Disc brakes and rack and pinion steer,,,,,,,

[alumcantandthd]

Thanks for the info,,,,.  However, the deal fell through.
I did find out, that PlyDo down there in the southern end of the state, (where they will shoot you for a quarter, charege it, then don't care if they get paid or not!) DOES make a (correct?) R&P kit for the '54 back, kingpin suspension.
Again, thanks for the help/info!

[Wm Steed]

I tend to be from the school of..... It you can't find time to do the job right, when are you going to find time to re-do it?
Not being from the area of the country that FATMAN is located in I don't have any knowledge about any possible "dirty laundry" he may or may not have had. I only know that the items we purchased from him fit and worked properly.
We did have a problem with the springs, the instructions said to cut two turns off the springs. The front end came out being to low so we had to remove the springs. It was suggested that we only cut one turn from the spring. Not wanting to waste another set of new springs we put them in the chassis to see how much they would settle. It turned out that the uncut springs worked perfectly.

I have seen several cars of the early, mid 1950's that have been converted to disk brakes. My brother has a '54 Chevy with a disk conversion that works great. He used a kit that he purchased from one of the after market suppliers. He used stock steering gears. I have a friend that converted his '54 Chevy to disk/rack, using parts that he clabbered together from several vehicles..... Ya know..... value engineering, or in other words.... Cheeeep. The minute the car gets over 45 mph it starts to shake so bad, it is uncontrolable....Bill

[Andy Wylie]

It would take a pretty odd rack to work, you could ask him if he knows what it is? I enjoyed the welder crack.

[alumcantandthd]

THANK YOU, for you input/reply.
However.  I see I should have been more detailed.
I do NOT want to Nova/Camaro/Pacer/Aspen/whatever else, a frame clip to a early Mope.
I ran across one, for sale, the guy (seller) said, that a power R&P, and DB, had been installed on the OM suspension.
He did not build it.  (I'm trying to get him, to tell me who did, build the car.  Before I waste gas, $$$$, to go look at something, that is described as an adonis, then turns out to be a Frankienstine)
I found that VERY odd because of the engineering involved.  If it can even be done correctly!  (bump steer ,what kind of tie rods, etc)
When 99% of the fat fendered Rods out there, have from, a highly modified, to a bone stock  Mustang II.  (lot better than clipping, cutting the frame, then welding a decade or two differnce in metal content, and flexibility, pieces of frame together, most of the time, with the wrong procedure/wire/rod.)  No thanks. 
(Speaking of welding.  I go a joke for you.  What do welders and old whorers, all have in commen?
mmmmm,,,, give up?  ALL they BOTH holler for is.  MORE Rod, MORE Heat, and MORE Money!!!  Whoo-Haw!)
Yes, I remember back there in the late '70's, when the "Fatman" got started.
There must have been boo-coo Street Rod aftermarket outfits.  From back yard, to multimillion $$.
Most fell on hard times.
We figgured the "fat" company would go away also, with the rest, because of the very HIGH prices he/they charged.
Late 80's early 90's, Fatman was charging,  3.5+K for a complete, polished/chrome, tube A-arm, bolt/weld in, Mustang II.  Was too rich for most builder's blood/pocketbook.
Never knew he was favorable to MoPar.  I find your statement about him speciializing in the MoPar front suspension, simply,,, amaising.
Back there in the '70's, he stated (paraphrased) at one of the NSRA, Nats South, (Winston-Salem ?) that he wouldn't have a darned ole Chrysler up his $##hole, if he had room for a freight train.  Something about, anyone who built a Chrysler Rod, was retarded.
I remember someone over on the FwdLk site, not too long ago, posted, wanting to lower the front, other than the torsion bar, camber deal.   Fatman had dropped spindles for MoPars in their catalog, only, back to '60 or '62.
Something was posted that, those weren't even right.
If what you say is true, GOOD!  The only thing I can think of, he sold out/died/or other family members took over,,,,,,.
Thanks.

[Wm Steed]

To answer your question..... for starters you have to deside just what the game plan is.  If the plan is to see just how badly you can screw up a good car then go to your local junk yard, pick up a worn out Mustang II front clip and weld it into your car. If you really want to screw the car up, use a Camaro front clip.
By the time you buy the Mustang/Camaro clip, install it in your car, then take it apart to rebuild everything, you will have a bunch of money in a setup that is not much better than the stock setup you threw away.

If you are set on ungrading the front end to disk/rack use a FATMAN Stage II with 11" rotors. FATMAN is one of the few after market fabricators that makes front clips that are specific for DPCD vehicles. I have a FATMAN setup under my '39 Plym with a power rack, it works like a charm at high speed (in excess of a 100 mph) and in a panic stop, which I have encountered a couple of times in S. Cal traffic, the car stops straight as an arrow.

If your intent is just to build a vehicle that drives well in city trafic with occausional highway driving at 55/60 mph using a stock type 6 cyln engine, then rebuild what you have. I upgraded my front end to the FATMAN because my car had been beaten across the gravel roads in Montana which had resulted in the frame being broken in four places at the front cross member. The portion of the cross member where the A-arms "were attached" had broken out several times and been re-welded back in place. I also upgraded my engine to a 330 hp V8 because the convertibles are very heavy and I wanted a car that would cruise in the left lane at 70/75 mph  8)....Billl 

[alumcantandthd]

 I got a good question for you, pre Exner, A-arm kingpin suspension experts.
Has anyone successfully, (keyword here, is, SUCCESSFULLY) installed power rack and pinion steer, and disc brakes to a, '54 back, Ply OM suspension?
I have never heard of getting the R&P steer (to work right) and DB on OM suspension.
The tried and true way, to get R&P steer and DB, was install a COMPLETE (no hassle) Mustang II (w/5 lug rotors) set up.
Anyway. 
What are you guy's thoughts, on the OM suspension with R&P and DB?  (I have my doubts)
Thanks!