Jeff:
Three years ago I put a F##d 9-inch rear and Art Morisson 4-link under the
back of my 56. Morrison installation instructions were excellent and very
helpful. Even though I bought the suspension at a swap meet, when I called
them for tech help they freely gave advice. My only problem was the
coil-overs. The suspension I bought had coilovers and springs set-up for
drag racing and their instructions told me to mount them inboard of the
frame rails in a vertical position (not angled). This resulted in a very
rough ride. The following year I purchased and installed a set of QA1
coilovers and repositioned them outside the frame rails at about a 10-12
degree angle and fabricated lower mounting brackets to the back of the 4-bar
brackets on the axle. I have some pictures of the suspension when finished
and can email them to you directly (let me know). Since then I've put
12,000 miles on the truck with no problems. Only other suggestion I have is
that before you weld-in the frame and axle brackets, measure, measure, and
measure again!! I spent three nights with several buddies that were good at
suspension work before I was satisfied everything lined-up O.K.
At the same time I put in a TCI IFS. Long story short, BUY FROM AN
AUTHORIZED VENDOR. I went the cheap route (bought off a local vendor) to
save a couple hundred bucks and I've had problems ever since. When I
contacted TCI for help, their first question was 'who did you buy it from'?
When I gave them the name of the vendor, they replied that person was not an
authorized agent, and may have bought the cross member and a few TCI parts
from them, but substituted cheap crap in some areas. For me it turned out
to be the springs. After sweating out several disassembly/reassemblies I
finally got smart and had the coils measured. Turned out they were the
wrong ones and when I called the original person I bought them from, he
suddenly forgot who I was and what he sold me. Second phone call he hung-up
and has refused to talk to me since. I ordered a new set of springs,
replaced all the ball joints (a preventative measure as the original springs
overstressed the original ones), and about $700.00 later had a front
suspension that works well and I can believe in. Bottom line, my problem
wasn't TCI, it was my belief that the local vendor used all TCI parts (which
wasn't the case). Whatever brand IFS you decide to use, check their
website, email them, or call the factory to find someone reputable selling
their products. Only other suggestion I would offer is consider going
coil-overs on the front. For a few extra bucks you have some adjustment
capability and a lot less mess to maintenance.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, just don't want to see someone learn the hard
way like I did. Good luck with your suspension work!!
Carl Ham
'56 Chevy Stepside Pickup
Hopewell, IL
>From: "Jeff Hall" <jhall@hallsheetmetal.com>
>Reply-To: "Jeff Hall" <jhall@hallsheetmetal.com>
>To: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
>Subject: [oletrucks] Chassis Mods
>Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 07:56:14 -0500
>
>Hello All
>
>I'm in the process of updating the front and rear suspension of my 58 short
>bed / stepside. I'm going with 4 link w/ a nine inch in the rear and either
>mustang 2 or IFS in the front. Considerations from suppliers are TCI,
>Heidts, and Morrison. Have any of you had good or bad experiences with any
>of these or other suppliers??
>
>Thanks in advance for your help
>
>Regards,
>Jeff
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