In the beginning, rodders only wanted two things from their steeds: speed and beauty. While heated leather seats, satellite navigation systems, and Tiptonic transmissions have yet to find their way onto the street rod scene, some modern Detroit-born technology has managed to cross over from the production line to the starting line, especially in the area of independent suspension.
Now don't get us wrong--adapting late-model IFS (independent front suspension) to early iron is certainly nothing new. In fact, street rods have been rolling on various versions of the easily adaptable Mustang II frontend since its inception in 1974. The difference between then and now--besides shaggy sideburns and polyester pants--is the fact that the street rod aftermarket has exploded with different kits offering Mustang II IFS for virtually every pre-war car ever built. Kit quality runs the gamut from super-sano hand-fabbed race-quality systems to direct take-offs from cars that actually rolled off an assembly line, and prices range accordingly.
We wanted to get a closer look at the installation process of a good, quality kit for a typical rod. After making a quick call to Bobby Castello of Da Rod Shop in Simi Valley, California, we found that Bobby and his crew were about install a Total Cost Involved (TCI) deluxe Mustang II suspension system (PN 206-2300-00) on a '47 Ford coupe. The car belongs to L.A.-area rodder Oran Zittella, who's been tooling around town in his '47 Ford for a few years now and desired a better ride than his dropped-axle frontend has been able to muster. Since power rack-and-pinion steering, disc brakes, adjustable spring rates, available drop spindles, and even optional airbags are all benefits of switching to IFS, the decision wasn't a difficult one. It turns out this is Da Rod Shop's third straight '46-'48 Ford IFS install, so things went quite smoothly. According to Bobby, the key to reaping the rewards of a Mustang II front end is in the setup and preparation, so follow along as we detail the nitty-gritty installation details.