So after looking at the instructions, they do say this is one of three critical measurements. Then he explains how he gets these measurements, and it makes no sense at all. Remember, I scraped one of these "top hats" early on, because the measurements dont make sense. But Im going to say this is mostly my fault. And I have no idea how to fix this. Looking back at all the things I have done to try and fix this IFS, I just dont know what to do now.

Here are the pictures to tell the tale...Almost 2-1/2 degrees difference.

Passenger side shows 3.8 degrees

Drivers side shows 5.25 degrees.

 

Can you post a bigger picture? I am not able to visualize what's going on there.

 

I dont have any that are bigger. The other forums I am on restrict the size pretty bad. The upper bar there with the level on it is supposed to be the same on both sides. Thats where the A-arm mounts. Ill see if I can get better pictures tomorrow.

By the way, someone pointed out on another forum that it is only 1-1/2 degrees. I suck at simple math apparently.

 

By bigger i think he means zoom out, That second pic looks like it(rod where A arm mounts) was welded on wrong.

 

I hope these pictures make more sense. It has to do with the angle of the tube. This is where the a-arm mounts, and they should match. I dont know which one is right but this is the "anti-dive" angle. If I understand it correctly, if I nail the brakes in a panic stop this prevents the suspension from dropping out and crashing the oil pan into the ground. With these two sides not matching, in a panic stop, one side will compress different from the other. This could lead to the truck going toward a ditch in a panic stop. Its only 1-1/2 degrees, but it might still matter.

I think I know what happened, and how I am going to fix it, but Im looking into it more. It might be that this 1.1 degree doesnt matter. But there are other issues. There is no caster adjustment, and the a-arms are still to short and need to be extended. The shocks dont sit in the lower a-arm in the same orientation, because 1.1 degrees over the length of a 14" shock makes a difference. I might just put it together, and drive it to see if it acts funny. If it doesnt, then I can leave it until I get ready to make big changes later. Im just not sure.


Passenger side, zeroed on the frame.

Passenger side on the a-arm mount tube.

Drivers side, zeroed on the frame

Drivers side on the a-arm mount tube. Still over a degree of difference.

 

You were doing extensions on the a-arms, weren't ya? Could you make one of the adjustable, so you can adjust caster angle?

 

I will. For now Im going to continue doing what Im doing. Ill fix the a-arms, install the shocks, and drive on. Ill see how it drives for now, knowing its got to be fixed. After talking with my wife and explaining things, we discussed the future options. There are things I want to fix because I found better ways to do them, and there are things I want to fix because I feel I didnt do them neat enough. My wife knows this, so she is onboard. I am truly blessed with a great wife. So, the truck will get finished, but be restricted to local only until I can hatch a master plan to fix everything that needs to be fixed.


So, Ive been looking into this, and I think I have a solution for the future of course) . I hope I can convey what Im thinking in my head. This might be a long post.
First, the issue is mostly my fault. I didnt check this angle before, so its my fault. That being said, the instructions were vague at best, and simply did not make sense. Add to that the fact I had ruined one of these pieces (called a top hat) before, and had to buy a replacement. And when I got the kit it said to make sure the "top hats" matched. I think there was a few that had bad angles on them to begin with. Had I caught this and corrected it, I think the crossmember would have had a slight crook at the top. Now that I know all this, I could install one of these without issue in the future. Would I? No. This kit has had all sorts of issues...Its a helix kit. Look up Helix. This is what happens when you buy cheap.

Now for the fix. Im going to keep the lower portion of the cross member, or at least I think I will for now. It had the least issues, and we fixed the only areas we felt were seriously problematic. Ill keep the A-arms, upper and lower, and the steering rack. Obviously Ill keep the Qa1 shocks too. Im going to get a Welder series upper A-arm mount, or maybe the entire welder series crossmember. I have to look at the price again. The A-arm mount will weld to the top of the frame rail, and I can get Mustang 2 upper a-arm pivot shafts that will bolt to it. This will fix the anti-dive angle, and add in an adjustment for caster. It might even fix the shortness of the a-arms, but we will see. Then I can just add a coil over mount. Ill post some pictures to try and explain, but there isnt a picture showing what Im doing. Its going to be a hybrid of sorts.

The bad news is, the fenders and hood have to come back off, at a minimum. I might even end up pulling the engine as well. Ill try and avoid it. This will probably be done after we get the body work fixed. So the goal is get the truck running, drive it and enjoy it, if its safe. Then fix the Ford. Meanwhile we slowly work on the body of the Dodge and maybe build a 360 or look for a modern Hemi. When we are ready to pull it back apart, itll be time to decide if its getting a custom frame, or just the fixes Ive looked into. I have plenty of time to go to shows and watch videos to see what will work best.


Standard mustang 2 upper a-arms, with the pivot shafts.

This is the fix. This is the Welder Series cross member, but I can get just the upper mounts or the whole thing

This would be final install. Mine would be slightly different because Im combining two different kits.

 

Ah, slot the mounting bolts for the upper a-arms. That would work. Kinda fun to get it adjusted right, then keeping it there while you tighten everything down. But, not like you get an alignment on weekly basis.

Another option might be to rotate the mounting face for the uppers 90 degrees, so you could just use shims between the mount bar, and the frame.

 

Ford used this suspension for awhile, and that is one of the iterations. There are several different "mustang 2" suspension types. They have a significant aftermarket as well.

 

Back on the truck again. Ive been working overtime to finish some stuff at work, and its calming down now. Plus I dont want to rush this and make more mistakes.

I finished the modifications to the upper A-arms. I ended up adding about 1/2" of length to the arms, and that will leave about 3/8" of adjustment for camber. The picture that is posted doesnt show this, but I ended up changing it before welding. I MIG welded them together, and during cleanup, I didnt like the way they looked, so I took the TIG welder back over them to clean them up. I am getting better with the TIG, as long as I dont have to add filler rod. If Im on a flat plate, I can add filler okay. Its when Im trying to put two pieces together while adding filler rod that it gets ugly. Ill keep working on it.

I changed the way Im going to beef up the tow hitch also. Before I completely weld it up, Im going to check the bumper fitment. Then Ill add the support, box the bottom, and add the tie bars in. But Ill check before welding it all up. See, Im learning.

Im having a fit trying to get ball joints for this kit. I posted earlier that two of them seem bad straight out of the box, and the rubber boots were torn. So I went to Advance auto to try and get them. No luck. We ordered some, but they are press in, and I need screw in. I also struck out on a gas cap. The original let fumes into the garage after I put gas in the tank. So I ordered another one, but it doesnt fit. Ill keep looking for a gas cap and ball joints boots.

Im still looking at horns, since the original blew apart. I want something that sounds good and loud, but I dont want an air horn or one of those train horns either. Ill have to figure out the cooling fan too. Plenty of work. I think if I had the suspension in, and the brakes bled I could move the truck under its own power in a few days of solid work. I havent touched the brakes, because the suspension was coming back out.

Tig practice. Bad picture, but Im getting better at the fusion welds. Adding rod is still like wizardry to me.

Hitch brace. Ill close the box on the base, and add the rods back in too.

Nevermind the ruler...I changed it anyway.

Both a-arms cut, and fit. The sharpie marks were laid out before, so you can see they are longer now.

Finished a-arm. Just need some ball joint boots.