Thread: 51 Mercury suspension and front end

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Hello everyone,
I am restoring a 51 Mercury that in the near future I'll chop. But in the mean time I got to get it to ride right, one of the things I want to do is change the front end, add some disc brakes and an air suspension. It's hard to trust a shop because all they want is to sell you things and make money. What do you fellas recommend, I have a 454 in it so it got to be strong. I see alot of people using the Mustang II front end, I just don't know what type of air sus they use with it.
Thank you,
AL.

Mustang II suspension works great on a Merc, and yes it is expensive with a quality suspension package running between $1800 and $2500. If your fabrication skills are above average you can install it yourself.

And yes, all shops want to sell you things and make money, that's how we pay the bills!!! I could say that most people who come into a shop think you should sell them parts at cost and install them for free, but I won't!!!! Tee Hee Hee

That's not quiet the way I think Dave, it's just that some shops have a bias towards a particular maker and they tend to push that product instead of another one that might be cheaper or better. Or again I am just been paranoid. The thing you mention about people that want to buy the product at cost and get it installed for free, I get them all the time. I am a car dealer and they want me to sell the car for less or same as I paid for it. Everytime I get one of those people I think about going into other bussiness, maybe a convenience store. I don't see anybody haggling for a pack of cigarettes or a 6 pack.


What's the maker of the Mustang II price that you gave me? What's included in it?
Thanks

There are a lot of people offering Mustang II kits. Go to Google.com and search for "Mustang II Suspension Kit" You will get a ton of hits and can study the various options available. You might even find someone who has put one in a Merc.

One other thing to think about is to set your Merc body on an entire frame from a newer donor car. That way everything is updated front to back. Treekiller is doing that with a 53 Buick onto a later Olds frame I think. You can even keep part of the firewall from the donor car so you have the steering column, power brakes and A/C and Heater parts. If you need new floors for the Merc you can leave the floors from the donor as well. It's something to think about at least.

Pat

Ok Merc, then we both can be the "been there, done that" guys !!!! Wish your business was a bit closer, I could come around kick tires and we could compare war stories !!!!! I worked in a dealership once......never again. No way I would want your job!! Too many headaches for me...

Anyway, Pat had some good ideas for you in the post above, if you want, take a look in my gallery and you can see my answer to a Merc frame with air ride. Good luck with your project, let me know if you have any problems locating a suspension package for the Merc and I will do some checking for you.

Thank you Stu and Dave for your help. Dave, I was trying to access your WWW page to see your gallery and I got a blank page with the word "Forbidden" and under it said "You don't have permission to access /~hotrodshop/ on this server.".
Is that where you have the photos?

some are there, others in the gallery here on CHR, just click the camera beside my name, it will take you to my photos.

Thanks Dave,
I had a Yellow Mercury very simular to the one your are building, I sold it 2 years ago and now I have plans to make a custom 51. I have posted a photo of it. Did you do the louvering on the hood?
http://legendaryclassics.com/127-2713_IMG.JPG

Friend of mine has a Louver press in his shop, we did it there. Nice Merc, thanks for the pic. Sold mine last spring.

put a front steer clip under it.get twice the ride for half the price of a mi.11 kit ,done several with great results

Originally Posted by johnegoins

put a front steer clip under it.get twice the ride for half the price of a mi.11 kit ,done several with great results

Well, the post you answered is 1 1/2 years old.... and I still prefer the MII front suspension with rack and pinion steering, lots of space freed up for more engine!!!!!!