I have ran into a situation. This one might be pretty bad. Im relaying the problem, in hope someone will learn from it.

I have attempted to contact Uncle Jimmys Jalopys several times again, with no success. I bought this IFS from him, because it seemed to be more specific to sweptlines, and honestly it was cheap. What I didnt bargain for was the total lack of support. This kit came with no instructions, no bill of sale, no parts list, nothing to help the installer. He has instructions online that work well, but if you have a question, your better off sending a carrier pigeon to parts unknown for help. This is the first problem.

After my little mix up on the placement of the crossmember (not as big a deal as I thought, to be honest) I have been searching for information on dropped spindles. No parts list from the supplier, so Im on my own, again. I found the word "helix" on the back of the spindles. This is the only identification on the entire kit. I have no clue how a person is supposed to even buy brakes pads, tie rods or bearings if needed.

This search lead me to a few websites, where I found that this is indeed a helix suspension, which is owned by...the Hoffman Group. China garbage. A lot of forums are adamant about not even completing the installation. They say its very dangerous. Complaints range from welds coming apart, to threads coming out and major parts failing.

Im at a loss, really. If anyone has read the thread so far, this truck is very important to me. I dont want to risk wrecking it on garbage parts. Im not sure if I can finish this installation or not. Its not lack of skill. I know I CAN install it. I just dont know if I should.

Im assessing the situation, and will post again when I get a solution. I might be doing a crown vic IFS.

 

Given the reviews of the suspension, I think I would just bite the bullet, cut it off, and toss it. Even without the reviews, the lack of support, or sources for replacement parts would be enough to really discourage me....... Do the CV IFS. At least you know what it is, and parts are easily available anywhere.

 

If I wasnt in over $2k, I might. At this point, I cant spend another $1500 for a crown vic install.

So I spent a few hours researching, and making phone calls. First, I called Wilwood. They advertise a "mustang II" style dropped spindle. They said it would fit, but would NOT work with any other brakes but theirs. The geometry is the same, but the brake set up is proprietary.

Then I called Helix. I mentioned Uncle Jimmys, and they said he is an employee of theirs and he will be "out of commission for at least a few months". Not really sure why, and I wasnt going to pry. This would explain the total lack of support from him. I hope everything is okay health wise. This led to me asking about the dropped spindles. The picture shows that they look different than the normal spindles. The tech support guy confirmed that this is the case, and that the dropped spindles will indeed fit, and I can order them directly from Helix, as it is in fact their kit. When I order the spindles, Im going to ask for any information they might have as far as replacement parts, or instructions.

As for the sub-standard kit parts, Im going to deal with it in stages I guess. I cant afford another suspension so I have to deal with it. A lot of people are using these kits, so maybe I can get by for awhile. Ill install it as is (with the dropped spindles) and keep an eye on it. I found several forums where people had installed them, and addressed the issues with them. The cross member is weak in a few spots, requiring some additional bracing. The ball joints and tie rods are chinese garbage, so Ill look to get those replaced ASAP. When it comes time for brakes, Ill hopefully be in a position to upgrade the entire spindle/brake combo. Ill be looking for some different a-arms as well. With additional bracing and reinforcement on the cross member I dont see it being an issue.

I might wind up replacing one of the top hats also. Im going to look into it. A few guys have said they had to buy a few extras. The way you have to trim it is just stupid. Ill see if I can get the other side closer. The passenger side has some big gaps.

 

Moving along on the welding. I borrowed a MIG from work for the sheet metal and some hole filling. Got a little done this weekend. Im going to get the dropped spindles before I finish the IFS install. Ill also need shocks before I finish the 4-link. Here are a few pictures from the work this weekend.


The firewall hole the PO cut. It was huge, and not even close to where it needed to be.

TADA!. Simple...Not really. Hours of cutting, grinding and fitting. Now hours of welding to finish. Already looks a lot better.

Test fitting the steering column. It needs some minor adjustments.

The bottom comes to close to the frame. Ill adjust it to center it in the hole, so the factory boot fits and looks factory.

Fitting the transmission tunnel repair. It was butchered also.

The last portion of boxing. I dont think Ill finish behind the rearend. This should be as far back as I need to go. We moved the rearend out of the way for this. Thats not where it goes.

 

After some research and rest, Ive made a few decisions on the truck. I will set the truck back up to the ride height I had it at when it was too high, with the assumption it will get dropped 2 inches next spring with spindles and an adjustment on the 4-link. This will let us continue welding without having to wait on the spindles and shocks for the back.

Moving on, this made us pull the cab again, and we got to finish the transmission tunnel repair and the firewall repair. We also did some welding on the IFS, which showed Ill have to replace the passenger side top hat. The gaps are just too big. The way the instructions tell you to get the cut dimensions is just dumb. So I cut the first one wrong, and nailed the second one.

Stephen also bought another welder. He got a Miller 215 multimatic. Its a MIG/TIG 110/220 welder. This thing works like a champ. We are only setup for MIG right now, but this thing welds.

So, Ill replace the right side top hat, and install the 4-link. Then Im going to POR15 the frame under the cab, set the cab, and start assembly. We still have to fab some motor mounts and figure out the bell housing mounts. No biggie after all this. We are also going to re-enforce the a-arm mounts. After searching on information for this IFS, the biggest complaint was the weak a-arm mounting points. We will brace them up, and finish it off nicely. We also have to add some cross members in the back around the 4-link, but this doesnt need to be done before the cab goes on. We can move on.


Back to the bare frame. Hope this will be the last time the cab comes off.

The cab sitting in the corner.

The trans tunnel repair. Still need some clean up, sealant and primer.

The bottom looks good. That upper gap is shameful. We cut it off, and it will get replaced. If thats the only part I destroy, Im doing good.

Thats much better. I had to use a template from the other side to get it this close. Its all welded now.

 

That upper A-arm looks awfully short for where the mount is...... How much are you going to be able to turn it once the wheel/tires are mounted? Could I get a top down shot??

 

Thats where it is supposed to be. It looks just like his pictures on the install. We turned the wheel yesterday to get access for welding, and it goes pretty far before getting close to the frame. This is the best top down picture I have. Ill get one soon with the wheel at full turn.

 

Ok, it sits further out than was apparent in the previous pic. Probably just the angle the pic was taken from.

 

With the wheel on and turned for clearance, it looked like a drift car. The wheel was way in. It should be ok.

Small update. Looking online they want $500 for new top hats. Thats not going to happen. Its $10 worth of metal. So we are going to weld it back up. We know the a-arm mount has some strange geometry at the top, so we arent going to mess with it. We will just cut it flush where the notch is, and weld in some 3/16" plates to build the triangle shape back in. Then install an internal stiffener, just in case. It should be fine. Ill notch it again, and itll be good as new. We will also be adding some stiffeners on the lower a-arm mounts. That seems to be a common point of failure. Ill post pictures when we make it happen.

 

I thought I would post an update.

I talked to Helix and asked about new top hats. On their website they are listed for $500. They sold me a pair for $150, so I got them. Great customer service. They hooked me up. Super nice and they got them right out to me.

We got them, and cut and installed them today. We ran into a few minor issues, but Im sure itll work. I just want to warn anyone else about what we found. So, if you go to the helix website, they dont sell a kit for this truck. Its a universal kit. The universal kit can be ordered with three different width cross members; less than 29-3/4", 29-3/4" to 33-1/4", and 33-1/4" and wider. The uncle jimmys kit is a universal helix kit with the widest cross member, at 33-1/4" and wider being the recommendation. The problem is my frame at the axle centerline measures almost 37". This causes the shocks to be very close to the frame rail, when the suspension is not compressed, because the frame rails sit to the outer most limit of the cross member. It gets slightly better when the suspension is under load, but its close. Im also going to have to c-notch the front frame where the rack and pinion passes under it. It will hit when the engine is in for sure. The picture he has on his site is not of a dodge, it looks like an f100, but the frame rails sit flush with the outer edge of the top hat at the base. On my install, the base sits in the middle of the frame rail.

Ill re-iterate my decision to buy this kit; cost, convenience and looks.

As far as cost, it was more than a crown vic swap, but I felt I would have fewer interference issues, and it was less than half the cost of the next closest IFS kit.
As far as convenience, I feel its harder than a crown vic swap, but easier than the modern frame splice method. Not having done the other two methods, I could be wrong. Ive watched a ton of videos or read threads on all 3.
As far as looks, it wins in my book. It still looks good, even with issues. Ill paint it up nicely before final install, but it looks good. Im going to modify the inner fender pieces and make them work, so it should look almost factory when done.

If I had it to do all over again, I would do a crown vic swap. Thats what Im going to do on the 67 Ford I have after this one is on the road. The aftermarket is better than I anticipated, and it can be made to look factory. Even with the great customer service, I could not recommend this kit to anyone. Tech support is non-existent. Plus it seems the only part that will remain before I feel I can push it will be the cross member. Im going to get 2-1/2" coil overs to replace the 3" that it came with to give me more frame clearance. Im going to get better a-arms, and spindles too which will also mean replacing the brakes. Overall the entire suspension will be replaced before I really push it. It doesnt scare me enough to not drive it like it will be when finished, but I wont feel comfortable enough to test it.

Also, I know the wheels are cambered and toed in in these pictures. Nothing has been set up, all the bolts are hand tightened at this point. But we are getting closer now.



Rack clearance. We will c-notch the frame.

Passenger side. Its close but it gets better when compressed.

Driver side. Its closer than the passenger side by about 1/16" to an 1/8". The entire cross member is offset by almost 1/8". We missed a little. Some of the factory suspension was almost 3/4" off.

On its own weight. It will be lower with the cab and engine in there.

Other side, same deal. When its all cleaned up, I think itll look good.