AuthorTopic: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?  (Read 7192 times)

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Offline HDrider281

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Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« on: October 07, 2015, 03:21:00 AM »
I bought a project already started and I am at a loss on what year and make of front end came on this truck... I am finding that the info given to me about this truck is not right and I need to fix some issues... All of these pics are taken on the drivers side from each angle... a couple of notes... (PIC #2) the upper control arm makes contact with the brake caliper on both sides right at the top bolt for the caliper.   notice the rubber hose on the flexible brake line... it rubs the tire on both sides when I turn in the right direction... and the bleeders on both sides are located on the upper inside of the caliper making it difficult to access, the bleeder screw is literally under the upper control arm on both sides. I would like to look into makeingg some changes and it would help if I knew what I was starting with... I was originally told that this was a mustang II front but someone said it could be from a pinto... my drive train is supposed to be from a 86 blazer but the rear end is a late 60 early 70 BOP, trans is a th350 but I noticed the drive shaft also has paint pen from a junk yard that its from a firebird.
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Offline hotwheels

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2015, 08:14:37 AM »
Looks like a mustang II suspension. The torsion bar coming from the suspension to the frame from the backside is why I think it's a mustang II.
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Offline obama

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2015, 08:18:53 PM »
Looks like the spindles and brakes may be from a different car than the front control arms, I'll go with Hotwheels on the rest of it.

Offline Rubberhead

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2015, 08:57:24 PM »
Not a torsion bar hotwheels, but a radius arm; similar to what's on a Ford truck with twin I beams...

Offline just old

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2015, 01:16:37 PM »
i don't think it is a twin I beam from a ford . The spring tower is stationary on the I beam with no upper a arm ?

Offline hotwheels

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2015, 01:22:46 PM »
The 4 bolt ball joint is really throwing me off. Are there any numbers on the calipers? I think ford did mostly 2 and 3 bolt ball joints.
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Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2015, 12:05:46 AM »
d4 R and 15 L ... L and R I am assuming are left and right as that the side of the car they are on. nothing would surprise me as I go through this thing but so far I have been lucky enough to at least find things that will work. I had to tear down the front to re weld the radiator support  so I am making some changes while im there.

 So basically its a mustang II front end but has different spindles and brakes??? what year model should I look into or are all mustang ii fronts the same? can I change out just the upper control arm to a smaller dia at the ball joint or does it have to be done as a set of upper and lower?
« Last Edit: October 09, 2015, 12:08:45 AM by HDrider281 »
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Offline obama

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2015, 12:55:59 AM »
Most ball joints pop out, or are bolted in, but the replacement might only be the same size, got's ta match the spindle size.

Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2015, 03:22:26 AM »
what would this front end have likely been from? this truck is pieced together from everything... when I look for mustang ii control arms it shows me  a lot of aftermarket kits but can I change the control arms to this stock cross member without having to re weld a new one? or I need to change the calipers so they don't hit... and with a bleeder easier to access.
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Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2015, 10:42:56 PM »
I don't mean to beat this to death but 1 more thing... whoever built this truck obviously had access to a scrap yard. I am not an auto mechanic but I do work as an engineer so some of this might be conflicting on part of personal confidences... whoever built this thing had some skills IMO just seeing the way he put it together and it drives straight... I can tell that there are so many different donors for this project... this truck is built pretty basic so its easy to follow ... I also see some pretty bone headed shit he did that has me wondering ... thus part of the confidence issue...lol...  the guy I bought it from said he got it from another guy who started it... claims he did a bunch of work to it but I am finding that what he told me about it is way off... I think he bought it done and found a lot of the issues I am running into and just unloaded it... but the issue I am having is how different cars were built and the different year and makes I might find parts from... A trip to the auto parts store anymore is useless unless they can type in a year, make and model of vehicle, you might as well just ask them for a burger and fries ... you'll get the same response... the scrap yards around here have mostly late model vehicles... what should I be looking at for year and models for a mustang II front end? what are the issues I need to look for in trying to fit different parts together? I guess what I am asking are what are the tricks of the trade so I can avoid buying a bunch of shit that doesn't work?
If at 1st you dont succeed... destry all evidence that you tried

Offline hotwheels

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2015, 04:25:27 AM »
That front end is still puzzling. So far I can't find out what it is. I thought I was getting close at a 1985 impala front end, but the 4 bolt ball joint doesn't match, it's close.
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Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2015, 04:46:14 AM »
probably a stupid question but when you call this front end a "mustang II" this is a manufacturers name?  used on chevys ? and not from a ford mustang? ... ok stop laughing now and tell me... 
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Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2015, 05:22:08 AM »
Looking around I found a great pic of a bare front cut from a pinto... looks just like mine   74 -80 year models it looks like
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Offline hotwheels

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2015, 04:21:18 AM »
I looked at pinto images and couldn't find that 4 bolt ball joint. You found one that has the 4 bolts?
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Offline HDrider281

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2015, 12:55:17 AM »
with this truck there is no reason I shouldn't think there are at least 6 different cars just forward of the cowl...  I don't know where I stumbled across the exploded view of the front end I was looking at... I need to learn to save shit like that... lol ... anyway I will take and upload some better pics of the whole front end on this thing... the 1st pics were only of 1 side but I will take some of the full front...   the reason I say it looked like a 74 -80 pinto was that it showed the same steering rack, upper and lower control arms and strut mount (the short torsion bar on each side are shown to be called a strut mount but it appears to be just a brace... not 100% on that)  as I haven't taken anything loose but I do know that torsion bars are under a lot of strain so I am afraid to put a wrench on it. I also believe that the front tires need to be kicked out just a touch on the top control arm but the only adjust seems to be with shims and there are none left in there.
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Offline Ossablt

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #15 on: October 15, 2015, 09:39:52 PM »
Front end is a corvair with a GM disc conversion and a rack conversion...send me a pic of the rack and brake rotors and  I will try to identify.

Offline hotwheels

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this front end?
« Reply #16 on: October 18, 2015, 09:30:52 PM »
I just looked at pictures of the corvair upper a arms. He's right on the money. Has the same ball joint set up; 4 bolt.
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