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Affordable IFS

This suspension was created for the ’28-33 GM, Ford, Mopar, and independent brand cars such as Huppmobile, Studebaker, Essex, and the ’33-37 International pick ups. Their fenders mount directly to the upper outer corner of the frame rails, and as such will not accept a Mustang II type IFS. The MII upper arms mount at 29" center to center, and will not clear these type fenders without major surgery. In addition, the front steer rack and pinion often gets in the way of the radiator splash pan.

Some companies persist in making a design we are convinced is seriously in error. They widen the track width, drop the upper arm mounting position, and use long outer tie rod ends to extend the rack for the widened track. All of these “fixes” defy the laws of Geometry, Mathematics, and good suspension design. You will experience tire to fender clearance problems due to the widened track, and bumpsteer related drivability issues created by the altered upper arm and steering pivot positions. You do see cars with these suspensions underneath them, usually with a bad wear pattern on the tires, or very skinny tires without enough traction for the bumpsteer to manifest itself. The drawing on page 18 will give you a short course on how all the suspension and steering pivots must line up in order to have a proper design.

On the other hand, there are some very nice, well designed coilover suspensions for these cars from our friendly competitors at Heidts and TCI. If you want chrome and stainless steel arms under your car, they are a good value. The problem is, they start at $2500 and go straight up from there! In fact, we didn’t see a need to improve the design, nor a way to cut cost significantly. There is however, a need for a front suspension that costs like a Mustang, but looks good with tubular control arms. Something better than a screwed up MII and less than the coilover units. We wanted to produce an “affordable” IFS (Independent Front Suspension) that fit right, drives right, and didn’t break the bank.

Our “Affordable IFS” fits that bill! We do use the MII spring and shock, along with our own TIG welded, SAE 1045 seamless tubular control arms, a urethane lower spring seat for smooth and quiet ride, along with a rear steer VW Rabbit rack for splash pan clearance. The rear rack and tubular arms provide a clean appearance under the fenders. Dropped spindles are standard, and put the center of the wheel 1" above the bottom of the frame for a nice drop. In fact, the first one we did was patterned after the stance of a ’32 Ford with a 4" dropped axle and reversed eye spring. A choice of Ford 4½" bolt circle or Chevy 4¾" pattern rotors lets you match the front brakes to the rear axle you decide to use.

We do not offer a front sway bar since these vehicles typically have the engine far enough behind the front axle centerline that you will have more than half the total vehicle weight on the rear axle. That prevents the understeer a front sway bar would be used to cure. We do recommend a rear sway bar into your build plan, since the rear weight bias and high center of gravity will tend to create body roll and oversteer.

There are a few details worth noting on some specific applications. The Model A Fords will need the fender brace relocated about 1½" further forward on the frame in order to have the brace clear the upper control arm. This is easily done by simply drilling the frame and bending the brace. The ’32 Fords clear everything nicely as is, as also on the ’32-34 Ford Pickups. The ’33-34 cars really work better with a 2" narrowed MII kit, while the pick up with it’s different fenders must use this design. The same fender style was used on the ’33-37 International pick up, so this design fits well on those trucks.

The ’27 and earlier GM cars are simply too narrow for any IFS, and are best limited to a narrow axle set up. The ’28-33 Chevy and Pontiac cars accept this front end very nicely. The same goes for the small series Buick and Olds up to ’32, while the larger cars need to use our “Classic IFS” — an enlarged version — on the next page.

Mopars in this vintage vary widely in their frame dimensions and fender braces. Most mount the fender brace right on the axle center line, on the outside of the frame. That position will be occupied by your new suspension and will require modifying the brace. We suggest making a small ¼" steel plate that bolts to the top inner edge of our shock tower, and then trimming and welding the brace to this new mounting position. The fenders should be installed while doing this in order to proper position the brace.

On all applications other than the Fords and Chevys, we ask you to follow the diagram on the bottom of the web and catalog page. Our weld fixture is set up with an adjustable frame rails which we will use to match to the dimensions you supply. That makes the fit as good as if we had your car in our own shop!