[horvath]

Thanks a million, guys.

I will take pictures BEFORE the weekend hits and post 'em.

Alan

[Phat]

Common problem with the overweight guys stuff. I have cut more of his poorly designed stuff out than i can count. First off toss the stock stangII specs in the garbage...believe me on this i have way over 50 of these on the road in the last bunch of years. It has to have at least 6 degrees of castor with power steering (4 degrees with manual) and with radial tires .5 degress camber. Yep the steering will be a little heavy but the thing will drive correctly. You may also have to weld some tubing in from the crossmember to the top of the frame to stop frame twist. Its ashamed that his name is the biggest yet he sells the worst. Only fix...and you anit gonna like it. Cut the upper hats off and move them back. Alignment should be done at ride height with the upper hats tacked in ..never after the project is built. Alignment can be done on any level floor with a protractor and a little knowledge. Hell we do and alignment on a race car after a hit in about 5 min and it is a lot more critical than a street car. Go find a good shop to help you. Dampners and all the shocks and springs in the world wont help. It was installed wrong and now needs to be fixed. Post agin if you need help done lots and lots of em... What is the angle on the chassis front to rear?(rake) From your pix i think if you lower the rear a bit your gonna get more castor in the frontend..it just might be a quick fix for you. By the way i love your truck....i also have a 54 i drive the snout out of . Good luck bud.

[ February 25, 2003: Message edited by: Phat ]

[ February 25, 2003: Message edited by: Phat ]</p>

[horvath]

Ouch. That hurts.


Where are you located, bud? I'll pass this info on to my mechanic and see what he says. He thinks the shimmy has nothing to do with the front end at this point.

If you're right, I'm wondering what it would cost to take the FatMan out and put a different Mustang II front end in -- what's the one you would recommend as being the best?

Thanks.

[Phat]

You know your that far into it it can be fixed.(by a rab or rod shop not your local garage) I really would try to lower the back of the truck a little. Even maybe put some shorter junk tires on it to get it lower in the back.That has the same effect as putting caster in it. If it stops shimmy you know you need to rework the top spring perches to get more caster. Fixed a whole bunch of em that have shimmied and that most times the cause. How does the front tires look in the wheel well....the overweight guys measurement on install sometimes are way off and they look crummy not centered. If thats the case with yours i would say start over. Thats mostly when i go as far as to cut one out and start over. Most times i can just cut the top hats off ,clean em up and slide them back to get the caster correct . I also weld a square tube from the lower crossmember to the upper hat area if you have room.It stops frame twist. If you could e-mail or show a pix of the install could probably help a little more. I use Progressive out of Ohio(Bob is a real nice guy) Heidts or TCI. Even those i change around a little on diff applications. Diff weight motors. If the wife is gonna drive it. Raced or not raced. Its really up to the installer to help with the end product. The manufacture just gives you a good start. We go as far as scaling our cars/trucks and using a spring rater to get diff rides.Some people like a soft caddy ride other want a car that you can drive deep into a corner ...turn the wheel and come out like a vette.. Hope i helped a little and did not screw you up.

[ February 26, 2003: Message edited by: Phat ]</p>

[horvath]

Thanks again, Phat.

The rear springs have spacers in 'em ... plus the rear Cragar's are 15-inch (fronts are 14") -- I like the look, but I guess I'd be just as happy with it sitting "level."

The front tires sit real nice in the wheel well and, aside from the shimmy at 50+ mph, the truck drives and handles real nice.

I'll take pics of everything this weekend and post 'em here at Hotrodders.

Know of any Rod Shops in Central Jersey?

Alan

[horvath]

Okay ... I took 3 pictures today, of the right front wheel/Mustand II front end - I hope you can see something :

Photo 1:
AlanHorvath.com/54chevy/frontend2.jpg

Photo 3:
<a href="http://AlanHorvath.com/54chevy/frontend3.jpg]http://AlanHorvath.com/54chevy/frontend3.jpg[/URL]

Alan