I've been considering a mustang II front end in my 69.5 Maverick. Planning on buying the hub to hub version w/ motor mounts from one place or the other. Doing some recon on the computer has me a bit puzzled. The basic Full Tilt front end is essentially half price (1400 USD) of the R&C version (2600 USD ). I'm sure both are made with quality parts and customer service, etc. Both have a listing specifically for Mavericks. I've never had anything to do with MII front ends, so I don't know what features are important and/or different between the two manufacturers. Am I missing something really obvious and important here? One feature I thought was good for the full tilt version is the ford into ford lower control arms that eliminate a special oil pan. http://www.fulltiltstreetrods.com/ford_into_ford.htm I'm hoping for some input from people that have had dealings with either, or better yet, both companies about fit, installation ease, customer service, etc. Planning on tacking everything in place myself, then having an official welder do the final passes. If they are essentially the same product, I'll be going for the considerably cheaper Full Tilt version. Thanks for everybodys input...
there is a article on here that explains a good option for mustang 2 front end going under tech articles hit the link for general it will be in there. mustang 2 conversion. he says rod and custom is your best bet it will require some modification to your crossmember but it will work. hope this helped good luck keep me posted.
I have the R&C kit...love it. welded in the crossmember and then took the rest out of the boxes and bolted them on...day and a half... don't know what you mean by..getting another oilpan... I just told them what motor i was running and the motor mount stands were welded to the crossmember when I got the kit...
The link I put in the first note from Full Tilt claims with their ford-in-ford lower arms the steering rack doesn't have to be moved forward, there by eliminating the need for a double hump pan. Is this just marketing jargon, or is there something to this? The basic R&C package says a rear sump, but all the oil pans they sell are double hump. This is a copy and paste from their page.... Please note: All MII suspension designs require the use of the rear/double sump car style pan for these systems. Due to the ‘’front steer’’ design this is required no matter the manufacturer. If you need help locating the correct pan just ask, we probably have it on the shelf! So a rear sump only pan is okay?
I had the double sump 5.0 pan on my 347. I now have a rear sump pan on my 5.3 LSX swap. so I would say either will work...
Okay. Thanks. The ford-in-ford lower arm doesn't seem like that big of a deal now. Just out of curiosity, did the stock Mustang II even have a double sump pan? I'm guessing it was a rear only....
I guess it all depends on why you want to do the swap, if you want better handling, or just more room.
I know i'll get more room and better handling with either kit. What i'm looking for are any valid reasons to spend nearly twice as much on the R&C kit as opposed to the Full Tilt kit if they are basically the same product.
My front end is from Full Tilt Street Rods using Clay's Ford in Ford lower control arms - I used a double sump Canton oil pan on my Cleveland - If I had to space my rack forward to clear the more common wide lower control arms, my engine would have had to be mounted that much further forward in the frame - I also made a drop bracket to lower the rack further down so the engine would sit lower in the frame - I then re-leveled the rack arms using a bump steer kit
Here is how I read it: Full Tilt Hub to Hub - $1399 + power rack - $0 + 11" discs - $0 + complete weld and finish - $100 + coil over - $450 + motor mount brackets (you install?) - $110 + inner fender panels - $75 + sway bar (no info on website about this) - $? + steering column adapter kit - $265 --- $2399 + S&H R&C Complete - $2795 + power rack - $75 + 11" discs - $0 + coil over - $0 + motor mount brackets (installed for your application) - $0 + inner fender panels - $0 + sway bar - $0 + steering column adapter kit - $0 --- $2870 total + S&H So, depending on how much adding a sway bar to the Full Tilt kit costs, they may end up being closer than you think. Like Frank said, the R&C kit is weld, assemble and go. Full Tilt has a bunch of DIY options that may save you some money. I have installed neither kit, but plan to someday. Still not sure which way to go. Let us know what you decide to do.
Good info. Thanks a lot. The engine placement shifting for use of a double sump pan clears up the mystery of the ford-in-ford lower arms for me. If I was to use a rear sump only pan, the f-i-f lower arms wouldn't be any real benefit or necessary to me. Does that sound right? Did you lower the engine simply for hood clearance,or trans/tunnel fit, drive shaft angle, or all of the above?
The numbers are closer when it is upgraded to coil overs. I didn't check very close on that version. I guess I was still in 'budget mode' when looking between the two versions, ha ha. Are coil overs that much of an improvement over regular coils springs and shocks? Or is it as much a cosmetic thing? I mean aside from the ride height adjustability.
Even a deep rear sump pan has to have some sort of front "sump" to house the oil pump that isn't going anywhere - I lowered the engine because of the high frontward angle the engine had when bolted to the trans and the trans was in it's mount - It seems that using a Windsor engine no one had any problem using the wide lower control arms - I had to do these mods to get my Cleveland to fit properly - Clay from Full Tilt said putting a Cleveland in with a MII set up COULD NOT be done so I had to prove him wrong now he wants pictures LOL!
Hahahaha. He said it couldn't be done, so I did it. Good answer. Sometimes a guy just has to do stuff like that, doesn't he?
