dropped axle vs MII suspension and more questions

[47AD]

I know this has probably been beaten to death before but before I take my 47AD apart, I'm trying to get over the major decision on the suspension. For those who have had the chance to experience both the solid axle with leaf springs and the MII suspension how is the ride of each?

My thought process is considering a 3"dropped axle with new stock height leaf springs from either Eaton or Posie's to keep a more vintage theme, add power steering and front disc brakes. With this setup I can do the majority of the work myself and keep my costs down some. Eaton Springs Co claims you can make a leaf spring front end ride almost as good as IFS but I have my doubts.

If I do the MII, the costs go up as I will need to have it welded in as I do not want to go the bolt-in route. I received one quote already and to have the MII welded in along with the motor mounts was about $1,500.00. This also included taking the front leaf springs and hanger brackets off and clearancing the firewall for the engine if needed. That seems a bit pricey, but what do I know?

I have not made a decision on the transmission yet on automatic or manual. My original thought was to go manual with Hydraulic clutch and power brakes but I also realize the automatic is probably easier.

I was going to use a vintage small block 265 V8 that my grandfather had used in a 47AD he had long ago. It's the same exact engine and I thought would go well in a vintage theme truck if I go that route. I know there are better engine choices but since I still have the engine, thought keeping a little history alive would be good.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

[Highsider]

Here is some reading:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=303588

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=622685

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=609177

[NEWFISHER]

I run straight axles because I like the old truck feel and like you, dont want to convert it myself. I run new 8 leaf packs front and rear. Both have og spring seats. The 50 has KYB shocks and the 46 runs knee action oldies. Both ride great but the 50 handles a little better.

[yossarian19]

Since you have a '47, you have the option of bolting in a C10 front suspension. I know you aren't excited about bolt-in but this is how Chevy did it, which is a darned good recommendation in my book. OEMs don't half-ass the attachment of their front end. I would *definitely* go C10 instead of Mustang II. It's heavier duty / rated for more weight, has tons of aftermarket support & you can adjust the width as needed with different control arms, etc.
I stayed with the stock front axle on my '57 and just knocked in new king pins, put roller bearings & disc brakes on it, then added power steering. I'm not 100% thrilled with my power steering kit (I got one from Speedway made by CPP) but it does all work and it wasn't hard to do.
You definitely *can* make a solid axle ride smooth. As late as 2004 Jeep was making the Grand Cherokee this way. That was with coil springs & big cushy bushings, though. I have my doubts that brass / bronze bushings & leaf springs can accomplish the same trick. Leaf spring liner & high end shocks will get you closer, though.

[mr48chev]

Newfisher puts the miles on his rigs too. You can get them to ride good with effort but If you replace the springs, have the axle dropped and upgrade to disk and power steering I don't think you will come in many dollars under the basic MII swap.

Personally I don't see a thing wrong with the bolt in MII crossmembers that are offered. A guy can install one in a few hours with nothing more than a hand full of wrenches and a 1/2 inch drill and a tape measure. When RB was still selling truck parts and in the Northwest they had one on display at Goodguys that looked like a real problem solver. The only downsides are that they are a tad bulky and a little more expensive than a basic weld in unit. Then you still have to buy the A frames, spindles, brakes and steering rack and donor rigs are getting hard to find in wrecking yards so new is the usual way to go.

[Coach529]

I have a Sid's dropped axle in my 1949. It rides rough, but I have sacked out stock springs and it is real low.

I think the key thing to know is, if you are doing the solid axle because it will be cheaper than the IFS, it does not pencil out. By the time you replace springs, shackles, king pins......all the drop axle associated stuff, plus a disc brake update you are very close to a cheaper IFS set up.

Not swaying one way or another........

[Russell Ashley]

You could always do like I did, spend over $1K on disk brakes, p/s, king pins, and spring bushings. Put less than a thousand miles on it before deciding you are never going to be satisfied with it, sell the stuff for 34 cents on the dollar, and get the after market suspension that you knew you wanted all along.

[MARTINSR]

I have to ask again, "What are your expectations?" "What do you plan on doing with the truck?"

Personally, dropped axle, the drum brakes and the non-power. I have to say, these trucks don't need power steering in my opinion, I drove thousands of miles with it, never even crossed my mind to add power. It's not like a 68 Camaro without power, the truck was designed from day one without it and the leverage you get with a larger steering wheel, it just isn't needed. Now, if I lived in down town San Fran and had to parallel park all the time I would put power, but for driving around where I live, no way.

On the discs, yeah, they are nice but again, drove thousand of miles without them and they did the job.

I drive a car every single day to work and around town without power steering and stop with drum brakes, it WORKS they worked on every car on the highway for darn near 70 years, leave more room and you don't need them, it's that simple.

I butchered up my original I beam set up and it drove like crap. I took leafs out to lower it, all worn out, it didn't drive well. So I put a Camaro clip.....before I even drove it I drove a friend's truck with a dropped axle and nice springs and it drove so nice I sold the Camaro clipped frame and bought everything to put the I beam. However now the "Theme" of the truck is different so I got a 49-54 Passenger car bolt in IFS for it.

The question has to be asked again, "What are your expectations"? I personally LOVE driving my old car everyday, it DOESN'T have all the modern stuff and THAT is exactly why I like driving it, I can feel the road, in my hands when I steer I can FEEL it, that is why I drive it.

Putting that 265 in it is so damn cool it's crazy. The very same motor your grand dad had in his, that is CRAZY cool! My brother has done that with a number of his cars over the years, used parts from his first car in them. His son has a traditional chopped and channeled 46 Ford pickup with the same rear end that was in our fathers 55 F-100 my dad bought in '66 and that both my brother and I drove to highschool back in the seventies. I just saw it the other day and seeing that rear end in there is just cool as can be.

Really think about what you expect to DO with this truck, lot's of highway miles, drive around town everyday, leave it in a garage for shows in the summer, what are you doing to do with it, what are your expectations?

Brian

[47AD]

Thank you very much for the feed back so far. Decisions, decisions......

My plan for the truck is to be a daily driver. I never really haul much and if I do I have a utility trailer that is used for that. I'll be redoing everything on it and start from the frame up. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time deciding the best way to go.

I plan to start disassembling my truck in about a month. I'm actually planning my vacation around this so work won't interrupt me.

Dan

[SHORTDOG99]

I'm actually in the same boat as you, in that I want to keep my costs relatively low because I am on a budget so I am leaning towards a dropped axle & modified steering arms from http://www.droppedaxles.com/ and a power steering and disc brake set up from http://www.classicperform.com/ and a new dropped leaf spring pack from http://atlassuspension.com/ ......of course I am putting it all in a Task Force 57 GMC and I will drive it like that till I can eventually afford to go all Porterbuilt.

[Iceburgh]

I have had both and also a Camaro clip on my current truck.
I would not want or feel comfortable with a drop axel and stock suspension.
Mustang II and Camaro are both great for daily drivers.
Only draw back to Camaro is they are wide and you are limited to the wheel/tire combo or go with short control arms that will set you back a few bucks.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

On the discs, yeah, they are nice but again, drove thousand of miles without them and they did the job.

i am usually in agreement with martinsr, but i've also driven many thousands of miles with only AM radio and would never go back
imo... mustII is your most economical way to get driveability out of an old truck
i can appreciate old school straight axles if you stay local

many 100,000 miles on straight axle trucks and 24,000 mile on truk w/ifs, i would never go back

[NEWFISHER]

Wife and I just made a 2400 mile trip to Southern Cali in the 50 burb TOWING a camp trailer, no radio, no A/C, no cloth seats. I drove it back and forth to work 70 miles the next day.

We have a new Tahoe, a 2005 crew Chevy, a 97 1 ton 4x crew dually and a 87 4runner on 37s. They each have their up's and down's, but I enjoy driving the straight axle rigs the most (excluding the rock crawler). My point is that it's a VERY personal decision and If it was me making it, I would plant my backside behind the wheel of a couple rigs that had IFS swaps and see what the hype is all about or if you loose the old truck feel if thats your concearn. As mentioned , they both pencil out close when you add up everything to do a straight axle the correct way.

[Highsider]

Mine rides so sweet and tracks straight, when you let go of the wheel.
MII, rack and pinion steering, front discs.
I have a rough riding RV and really enjoy driving my panel.
So smooth!

[Get Down]

I like this guys honesty, nothing like keeping it real. I'm in the same bout as the op and still haven't made up my mind but I' m leaning toward the IFS thanks for your honesty!

[Hampshire]

Putting that 265 in it is so damn cool it's crazy.

Had my hands on a 55 chev with a lightly modded 265 back in the day (60's) so I have to say...absolutely!..great idea!

& in keeping with the spirit, hopefully you will put something with a clutch behind it.....

[kentukblue]

47AD, this seems like the big question all of us starting projects have. Just beginning our 51' project. I think our budget is better than what we originally planned so I am a little more easy with our decision to go the Mustang II route. We might even step up to a designed IFS since the prices between the two kits are getting nominal.

I like your vision for a truck that is still mostly truck. Ours was so nice upon purchase we considered a full restoration with the thriftmaster but the closer I look the more I realize an "original" truck also means an original ride and original performance.

To each his own...and you might be in a sweet spot there with your plans.

My thread with similiar questions here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...archid=4393152

[47AD]

Lots of good feedback here and it's much appreciated. It is nice to hear that my original idea on the dropped axle with the 265 V8 didn't seem so strange. If I go that route it will definitely be with a manual shift trans and to be a bit different I might add a hydraulic clutch along with the power brakes. How's that for new and old together? One of the negatives for me on the solid axle is dealing with power steering. Probably don't need it but would like it. I never have cared for the idea of moving the stock steering box over to make room for the exhaust manifold and I know about the power steering conversion that mounts the steering box on the forward front of the left frame rail. I just haven't read much feedback on how good or bad that steering system works.

Yesterday I spoke with 2 other shops about the labor costs of installing a weld in MII based suspension with engine and trans mounts. That $1,500 I was originally quoted seems to be the going rate just about everywhere.

Dan

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan, I can relate. I keep vacillating (as guys here are sick of hearing about!) between ifs and an MII type setup including C4 ifs. My issue isn't so much doing it as it is that I have a 100 ft. long driveway with a boat and jet skis behind my gate. I can't block them in and I can't have a non running derelict in the driveway so I've strongly considered doing Posies Super Slider springs with/without a dropped axle along with power steering because I already bought the CPP disc brake kit and dual MC. OR, I've considered finding a shop to do it but have not investigated actual cost. Thanks for the $1500 info. Since we're both SoCal guys that's likely an accurate estimate here too. Have you contacted No Limit Engineering in Riverside? I read somewhere you can get their wide ride system installed on a drive-in-drive out basis for about $5k total.

[47AD]

I have looked at No Limit's website but have not directly contacted them yet. If I get a chance tomorrow, I will call them and see what I can find out. As NEWFISHER said, it would be ideal to have 1 of each setup installed in a similar truck to feel what the difference would be like.
I will also try calling Eaton Detroit Spring tomorrow as I have several questions for them on their leaf spring sets.
At least I'm not in a position where I have to make up my mind in the next day or two. I keep readin' and lookin' at all the builds on here and I am looking forward to getting this project started, whichever way I go with it.

Dan

[zenchal26]

Drop axle mono springs drum brakes no power steering. Rides nice steers and stops fine. Can only go so low with the setup. Once it's in the budget for bags I'll swap it over to ifs and 4 link but till then I like it

[sqrlnts]

4" CPP drop axle, 3 leafs in front, Sid reworked steering arms, tapered roller bearings, drum brakes.

It rides fairly straight but we have VERY smooth roads here. If you want it low and will drive rough roads I would do a different (not solid axle drop) route.

If I had to do it again, I would clip a front Nova/Camaro subframe for about the same money.

[Highsider]

Oh, don't get me started on rough roads!
The midwest must be too poor to fix the roads!
Just try to choose the shallowest pothole, if it's too big to straddle.

[1948GMC]

I personally have both haven't driven my MII yet but I know with handling it is amazing because I have ridden in one and it is very sporty when u have it set up right. The solid axle is great but not so great for rough roads. I have done my searching and was playing with 3 ideas: s10 swap, MII, and dropped axle.

[Rude Dude]

I have had a 1950, 1955 and 1957 with straight axles both dropped and originals set up right they ride good. But you can't beats IFS for smooth and comfort. Just depends on your budget and living in Cali roads are pretty good.