Who makes the best bang for the buck front end rebuild kits for my 57 Fairlane? I'd like to replace all of the bushings and ball joints while I am at it. Thanks, Mike
I know Jerry's classis in AR sells them, and I beleive Denis Carpenter sells them as well. Both of them have sites I'm sure you could get some more info from.
Most of the distributors on our supplier links sell the components, but I'm not sure who other than Kanter sells kits with options. I haven't dealt with Kanter (got mine from Concours), but I think a few guys on this site have recommended them.
P.S....I'm not sure if we even have Kanters on our list...I'll check as they probably should be.
I put a Kanter front end kit on my Ranchero everything went on perfect and was of excellent quality. I took the car over to a friend of mine who managed a Discount tire. We pulled it in after hours and put it on the rack and aligned it. I was surprised to see that 1957 Ford front end specifications were in their alignment machine. The car drove very strait and handled like a new car. I was amazed at the difference. I would definitely recommend Kanter. FYI? my lower control arm mounting shafts were good, just really stuck. If you need new ones they are available on the 1957ford.com website under the for sale section.
Patrick Dallas / TX :unitedstates:
512Fairlane:
I think if I had to do my front end rebuild again I might try Kanter's, too. I got my pieces from Concours and I had fitment issues with the upper and lower control arm bushings. I'm told that all these bushings are now made in India (???) and were supposed to fit full size Fords from 57 up into the 60's. I finally had to go to a local Ford speciality store (C. W. Moss located in the City of Orange, CA) and got some NOS parts that fit perfectly. The rest of the parts I got from Concours: tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. all were fine. I'm going to try to return the non-fitters to Concours, but I purchased them well in advance of installing them and may not fall within their refund window. Good luck.
Bob
57 AGIN
Thanks. I have a Dennis Carpenter catalog and I've used his stuff in the past. Didn't really see a complete kit in the catalog. Seemed like you have to piece it all together. Just wondering if there were good quality less expensive options. I'll check out the others.
A local parts house got me "Moog" ball joints and tie rod ends, but that was about 10 years ago.
PST offers kits
Who is "PST"? Any contact info..website?
Rich
NAPA lists ball joints as does RockAuto Parts. The NAPA listing shows 2 different uppers but one is lower and one is upper. These joints fit 57 through 64 full size fords.
NAPA and Rock Auto both have good stuf as I have used both with no problems.
Bill
p-s-t.com
They do suspension overhaul kits. Bigger sway bars. Nylon bushings. Springs. I used front end kits on a '57 and a '64. Just another source. Not saying they are the best but I have no issue with them. Reasonable prices. I will check them the next time I need something.
Kanter sells PST rebuild kits and the information is on there listing.