Dan,
Thanks for the note, AND the correction. You're right. The Mustang II is the
front suspension unit I intend to use. Your comments about the two are exactly
right. Thanks for the encouragement & for pointing out my mistake.
Now, if I just had a guardian angel to tap me on the shoulder like that every
time I make a mistake in my planning & building............. Ever think of
moving
to Wi?????
Thanks again,
Tom
DANMAS@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 98-11-29 23:13:28 EST, jantoms@vbe.com writes:
>
> "The plan right now calls for:
> (1) Mustang 5.0 front suspension allowing me the steering, suspension, & brake
> upgrades that I will need."
>
> Tom,
>
> Did you really mean to say "Mustang 5.0" or Mustang II? The M5.0 is not a
> good choice for what you are doing. It's a McPhearson strut type, which is not
> a good handling set up, and it would be very hard to adapt to the Spit. There
> are plenty of brake upgrades available, but most of the available suspension
> and steering mods would only be usable in the M5.0 body (there is a kit
> available to convert the McP set-up to an un-equal A-arm type, but suitable
> only for the M5.0 chassis).
>
> The MII set-up, OTOH, is ideal for this application. It is more or less an un-
> equal A-arm type, and the complete suspension fastens to a removable
> crossmember, similar to the MGBs. You can unbolt the cross member, and the
> whole set-up comes out. There are at least 2 dozen companies marketing MII
> set-ups, ranging from kits to convert a stock set-up, to complete, hub-to-hub,
> full A-arm assemblies, either in paintable form, or polished stainless steel
> suitable for display in your living room. They are available in widths to suit
> a skinny model A on up to a fat '49 Ford. The lengths of the A-arms vary from
> application to application, so by shopping from vendor to vendor, you could
> come very close to the suspension set-up you need for your Spit. Most of the
> kits are true A-arm types, the perfect set-up for a well handling car.
>
> You can get set-ups that have the R&P in front of the crossmember or in back.
> Brakes are available from the stock 9" single pot caliper, all the way to 11"
> vented rotors with 4 pot calipers (if you have enough money, you can even get
> 13" rotors with 8 pot calipers! Yes, if you have to ask, you can't afford
> it). Spindles are available in stock ride heights or lowered 1, 2 or 3 inches.
> Spring rates are available for a light weight model A to a heavy '49 Buick -
> painted or chromed. Kits are available with a complete bolt-in crossmember, or
> in pieces that allow you to weld to your own chassis set-up.
>
> Check out Street Rodder magazine for vendor ads. You have subscribed, haven't
> you? I can't emphasis enough how valuable that magazine will be as you get
> into your project.
>
> (2) After talking to a couple engineers with the T-5 builders, the tranny may
> be
> changing to the Tremac 5-speed.
>
> Good choice for what you are building and the use you plan for it. For mine,
> it was borderline. I don't plan any competition usage, so I can get by with
> the World Class T5. The Tremec will cost about $100 more, and it requires a
> special bell housing, which runs about $150 more than the standard BH. The
> Tremec is a little bit larger, so this may give you some problems. BTW, Borg-
> Warner no longer makes the T5 - they sold the rights and tooling to Tremec.
> When I got my T5, I was quite surprised to see "Tremec" cast into the housing.
> That was before the announcement of the change had been made public.
>
> (3) Either a ford 9" with Jag axles, a similar setup with the Mopar 8 3/4",
> or ,
> I will be looking into a couple good suggestions made Ted Schumacher.
>
> Good choice, and these are also readily available. At least three or four
> companies offer them. They can be had to handle 1000 HP or more, so you should
> never ever break one! There is a mind-boggling choice of ratios for the Ford
> 9 inch - from 2.something to 6.something. You wanta go to Bonneville or to the
> dragstrip? Your choice, and you can change your mind with about an hours worth
> of work (30 minutes with practice).
>
> (4) Everything will be layed out as best I can on autocad before starting
> anything. By doing this I hope to determine exactly what parts will work &
> what
> must be planned for.
> Obviously, these plans will have to be modified / improved / developed, as the
> car
> is built.
>
> For sure! Yesterday, I made my 4th bracket for the gas pedal (believe it or
> not, this has given me about as much trouble as anything else). I'm confident
> that the 5th will be the one I use!
>
> (5) Using a fiberglass bonnet (& deck lid) will avoid trashing one someone
> could
> use to restore a "real" spitfire. (Does anyone remember who on the list is
> able
> to build these????? I have lost that piece of E-mail. .... therefor the
> dedicated
> zip disk)
> (6) This brings the body tub in as the only "real" restorable piece of
> spitfire I
> will be using, and will also be one of the last to be "built".
>
> "Hopefully, this will be accepted by the triumph masses, as something I wanted
> to
> build. I want it to look like a spitfire. I want it to "blow away" a lot of
> the
> competition that thought a Triumph would never pass them. I want to stay
> within
> the British Leyland / Ford marriage that has existed for years. I want to go
> fast."
>
> In spite of all the discussion this topic generates on the list, I have found
> LBCers to be a very open minded lot. Most people I talk to, even the most
> purist of the bunch, fully accept what I am doing, and have an interest in it.
> To be honest, the Street Rod crowd is MUCH more narrow minded the the LBCers.
> Just show up some time at a strret rod event with a 1950 car (the cut-off date
> for street rods is 1949). It can literally cause fist fights to break out! ( I
> don't want to leave the wrong impression, though - most street rod folks are
> OK)
>
> "I acknowledge that financing will be
> one of the major hurdles, but even if delay is necessary, I refuse to cut
> corners
> to make it cheaper. Its my neck on the line when I drive it & I also plan to
> build another later."
>
> I agree with you on all acounts. If anything is done wrong on my car, it will
> be out of ignorance, rather than from a rush to get it done. In my mind,
> "doing it" is more fun than "having done it," so there is no reason not to do
> it to the best of my ability.
>
> Please keep us posted as you progress, I will be following your build up with
> the greatest of interest.
>
> Dan Masters,
> Alcoa, TN
>
> '71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
> '71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
> http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/index.html
> '74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition - slated for a V8 soon
> '68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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