Front Suspension Rebuild Advice


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By Jeff - 15 Years Ago
I am about to start on rebuilding the front suspension on my 1957 Ford Country Sedan wagon. The mileage is unknown and the bushings are really making a racket. My question is where's the recommended place to go to purchase all the components. It would seem like a complete kit would be a less expensive route to take as opposed to purchasing the individual components. Has anybody had any experiences, good or bad, from any part vendors dealing in front suspension components?

Also there is the issue of US made versus off shore manufacture.

Any guidance would be much appreciated, since I only want to do this one.

Thanks

Jeff
By Bob's 55 - 15 Years Ago
I have had more than one bad experience with Kanter and can not recommend them on my experiences. The last time I ordered a front end kit from them I did not receive all the parts and they actually accused me of trying to rip them off. I didn't receive my missing parts until they actually pull the parts I ordered, weighed them and compared the weight to the shipping weight. Guess what???



Anyway I will never buy from them again. But sorry I can not recommend anyone else either because that was the last time I have had to do a front end.
By oldcarmark - 15 Years Ago
Hello Jeff! There is a difference in quality depending on what you buy.I got lower control arm bushings from Dennis Carpenter as part of the lower arm mounting kits with bolts.I already had Moog bushings on hand and there is definitely a difference in quality.Personally I would look for individual NORS or NOS parts made by known suppliers.Obsolete dealers like Green Auto parts who sell obsolete NOS Ford parts would be a good place to check or even your local NAPA and see whats available from Moog.A cheaper price is NOT always the way to go.
By kidcourier - 15 Years Ago
Jeff, You've probably already tried Concours Parts or Dennis Carpenters but you might have a look at Performance Suspension Technology (www.p-s-t.com). They have a complete frontend rebuild kit for '57 Fords for $219 plus sway bars,complete brake rebuild kits,disc brake conversion kits,etc! So check their online catalog see what you think. KID
By texasmark1 - 15 Years Ago
Jeff, please continue this thread as you move the project along.  I have a 57 Fairlane that will someday need the same treatment... would appreciate you sharing the experience on this site, perhaps with pictures as you go along.

best of luck getting it just right!

Mark

By Oldmics - 15 Years Ago
Jeff

I"m currently knee deep in the rebuilding of my 58 Edsel 2 door Roundup station wagon.

The parts are the same as a 57/58 Ford Ranch wagon.

Acquired the upper and lower control arm bushings and upper and lower ball joints from Dennis Carpenter.

Waiting on front sway bar rubber bushing from Steele Rubber products.

While the control arm bushing are O.K.,I"m not real pleased with the ball joints.

Its all Chino stuff with poor hardware.I easily stripped one of the supplied ball joint mounting bolts.

I immeadently went out and got real grade 8 nuts and bolts.Also the grease covers need to be removed for installation thru the arm and then reattached using the compression spring that holds the grease cup cover.

No big deal but it would have been nice to know this from the git go.

The joints fit all rite Unsure,I guess

Not doing tie rod ends or drag link as all is good there.

I considered doing the idler arm and tracked a new Moog one on eBay.It went for $111.00 which is just insane.

I"ll fill you in as I progress.

Oldmics

By lowrider - 15 Years Ago
I got all my bushings from Dennis Carpenter for my 57 Custom 300.  I purchased 1 lower control arm bushing kit (with the bolt that I ended up not needing) from NAPA. Also got the rear spring bushings and shackles from Dennis Carpenter. Everything worked fine for me.
By crenwelge - 15 Years Ago
My interest is in 1956, and most parts are not interchangeable with 57. However, I watch eBay and buy Moog, TRW, or Ford original as they appear. I probably have more stuff than I will ever use, but I just don't like the stuff I see from restoration vendors.
By oldcarmark - 15 Years Ago
As a followup to my previous post regarding Dennis Carpenter.Inside the front cover of his newest catalogue he explains that he has had to go outside USA to source some parts(read China) because of the high cost of labour in USA.I purchased 2 lower control arm mounting kits which include new bolts and bushings and hardware.The supplied nuts are half as wide as the originals and the bushings are much softer and the inside steel liner is smooth.No comparison to the Moog parts I already had.I had to purchase 4 new grade8 full width nuts.I emailed DC and explained I wasn't real thrilled with the quality.A refund was offered which I declined.I NEED the bolts as mine are corroded badly.I only hope that these replacement bolts are up to the standard required.Again as far as I am concerned NOS or quality NORS parts are the way to go.I managed to roundup 16 NORS valves from USA producers for my engine rebuild for LESS money than the "new" valves made overseas.Just my 2 cents worth!
By speedpro56 - 15 Years Ago
NOS rubber parts can be tricky when buying, just make sure the rubber is not dry rotting. I went to buy some a few years ago (TRW) and they were dry rotting so I passed on them knowing they would'nt last long.
By 56fairlanepost - 15 Years Ago
I bought my susp components through mac's at macsautoparts.com and found them to be of good quality and reasonably priced.

Everything went together fine and no problem with installation.My problem was with the old parts being of poor quality,so I'm glad I replaced the parts as I did.Jim

By PF Arcand - 15 Years Ago
Just for info, I bought 57 A arm bushings from a local vintage supplier. However, they told me they came from an outfit in N.Y. state called Joblot Automotive.