SkinnyG's '61 Apache

[SkinnyG]

I lied. I moved the crossmember forward 1". I also drilled the sides for the lower two bolt holes. I may or may not do anything about the top two bolts. Depends on what gets in the way.

Cut the bump stop mounts off the control arms. Machined new 5/8" located holes to move the control arms 3/4" forward for better caster. I clearanced the crossmember as needed with an FBH (Fairly Big Hammer) to get the bushings to clear. There may have been some grinding too.

I trial-fit the front suspension. This is with 88-98 spindles sitting on 73-87 ball joints (no, it doesn't fit like that), and at what should be ride height, which, by my math, should be 5.3" ground clearance. The control arms are still 1" below the bottom of the frame, but that's a whole lot better than 3" below the frame (grin).