Dear Welder Series…
Please see photos attached for references.
Photo #1 I have my ride height set. Spindle is 12″ and bottom of frame 12″.
Photo #2 Nose set on looking at tire clearance. All good. 56 1/2 hub to hub should be fine.
Photo #3 Nose off. The inside of frame that was for coils cut out. I have 26″ inside to inside just behind that where the frame is straight.
Photo #4 I will use 3 X 3 X 1/8 tubing (not the red piece) to join the two sections back together once I brace some more and then cut that outer piece of frame out that went around the coil. 3 X 3 is what the Jet frame measures where I will join it back together. IS THIS OK??? I will mark my spindle/wheelbase location and then locate the crossmember on that center line.
Photo #5 I marked the crossmember where it will fit up to the 3 X 3 frame section. That measures the 26″ inside to inside and 12″ to bottom. IS THAT OK???
Photo #6 Shows How the crossmember will fit to the 3 X 3 tube when installed. AM I OK??? The tube will be level front to rear. IS THAT OK?
Once I get this completed I need to move on to the upper A-arm mount. Your directions don’t really help me locate those to the frame and crossmember. I get the 4″ and 3″ measurements from Z. The directions are more for using stock frame rails not like what I am doing. Does that A arm mounting piece set on top of the new frame section? Is there a measurement between the left and right mounts? Do you have a photo? Same with the upper Coil over mounts.
Once I do this one time I can do the next ones easy!
Thanks in advance!
Joe
Dear Joe…
Hi, Joe.Thanks for the pictures and the questions.Having the bottom of the frame and the spindle height the same (12”) is great.Are you using stock (not dropped) MII spindles? You can use dropped spindles for more oil pan clearance but less ground clearance. In that case, the lines on crossmember and the upper towers should be 2” higher than for stock height spindles to keep the bottom of the frame at 12”.The 26” frame I.D. is good but the 3×3 tube will mean a 32″ frame O.D. and the springs won’t clear. 3×2 tubing would mean 30” O.D. and that would be ok.Your crossmember notch looks good for stock height MII spindles.From Photo #6: I believe the vertical dimension from the notch to the top of the “wing” is 3”. Why is there some crossmember “wing” showing higher than the top of the 3” tube?Regarding the upper towers, let me know what you decide to do about the 3×3 vs 3×2 tube and I’ll help with the cut lines.Or… consider this:The bottom edge of the upper towers is spindle height, in your case that’s also the bottom of the frame. The cut line for the top of the frame would be 3” above the bottom edge. This will give 4 degrees of anti-dive because the rear side of the tower is shorter than the front side.The “un-notched” tower vertical inside edges (the edges at right angles to the bottom edge) should be 26” apart. The cut lines for the outside of the frame are established by subtracting 26” from the frame O.D. and dividing that in half. If you use the 3×3 tubing, the frame will be 32” O.D. (26 + 3 + 3 = 32) Next do the subtraction and division. (32 – 26) / 2 = 3 This is sort of redundant because your frame rails are 26” inside (the same as the tower inside edge reference) and the tubes are each 3” wide. If you measure over 3” and up 3” you have the notch for the towers, both front and rear. I believe you’ll find the tubing has to be relieved for spring clearance. (Maybe even for upper arm clearance when the wheels are hanging, but maybe not…) You might feel reworking the 3×3 is the direction you want to go and that could work out fine.I hope this helps with your installation. You have a neat project. Thanks for using Welder Series parts.Paul Horton
Dear Welder Series…
Paul thanks for jumping in here and helping me out. I thought DW must have been away when he didn’t reply sooner. See all of my replies below!
Hi, Joe.
Thanks for the pictures and the questions.
Having the bottom of the frame and the spindle height the same (12”) is great.
Are you using stock (not dropped) MII spindles? YES and I also have 2 inch drop if I need them. You can use dropped spindles for more oil pan clearance but less ground clearance. In that case, the lines on crossmember and the upper towers should be 2” higher than for stock height spindles to keep the bottom of the frame at 12”. I should be OK with pan and ground clearance. I am using a 5.9 Magnum and 727.
The 26” frame I.D. is good but the 3×3 tube will mean a 32″ frame O.D. and the springs won’t clear. 3×2 tubing would mean 30” O.D. and that would be ok. I have a new piece of 3X2 I can use. I haven’t bought the coil overs yet. Thanks
Your crossmember notch looks good for stock height MII spindles. Great!
From Photo #6: I believe the vertical dimension from the notch to the top of the “wing” is 3”. Why is there some crossmember “wing” showing higher than the top of the 3” tube? That red tube was not 3 inch I just used it for the photos. The 3 inch will have that whole marked area cut out.
Regarding the upper towers, let me know what you decide to do about the 3×3 vs 3×2 tube and I’ll help with the cut lines. If I need the 3X2 to clear the coils then that is what I need to use or I could use the 3X3 and notch that tower area back to 2 to clear the coils. My frame stock frame is 3×3 is why I like that.
Or… consider this:
The bottom edge of the upper towers is spindle height, in your case that’s also the bottom of the frame. The cut line for the top of the frame would be 3” above the bottom edge. This will give 4 degrees of anti-dive because the rear side of the tower is shorter than the front side.
The “un-notched” tower vertical inside edges (the edges at right angles to the bottom edge) should be 26” apart. The cut lines for the outside of the frame are established by subtracting 26” from the frame O.D. and dividing that in half. If you use the 3×3 tubing, the frame will be 32” O.D. (26 + 3 + 3 = 32) Next do the subtraction and division. (32 – 26) / 2 = 3 This is sort of redundant because your frame rails are 26” inside (the same as the tower inside edge reference) and the tubes are each 3” wide. If you measure over 3” and up 3” you have the notch for the towers, both front and rear. I believe you’ll find the tubing has to be relieved for spring clearance. (Maybe even for upper arm clearance when the wheels are hanging, but maybe not…) You might feel reworking the 3×3 is the direction you want to go and that could work out fine. As above I could notch that tower area back to 2 inch and box it in. I think that might be stronger that using 2 inch and plating my 3 inch frame down to the 2 inch. What do you think? I can go either way.
I will go ahead and cut the rest of my frame away tomorrow and look at this all again. I didn’t want to cut before I talked to you guys. Measure three times, cut once!
I hope this helps with your installation. You have a neat project. Thanks for using Welder Series parts.
Between my son and I we have several more projects coning along so we will need more parts as we go. I will keep the photos coming as I go or have questions!
Dear Joe…Joe, using the 3” will probably be fine and it does look easier to connect in with the stock rails. You could even play with looking at what would have to be clearanced before committing to fully notching it to the 2”. I feel like you have experience with this type of thing.
Please get in touch if you want to bounce things off of DW or me.Paul
Dear Welder Series…
Thanks for the reply and help. I am going to work on using the 3″ tube and see how that will work out. I was thinking that maybe I could notch back to the 2″ where the towers fit and use the sides of them to help box the 3″ tube back in. I still don’t quite have those visualized on how they need to fit but once I get the crossmember tacked in place it may be easy. Do you have any photos of that? I also need to figure out the upper coil over brackets. Do you have any photos of that?
Thanks again!
Once I do one of these the rest will be easy!
Dear Joe…Joe, maybe the drawings at https://welderseries.company.site/Mustang-II-Crossmember-Kit-for-Coil-Overs-or-ShockWaves-p51209593 (the last two have dimensions) will help. Check uot the other pictures in that section.
I’m glad to try to help.Paul