OK, I don't think this has been asked before - atleast not that I could find by searching...

Is there a difference between an after market Mustang II front suspension/steering and an original one?

I know about the metal thickness difference, but I am speaking more about the set up.

I complete hub to hub kit for bags will cost me about $2000. I can get a complete front end off a Mustang II at a local junk yard for about $100. If they are the same in design, I can take measurements off the crossmember and have a friend of mine cut the pieces out of 1/4" steel and fabricate a new one. I can then take all the components off the original (steering components) and apply them to the new piece that I just made.

This will give me strength and durability.

I can then add after market tubular a-arms with bag brackets.......

Anyone have knowledge on this?

Yes this topic has bee covered in PAINFUL detail many times on the board. Short answer is the stock x-member is easily adapted to most frames. I sent you an e-mail with a couple of detailed tech articles on doing the installation.

Philosophical answer as to which is better goes on for pages. I am a proponent of using the stock x-member and supporting equipment for safety and cost reasons. You can do a very nice looking installation (see the multiple prize winning job we did on a '42 Willys pickup by double clicking on my avatar and browsing thru my photo album). There have been members on this board who have posted pictures of catastrophic failures of some well known supplier's x-member due to fatigue cracking from poor mechanical design. I have seen MANY poorly done installations at rod shows with cracked strut rod support welds that were bound to cause catastrophic failure soon.

However if you are after the barely-there, tubular A-arm/no strut rod look, you need to go aftermarket. Just be sure to get one that has a sound mechanical design with no sever stress risers in highly stressed points in the system. A graduate mechanical engineer could easily spot the fatal design flaws in the ones I mentioned above. Also get the manufacturer's WRITTEN guarantee that the unit is designed for your weight and style of car and follow their recommendations religiously.

Thats the basic reverse engineering that all the aftermarket guys did. You better be good at measuring and remeasuring to ensure you have the geometry close enough to align the frontend once fabricated and installed.

Trees