Hi all, I pretty new to hotrod buildin' and am not sure of how much to beef up the frame and suspension on a 28 model A to hold a 454. I figured boxing the frame and crossmembers to stiffen the frame up but I'm not sure about the front suspension upgrades. It has a '74 Mustang II front end on it now, I fugured that would have to go, but I'm not sure what to use instead. Any help and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Yes, you will need to beef up the frame substantially. You will have to weld nuts or install nutserts where all the body mounts currently are. Then box chassis the entire length except the frame horns. I used 3/16" cold rolled in my chassis. Then install a '32 front cross member, fab or buy a new trans cross member and rear cross member. Then of course, all the other misc. mounts. The Model A chassis's are so narrow it's nearly impossible to put a K-member in. My chassis now is pretty stout. I can jack up from underneath the front 4 bar mount and lift the whole side of the car. As far as front suspension, there are two options, a dropped axle or Mustang 2 that you have now. If you want a clean look with the Mustang 2 up front, get a Heidt front cross member. Good luck and keep us posted. One final thought, you could buy a new chassis with all that work done for you...bolt on and go...
Well I guess that opens the discussion to opinion. First of all, an 87 or so year old frame is, IMO, not a candidate for the kind of torque that a 454 will develop. I don't care if it's in primo appearing condition. It's a riveted frame, been subjected to the crappy roads that existed up to the '60's in the USA and maybe a few accidents to warp things. It has, from the factory many, many holes, all of which are the beginnings of cracks and probably already have some. The original engine had a whopping 40 horsepower, there were 4 skinny tires with almost no traction to put back to the chassis. Yeah, boxing will add a significant amount of strength but even that strength is suspect if you or a QUALIFIED welder don't take precautions. There are several aftermarket chassis that, by the time you are done with the OEM overhaul, will end up less expensive in terms of time and material. Now, you mention a Mll suspension - the originals needed radius rods to the frame while most of the well engineered after market versions will not. Then there is the quality of the installation, especially if what you are using is someone elses project.
I know, I'm throwing water on your project but it's in a positive manner - I/we here don't like seeing projects like this get abandoned or trashed when a builder gets discouraged with the time, expense and frustration overwhelm.
This is a TCI '28-'31 IFS chassis - I did the high end route .... but it could be done in a similar manner without all of the chrome and stainless and been just as useful.
You don't say which body you are using. Old fords were built cheap, and used quite a bit of wood. Irelands child's roadster has a lot of steel tubing bracing added, Something I plan on doing to my 28 roadster. Years ago I used 2 model T frames to build a boxed frame with the roundes edges. Lots and lots of cutting, welding and grinding. You can build your own frame, buying new tubing frame rails, the stock A or 32 U shaped crossmembers don't tie the rails together yery strong. Mustang II suspensions require bumps in the fenders to clear the upper A arms. I plan on selling my old chassis to someone to build a rat rod and build a brand new chassis .
speedway has them http://www.speedwaymotors.com/1928-31-Ford-Model-A-Frame-Rails,61993.html
I appreciate the feedback, after the info I think I have a decision to make about going on with the 454 and trying to get a new built up frame or maybe going with a 350 and doing the boxing and cross members myself. I am going to put a original '28 coupe body on it so I will have to tube the inside of that to stiffen it up as well. Thank you guys for the feedback I will get back to you all when I make that decision. Have a good weekend.
Building chassis is not too hard. It's all about measuring twice & cutting once. I managed to build my hot rod without much out of pocket expense. Lots of wheeling and dealing. Bought a 86 Corvette, keep what I wanted and sold the rest paying off the original price of the car and making a tidy profit for additional parts. I even designed and built my own chassis using the C4 Corvette suspension. Check out my website at 1929fordhotrod.com . I have posted a complete set of measured drawings of my chassis for free download. There is also all kinds of diy info also to help with building a low cost but nice hot rod. Good luck with your build.
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