Over the years I've prided myself on personally performing (often successfully, I might add) a large number of the street rod assembly and/or fabrication tasks I've had the pleasure to write about. Up until recently, one task that I had not had the chance to observe or attempt was the installation of a complete front IFS stub. Sure, I've both witnessed professionals and have personally installed some really nice crossmember/suspension packages, but never the severing and replacement of a complete front frame stub. That particular task was always something I thought was a bit beyond the average do-it-yourselfer's (read that as "my") comfort/skill zone. Well, thanks to Tom Pierce of Street Rod Engineering and Richard Graves of Richard's Wheel & Chassis, I discovered my assumption was incorrect; and, much to my delight, I received a great introduction and education on the proper manufacture and installation of what is perhaps one of the most beneficial street rod upgrades (safety-, handling-, and drivability-wise) there is.
Street Rod Engineering front...
Street Rod Engineering front stub kits are an obvious choice for those wishing to upgrade their vehicles with a safe, reliable, and immensely enjoyable IFS system. Utilizing an assembly of this kind ensures that your street rod rides and drives like a late-model auto-making those miles behind the wheel a joy rather than a chore.
The IFS stub assembly installation shown here is just one of a large selection of IFS and coilover packages offered by Street Rod Engineering and is a complete hub-to-hub IFS package designed specifically for the '49-51 Ford (though SRE offers subframe kits for everything from '52-56 Fords, '49-51 Mercs, '37 Buick Specials, '41-48 Buick Specials, '49-55 Pontiacs, Henry J's, and others). All of SRE's hub-to-hub packages come with heavy-duty tubular A-arms and big brake kits as standard equipment. Plus, they offer you the choice of power rack-and-pinions, coilover shocks, airbags, antisway bars, stainless steel brake hose kits, and high-performance disc brakes as options. Heck, they also tailor-make steering shaft hookup kits for your exact needs that will really complete your IFS installation.
Now, not to take anything away from the extremely talented crew at Richard's Wheel & Chassis, the front stub kit install was way easier and much more straightforward than I'd imagined-and I gleefully realized that I could have performed an upgrade of this nature back in my home shop without hesitation with SRE's kit. I guess that's what happens when you rely on a talented professional manufacturer like Street Rod Engineering to do all the R&D for ya! So, with that said, follow along and check out an upgrade I'm sure many of you have contemplated-keeping in mind that SRE makes success nearly foolproof!
As is true with all Street...
As is true with all Street Rod Engineering complete frame assemblies and IFS crossmember kits, the company's front stub assemblies are engineered for proper geometry and are fully jig-welded for consistent high-quality. This young man-Ryan Ideishi, a graduate of Wyo-Tech and Street Rod Engineering's ace fabricator-is shown here putting the finishing touches on another SRE stub assembly.
The subject of this latest...
The subject of this latest SRE upgrade is a solid '51 Ford woodie that is undergoing a complete rodstoration by Richard Graves and crew at Richard's Wheel & Chassis in Long Beach, CA. Richard has been using SRE components for years and sites their quality and ease of installation as the reason he does so.
Obviously, the first thing...
Obviously, the first thing to do to begin the process is strip the front sheetmetal from the vehicle. You can remove the assembly nearly intact with a bit of probing for the right bolts-as Richard and Matt Porter (one of the fabricators at Richard's Wheel & Chassis, and another Wyo-Tech graduate) are doing here.