Much like the advent of hydraulic, or “juice” brakes, became an industry standard, so has independent front suspension (IFS). You’ll find IFS on just about every production car and light duty truck sold in America due to its inherent improvement in ride quality, handling, and the ability to provide better control at higher road speeds. These updates are what can turn a long drive at highway speed in your ’37-’48 Chevy hot rod from sketchy to serene simply by replacing the outdated IFS suspension and its kingpins and unique upper control arm/knee action shock absorber amalgamation for a well-engineered weld-in IFS solution utilizing the tried and true suspension geometry that debuted on the 1974 Mustang II.
While GM’s later IFS front suspension was an improvement over the previous Dubonnet “Knee-action-ride” setup, it isn’t without its own issues, including bulky control arm, spring, and shock packaging, along with an extremely large crossmember and rear steer configuration that is not conducive to later engine swaps. On top of that you’re limited in spring rate and shock choices for modern handling and the steering linkage setup with bushed kingpins creates some hair raising steering feel, or lack thereof, when you get up to highway speed. Of course, there is always the effect of alignment on a front suspension and sourcing the correct tie rods and end links for the front end to be aligned is no small chore on these suspensions.
Converting your ’37-’48 Chevy’s chassis to the Mustang II front suspension design with our crossmember kit brings you a whole different driving experience, one that will have you looking for any excuse to get out on the open road and take long trips to events you never attended before due to your Chevy’s poor handling at modern highway speeds. Beginning with our 7 gauge steel (that’s a full 3/16 of an inch thick) boxed Mustang 2 front suspension crossmember that is fully welded with extended vertical uprights we have designed in anti-dive geometry to our crossmember and spring towers. We even include frame boxing plates for increased strength. Suspension travel, which yields a better ride, is upwards of five inches with our IFS and aligning the IFS can be handled easily by any competent alignment shop. Rack-and-pinion steering provides a quick and crisp steering effort at any road speed, and we have designed our rack mounting tabs to not only be optimized to eliminate bump steer but lay the steering rack back at a 20 degree angle to facilitate a lower steering shaft angle. This helps with exhaust manifold/header and overall engine clearance. The mounts accept both 15-1/2-inch and 16-inch on center rack mount spacing for use with manual or power steering assemblies. Stock height Mustang II spindles will result in a typical 3-4-inch drop in ride height.
Lastly, upgrading to a weld-in IFS Mustang 2 front end kit greatly enhances your braking options with the ability to run the most basic disc brake package all the way up to serious multi-piston racing disc brakes. Track width is dependent upon the brake package you choose, usually adding up to 2-inches to the IFS, creating a 56-1/2-inch to 58-1/2-inch hub-to-hub width. We do offer 5/8-inch narrower and control arms if you need the clearance for larger wheel offsets or widths. As you can see, our crossmember is the perfect foundation for building the best Mustang II front suspension for your ’37-’48 Chevy car.
We understand that bolt-in suspension upgrades are easier for those that like to spin their own wrenches, but we designed our Mustang II crossmembers to be a weld-in solution to maintain their strength and integrity throughout the life of your ’37-’48 Chevy car. While we do encourage the use of a certified welder or chassis shop for installation, if you know your way around a measuring tape and have a MIG welder in your garage there’s really nothing stopping you from following our detailed instructions to fit and weld our Mustang II front suspension crossmember into your ’37-’48 Chevy car’s frame rails.
Welding our Mustang II suspension crossmember into place is a straightforward installation and can be handled in just a few short hours once the old front suspension and crossmember have been removed. If you are going to use stock-style lower Mustang 2 control arms you will need or our for installation. Note, lower control arm pivot tubes and gussets are not included, as they are typically included with tubular style lower control arm kits. We offer with and without disc brakes to help you complete your installation. Lastly, if using a power rack-and-pinion steering unit you will need our for proper clearance along with the corresponding .
Charts(PDF)
Installation TipsDrop: This varies and is dependent on application and options. Most kits drop the vehicle by 3-4". Drop spindles and running lower profile tires than stock also adds to the amount of drop that can be achieved. You can also fine tune your ride height with our Mustang II .
Track Width: You may want to mount custom wheels to your Mustang II conversion and determining proper track width for your application is essential for figuring correct backspacing and overall ride stance. Standard wheel base is 56-1/2" with a 60" version available for trucks. Narrowed arms are available to move the wheel in by 5/8" on each side. See our PDF for various track width options.
Assembly Notes: Either manual or power steering can be used with these crossmembers. The passenger side mount has a slot that will take the later model power rack. With all Mustang II aftermarket crossmembers, and must be used with the later (Fox-body) power rack.
Engine Mounts: We offer for most popular V8 engines, including SBC, LS, SBF, and early Hemi.
Note: Applications where the vehicle has fenders that mount directly on top of the frame, the fenders will require extensive modification to allow clearance for the upper cross member section.
Specs Material Type Steel Sold in Quantity Kit Finish Natural Notes Includes crossmember and spring towers. Requires welding. Material Thickness 0.19 Position Front Attachment Style Weld-on Crossmember Type Mustang II Crossmember Style Boxed Steering System Compatibility Manual/Power Rack and Pinion Control Arm Compatibility Tubular or Stock Material Gauge 7-gauge Ride Height (w/Stock Spindles) 3" to 4" Lowered Tie Rod Extensions Required No MFG. Part # 91034446-DLX ReviewsSummary: The fit was great. The instructions were very helpful
Yes, I recommend this product.
Summary: Cut the old out and install the new simple as that.
Yes, I recommend this product.
Summary: I purchased this crossmember to fit a 1941 Chevy Coupe with the original top hat style frame. The instructions are good and they get you in the area for axle centerline but before teardown you should document you current axle centerline and ever frame is slightly different. once i got it in place I was surprised how nicely it fit the frame. Be sure to prep the crossmember with a grinder along the edge before welding, it seems as if they bead blast it before shipping to give it that appearance of fresh raw steel without any tooling marks or heat discoloration.
Yes, I recommend this product.
Summary: no issues at all during the install
Yes, I recommend this product.
Summary: On a 47 Chevy coupe
Yes, I recommend this product.
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