Fatman Fabrications IFS Hub-To-Hub Kit Install - Fixin' A Fouled Up Frame

With the chassis leveled on jack stands, cross-measuring indicated the front of the frame wasn't tweaked. The next step was to attach the boxing plates with a series of widely spaced 1-inch welds.

There are a number of ways to add boxing plates. If the edges are going to be ground smooth the joint can be beveled for weld penetration, or the plates can be inset and the edges welded and rounded with a grinder. The simple way, and what we did, is to weld the gap between the two and not grind away any weld material to preserve strength.

Fatman's IFS components are simple and stout. The upper A-frame/shock mounts are higher off the framerails in front to provide anti-dive geometry under braking. In addition, a small amount of caster is built in by moving them back 1/8 inch from the centerline of the axle.

Before installing the Fatman kit, the frame was checked one more time to make sure it was level side to side.

To make sure the frame didn't distort from welding, diagonal measurements are double checked by cross-measuring from the same points on the rails.

Here's another installation trick-don't level the frame front to back. Fatman assumes that the truck will have a rake with the front down 2 to 3 degrees-that's how the frame should be positioned during installation of the kit.

Yet another trick-with the new Fatman crossmember supported by a floor jack and properly positioned, tack weld its front edge to the frame. Then drop the jack just enough to make the crossmember level front to back (with the frame still on a rake). This will make the lower control arm pivot bolts level with the ground, as they should be.

Installation of the upper mounts is made easier by clamping/tack welding them both to a piece of angle iron then aligning the marks on them with the centerline of the stock axle (per Fatman's directions).

Fatman supplies specific dimensions for the distance between the spring towers; in our case it is 36 inches center to center. They should be positioned relative to the centerline of the frame. Some notching of the towers may be required due to variations in the stock frames.

As the upper mounts are positioned off the centerline of the frame, they may be located in a slightly different spot on each rail. The measurements should be close, however they may be slightly different due to variations in the rails.

A few hours into the project and it's looking good. The notch in the crossmember accommodates the shaft portion of the rack-and-pinion steering. Note the passenger side steering mount, it's slotted to allow use of the early or late style rack.

Small but critical pieces, Fatman supplies gussets to reinforce the upper mounts.

It's time consuming, but before final welding it's not a bad idea to loosely assemble the suspension and hang the fenders on to make sure the tires are centered in the fenders.

In this case the crossmember kit chosen uses A-frame lower control arms rather than strut rods. The added boss attached to the rear of the crossmember adds support.

Our Fatman hub-to-hub kit included new rotors, calipers, shocks, and coil springs. The two items in the plastic bag next to the springs are sleeves that go on the shocks to make installing the springs easier.

The installation not only saved the hacked chassis, but it's clean and safe with a ground-hugging stance and the advantages in ride and handling an IFS offers.