The stock Merc core support even bolted up to the front cross piece of the subframe by drilling two holes and making a couple of thin rubber spacers out of tire sidewalls. Here it was with full height springs in the Nova stub and two inch blocks in the rear. I did it because everything that can wear out on the Merc suspension and brakes was worn out or damaged. Right down to the coils that had been heated in the 50's and had one of them broken. The car now has a 75 Monte Carlo frame under it that is stretched just a bit and runs a 455 Olds when the current keeper pulls it out of it's cozy garage.
fat man droped up writes and steering arms cut coils or droped coils or slam bags and cups we sell the fatman stuff and bags thanxs alex
The bars lowering the spring perch, it's mega easy and I've done it a billion times. Just if you are somewhat limited to tools or space dump the tie rod out of the way, take the wheel off and you have all the room in the world. These things have nice suspensions in them. I decided to do a frameswap on mine as mine was rotted so bad the frame was toast, likely decades ago. I have never installed dropped uprights, nor swapped mine...I have a spare frame here I want to do it to, but from what I have seen it's A. a lot of work, and B. you have to fiddle with it to get the wheels straight again. I would imagine flipping them will get it lower though, from what I have seen only.
Did the same thing on my car with the aerostar front springs, I think my car came down right at 4.5" total and has nice travel, lots of clearance so I am really happy with it. Jim
Here are a few pictures of my front end set up. It includes dropped uprights, approximately 2.5", Aerostar coil springs/shocks, which are another 2.5" drop, plus 1" lowering blocks. As it sits, there isn't an engine in it. It should be in a week or two. The Aerostar coils seem just a little bit short, so I may need to remove the lowering blocks. I'm waiting until the weight of the engine is in there to determine if the 1" blocks go or stay. I haven't started a build thread yet.
Will there be room for a 283 sbc/th350 with the stock steering box? Its gonna be the family car so it has to be an auto for her to drive it.
I flipped the spindles on my last 51. You do need to heat and bend them to correct for camber change. I found the article in an old Custom cars annual(1955) that gave me all the info I needed. I did buy a set of the bolt on steering arms from Fatman as opposed to cutting and lengthening the stock arms (which is what they did in the 50's). Rode like stock, and steering was as good as it ever was. And it sat nice and low.
I worked at Extreme Kustoms for some time. Rick has stock A arms that have been retro-fitted with ball joints and uses dropped camaro spindles so you can have disk brakes. Best of both worlds! Rick has also used that set up with airbags which to me is the best suspension combination in my opinion. We have installed many camaro clips that work very well to. Also depends on your motor setup.
I can give you all the info from the article. Tried scanning it ,but no such luck. Basically you flip the uprights side for side, take 6 degrees out of the bend and swap the upper/lower bushing assemblies. Let me know if you want all the info.
Anybody have any info on a disc brake conversion using Fatmans uprights and arms on factory spindles other than the one they offer (requires machining of the spindles)?
do i need dropped spindles if im going to be bagging the front? Im not looking at laying the frame. I will add the 1 inch or so blocks as in the first pic on this page. just wondering if adding bags in place of the coils will lower it at all? thanks
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