Fatman Fabrications IFS

[albolton]

Has anyone installed a Fatman IFS kit in their truck?

I am looking to retire the I beam on my 54, and go with IFS, looking for feedback on fit and quality. They run about $1800.00 hub to hub, about the same as a Hiedts kit, but sre the only ones I have found that make a kit for the dodge,

Any feedback would be great

Thanks

Al

[Dave72dt]

I used a "Welder Series " crossmember in mine, Speedway upper and lower control arms, M II spindles, Granada discs, power R & P, coilovers. I figure to have about 1400 to 1500 in my entire front suspension.

Welder Series allowed me to set the ride height exactly where I wanted it. Very good insructions and video available to help with assembly and installation. Nice people to talk to and excellent service. Located in Canada. Used the 58" setup.

http://www.welderseries.com/blog/

[John Mathias]

I'm looking at the welders series as well. Is this a 54' you did too?

[pflaming]

Great looking truck, I like that model and your color scheme.

[Dave72dt]

I'm looking at the welders series as well. Is this a 54' you did too?

Mine is a '51 according to the title.

[smallblockjunkie]

I did a fatman coil over in my 48, alot of welding, It was ok but I decided to go with the vett susp and removed it then sold the useable parts on ebay. It is a nice setup but not to easy to install.

[John Mathias]

Mine is a '51 according to the title.

The 54' frame is completely different at the front after it comes out from under the cab, thats why I was asking. The 48-53 is almost straight but with a slight narrowing from cab to bumper. So with this info, the Fatman or Welders series, or whoever, should be fairly staightforward install. The 54' curves inward almost 3" on each side, then curves back out to the same distance for the bumper mounts, and the steering box is on the outside of the frame. I would assume was for the tighter steering radius that is claimed by Dodge in their sales lit. Maybe it increased the tire clearance from lock to lock? This curve in the frame is my concern for the proper spacing of the crossmember. Both the 53' and the 54' have the exact same track width, (I have both, so comparing measurements is easy), so if going by the kit info, with the 58" kit, it should work, but I'm looking at a overall 6" differance in frame width, therefore my problem.

[albolton]

Fatmans has kits for 47-53, and 54-56,

A stage 3 kit hub to hub ( Coilovers) runs about $2400 CDN incl shipping...not bad really

http://www.fatmanfab.com/products.htm

Edited October 8, 2010 by albolton

[Dave72dt]

My crossmember is mounted to ther inside and under the frame rails but could have been mounted to the outside of the rails if needed. At a point 3 inches behind the spindle centerline my frame measures 31' and 4 inches ahead of spindle centerline measurs 30 1/16". They are designed with enough material to trim to fit a variety of frames. You might need to straighten the curve in your frame to attach it. Your turning radius would be limited to what the new rack would allow anyway so you may or may not need it. I'll see if I can get some photos of this weekend.

[HotRodTractor]

I have been wanting to do a frame swap under my B-series for a while - but my problem is I want modern day ride with the flathead 6 still under the hood. Everytime I measure it out I come up with a clearance problem with the engine and the steering rack (even with a heavily modified oil pan). That is me taking some liberties with mounting some of the components for instance - mounting the engine and transmission slightly higher in relationship to the cab than how it would have came from the factory.

All that being said - is anyone running any of these IFS kits with the factory power plant sill in place - or has everyone went the route of the V8? I want to maintain the flathead (actually a 265 Chyrsler Industrial) - but really want better ride, brakes, handling, etc...

[Dave72dt]

Finally took some pics of the IFS from Welder Series I have installed. Photos a little dark, welding is not complete and there are pieces of square tubing in place of the coil overs and rack and pinion but should give an idea of how this fits in these trucks.

[Dave72dt]

Firewall has been recessed about 7 inches to clear the 318 and engine also offset about 2 inches to the right.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Dave72dt

[albolton]

nice job on the fireall dave72DT, do you have a specific reason for recessing it, Ive seen it done both ways, trim the rad saddle and move the rad forward and recess the firewall and move it back? now thats only on the 54-56, it may be the only way to fit the 8 in yours

Edited October 26, 2010 by albolton

[Dave72dt]

Originally recessed to provide clearance between old IFS and steering box I had under it. Also the reason for the offset to the right. Moving it forward places more weight over the front axles making weight distribution front to rear worse. Offset gives me more room for steering and pedal clearance inside the cab and the recess just looks cool.

Fairly deep recess at 7", side and top are tapered with radiused corners so the back is narrower than the front, gives enough clearance to remove/adjust dist and access the top trans bolts and room for the trans dipstick.

[1952B3b23]

Originally recessed to provide clearance between old IFS and steering box I had under it. Also the reason for the offset to the right. Moving it forward places more weight over the front axles making weight distribution front to rear worse. Offset gives me more room for steering and pedal clearance inside the cab and the recess just looks cool.

Fairly deep recess at 7", side and top are tapered with radiused corners so the back is narrower than the front, gives enough clearance to remove/adjust dist and access the top trans bolts and room for the trans dipstick.

I have a question, how does offsetting the motor to the right by two inches affect the line up with the rear axle? Im guessing you have to move it over to the right 2" as well, in order to get everything to line up straight.

Thanks

-Chris

[buds truck]

I have a question, how does offsetting the motor to the right by two inches affect the line up with the rear axle? Im guessing you have to move it over to the right 2" as well, in order to get everything to line up straight.

Thanks

-Chris

I would think the universals would take up that amount of difference without a problem. Think of it this way, when you are driving, the driveshaft moves up and down that much, so it should be fine for a bit of side difference.

[Dave72dt]

The offset doesn't bother it. Same as setting pinion angle for up and down. Ford uses an offset pinion on their 9" rear. Chrysler muscle cars used an engine offset to the right with their bigger engines. Both work well. Shafts need to run parrallel. The angle is needed to get the needles in the u-joints to rotate in the cups.

[1952B3b23]

Ohh okay that makes sense, thanks for clearing that up.

-Chris

[Rich Gengo]

I put the Fatman set up on my 51 and it rides great. I went with the p/s also. It does drop the front end quite a bit so be prepared to lower the rear also.

[1952B3b23]

I put the Fatman set up on my 51 and it rides great. I went with the p/s also. It does drop the front end quite a bit so be prepared to lower the rear also.

How did you go about lowering the rear, put the axle on top of the leaf springs?

-Chris