front suspention

[Guest Dave Claussen]

Ken, How did you notch the "c" in the frame- torch, cutting wheel, sawzall? None of the above?

[Ken_Hart]

To C notch the frame I used a 3" cutting wheel on my air grinder. Really basic but with a cutting wheel and a 4" mini grinder (to smooth the welds) it went pretty smooth. The kit came with the half round pieces which I sat inside the frame rail and traced with a silver pin (easier to see on a black frame). Then using a T square drew the lines under the bottom and started cutting those two lines first. I then proceeded to cut the half circle like a Pizza (straight cuts to the outer edge of the radius. When I had 3 or 4 cuts, I turned the cutting wheel sideways and cut between the radius points which resulted in a half circle cut out but not full round, using the grinding, I ground down some of the left over metal until it was round and matched the tracing. I set the half pipe in there and tack welded first, then did a finish weld followed by grinding the welds smooth.

[Guest Dave Claussen]

Ken, OK I understand exactly how you did it now. I have an air driven cutoff wheel tool and a 4' angle grinder so I should be able to achieve the same results. It looks really good the way you have it.

Now for the next question, are you using a stick welder or wire welder?

I'm really anxious to get started on my front end installation. I'm down to the bare frame. Need to get it cleaned up and then it will be time to start building the suspension, front and rear.

[Ken_Hart]

The C notch is really easy and you can get a really clean arc if you cut the opening so the half tube sit flush or slightly out from the frame that way you can weld and dress them up keep the radius.

I used a Miller Mig 135 to do all the welding. There is nothing to thick on the frontend install that can not be done with it. just give it lots of power (I think it recommended a 7 out of 10) and lots of speed. Get a good penetration burn and you are set.

[Guest Dave Claussen]

Ken, I have a mig welder with a gas bottle filled with an argon/co2(?) mixture. I have tried some sheet metal with it and you have to be a little careful about burn-through but I think welding some thicker material would be easier because you can turn the heat up a little and get some good pentration. I'll practice a little on some scrap stuff first but I have no doubt that I can get a good weld joint with it. My first run on some 1/8 thick stuff was a little ragged looking until I realized my gas bottle wasn't opened up. Once I got that going it was a nice looking bead for a rookie. Thanks for the tips. Your install is looking great so far.

[Ken_Hart]

I am using the same set up and mixture. Thin metal is the toughest (especially butt welds) for me. The thick stuff like the crossmember and C notches were easy as its nice and thick. What I found is after doing sheetmetal I was hesitant to really give the thicker stuff a good burn. Get a few pieces of old bed rails (can be found on the side of the road or at a Donation center) and cut them up and weld on them turn the heat and speed up and have some fun..

I tacked the crossmember in, but had a friend who is a good welder do the final weld (I was doubting my ability). I did the C notches and other support pieces myself

Let me know if I can help with info

The whole step by step pictorial is on my website.

[Paul Beard]

Try AAJ Brakes he sells a disc brake setup that uses the stock spindles from you own truck.

[Ken_Hart]

Thought I was post a follow up to my line of front suspension pic so folks can see the final results of installing a FatMan Mustang II with a 2" drop spindle

Here is the before shot

and after shot

I know its not for everyone but I figured it would helps others who plan to run a modified front suspension so they can have move information to make the right decision for their application.