June 1998.
Text & Photography By Bob Carpenter
Street rodders have been savvy to the quality suspension kits from
Total Cost Involved for many years. It's only in the past few years that
the classic-truck crowd has picked up on the rush, and now TCI has developed
a line of truck-specific kits to satisfy the craving.
TCI is well-known for it's extremely high-quality parts and outstanding instructions. The truck components are no exception. We ordered a Mustang II-based independent front suspension kit for a '56 Ford F-l00 truck, and headed over to Hot Rods & Custom Stuff in Escondido, California.
Like TCI, HR&CS has an extremely high reputation for quality. We knew that if we wanted the job done right, this was the place to go. Just take a look at the truck on the cover of this issue, and you'll get the idea. This neat and clean professional shop built the Grand National Roadster Show's Best Truck award winner (many other awards are being added to the list practically each weekend).
The bottom line is that these parts are beautiful right out of the box, and will require virtually no work to look absolutely perfect on any truck, even an award-winning show vehicle. Beyond the appearance, they are well-engineered. You don't have to notch the frame for the rack-and-pinion steering, boxing plates come with the kit (many other kits don't include these, and they're not the easiest thing in the world to make), and you even get two-inch dropped spindles. Here's the hands-on lowdown on TCI's tubular A-arm, Mustang II-based kit.
