Was switching to IFS worth it?

[la hi]

I am now driving the truck every day and the bouncing, rattle, and jolts are getting to me.

I have stock front end, leaf springs and coils over the shocks, a good sway bar to support the 454ci and a stock rear end with sway bar.

My question to all of you that converted to IFS--was it worth it?
Question 2 did you weld from an old car, or did you get a bolt in system?

thanks
larry

[mr48chev]

Larry I've driven them a lot of miles both ways. I put over 200K on my truck with an I beam under it and between I beams I put right at 100 K on it with a Camaro stub (I would not stub an AD truck again) . The subframed version drove and rode ten times better than the i beam version.

I've towed a 16 ft UHaul truck from Texas to Washington running the I beam and made an extended road trip to Bonneville and Plesanton with it under the truck. With the subframe I made road trips to Texas and Ogden Utah in a two year period.

I'm in the middle of a long term complete from bare frame rebuild and just picked up a Jag XJS front suspension from the early 80's for it that I will use this time. The going cost of a good one out of a wrecking yard is around 300 in most areas but you get almost everything you need and the wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface is 59-1/2 inches which is just at an inch wider than the stock surface to surface on the stock axle I have here to measure with. The other plus for me is that I don't have to cut the inner fenders or other sheet metal on the front to fit it on the truck.

That's not to knock a quality built aftermarket front end built by one of the better suspension builders. Some of them build some great stuff but my budget doesn't go far enough to spend four figures for a front suspension.

There are still some things you can do to get the I beam to ride better and that includes taking the spring packs apart and cleaning up the springs including smoothing out any gouges in the leaves from the spring below rubbing into them and putting some lube or teflon strips between the leaves. There is probably new stuff that works better than Teflon now. Add to that a pair or set of good Gas shocks and your ride should improve. Removing leaves to get the truck lower does not help the ride or handling one iota and with my experience with mine makes it a lot harder to keep going in the right direction.

[TNACUSTOM]

I drove mine all stock it sucked it was all over the road. I just painted one that had a Heidts coil over front end and it rides great. So I bought the same one for mine its not cheap but its a nice piece well worth it.

[47 Fasttoys]

I've done 2 AMC Pacer conversions and 3 Fatmans conversions. The Pacer was a good front end and very cheap, but replacement parts can no longer be found. The Fatmans are great but a little pricey. All of mine have been welded in. All that being said if you plan on driving it all the time IFS is the only way to go. Was it worth the upgrade? Yes, every time. When I look at building a truck I look at suspension, driving comfort and power in that order.
Just my 2 cents.
Rob

[solidaxel]

Don't forget to add power steering and make it a joy to drive!

[55dude]

i have driven stock ones, camaro clipped ones that were vast improvement and if you add trailing arms with coils in back they glide! i had solid and rubber mounted jaguar ifs and irs and in same vintage truck drive totally different.

[Sssingo]

Posies dual flex leaf springs with 3inch drop has sorted my ride right out on my F1. Saying that the 51 suburban is going Mustang II so I will report back :-)

[Daze57]

i agree with what is stated above - IFS all the way - your kidneys will thank you !

[bubba1955]

mr48chev...The Jag is an excellent choice for a truck. Built much more stout than any MMII kits. Are you planning to weld-in or soft mount with factory Jag bushings. Be advised you will have to make a small notch on the top of each side of the frame to clear the rear bushing area of the upper control arm. (See photo of weld in installation on a '57 Chevy P.U. frame. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...iw=585&bih=373

[Purcell69]

IFS is well worth the effort, no matter how you get there. I drove my '57 with the stock front axle, a PS and Disc Brake modified front axle, and eventually installed my own rebuilt Camaro front subframe. Once the Camaro clip was installed, i had no more issues with the truck being vague and drifting all over the place, and the ride was greatly improved. The only thing I did not like about it was the "nose in the weeds" stance. I wanted a pickup truck, not a low rider, but that's just my taste.

Right now I am switching my cab over to a shortend 1994 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd frame. When done, it will look like a pickup truck again and ride on front coil springs.

-Joe

[yossarian19]

It's probably not worth the effort, but I think you would see an improvement in ride quality w/ the I-beam by upgrading to springs with rubber bushings in them vs brass (or metal, anyway) bushings in the stock leaves.
Whenever practical, it's worth the few extra bucks to put in spring liners. They really help leaves work more smoothly.
Quality shocks, too.
I also noticed an improvement in ride quality using rubber bushings instead of poly in my sway bar, but this was on my Jeep Cherokee (still solid axle, though).

[Rambow]

Originally Posted by Purcell69

IFS is well worth the effort, no matter how you get there. I drove my '57 with the stock front axle, a PS and Disc Brake modified front axle, and eventually installed my own rebuilt Camaro front subframe. Once the Camaro clip was installed, i had no more issues with the truck being vague and drifting all over the place, and the ride was greatly improved. The only thing I did not like about it was the "nose in the weeds" stance. I wanted a pickup truck, not a low rider, but that's just my taste.

Right now I am switching my cab over to a shortend 1994 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd frame. When done, it will look like a pickup truck again and ride on front coil springs.

-Joe

I'm curious how much of that wander is due to with the suspension components and how much its due to a 60 year old steering box.

I've had a number of late 60 A-bodies that had terrible wander- all were fixed with new close ratio steering boxes- no other changes to suspension or steering.

Wonder if the same thing would help here... Does anyone make a "close ratio" box for these rigs?

[01spirit750]

Okay so I wanted to throw my opinion at this.

Really this is a question of personal choice (do you prefer blondes, brunettes or red heads?)

Anyway, I installed a 65 Chevelle clip in mine. My wife tells everyone how great it rides and drives. I am very happy with it and it drives great. The parts are available at any Billy Bobs parts house. I had limited finances and thought the Chevelle clip would be the cheapest. It was, but it also delayed my project due to various fitment issues.

I did mine back in the 90's when there was not a lot to choose from, Clip, MII or stock.

If I had to do mine today, I would go with one of the IFS crossmember kits (I really like the progressive corvette crossmember kits). I have a thing against MII but many people run them.

My aversion to cutting a stock frame is my main issue. Why cut when you can add a IFS crossmember.

[FarmerSid]

I agree with 01spirit750. That's why I went with this setup that is going to be installed in the factory frame.

[49bourbon]

I put a 69 nova clip under my 49 suburban due to the finances at the time. Bought the clip at swap meet for $200, rebuilt it for $200 , and paid a certified welder $ 100 to finish weld after I had it all tacked in. I upgraded the springs etc and been driving for couple years now with BB 454 under the hood with no issues. Just have to make sure all your measurements are accurate. That being said I have looked at the beefier kits that use dodge parts and may go that direction in the future. MMII kits always seemed light for these heavier trucks but lots of folks uses them successfully. SO at end of day IFS however you get there will upgrade the smile factor of your ride.

[Jbm1956]

Farmersid what crossmember setup is that???

[FarmerSid]

Jbm1956, It's my own with some help from Stockish.

[Jbm1956]

O wow thats nice. Ok you can do another for a 56 chevy pickup