You have spent months trying to decide on the best IFS to buy. You’ve looked at different companies and options. Finally you have decided on our suspension and all the options are narrowed down. Only, one last decision you weren’t expecting; weld-in or bolt-on.
So, weld-in or bolt-in? When deciding on one or the other, think about 3 things; first is price. Each bolt in unit will run $500.00 more than the same unit as a weld-in. Additional time and materials make this necessary. Scott’s Hotrods have done everything we can to keep this addition as low as possible.
So what is the typical cost of a weld in a bolt in? We won’t discuss removal of the engine and sheet metal because those will vary based on car. To start though, the sheet metal and motor should be off and out of the car. It will speed things up tremendously and trying to work around them will only slow the process down.
Second thing to consider is ease of installation and skill-set of installer. This is sort of a no-brainer. If you or your installer cannot weld, or does not want to weld, the bolt-in is the one for you.
With Scott’s Hotrods weld in units we have found that the typical install takes about 2 days to install the front cross-member and weld in in complete. That does not include welding in the motor mounts or hooking the steering up. Those 2 can typically be done within 8 hours, but with the vast amount of motor options, that is only an estimate.
Scott’s Hotrods bolt-in units will install faster because there will be less “setting the car/truck up”. All your plates will already be welded in place to set ride height. In most cases the centerline is already predetermined also. Historically the complete bolt-in units will install in less than a day with only basic hand tools and mild drilling for bolts. In some cases our bolt-in units will require the installation of rack notches as well as a bung to be welded in for the steering shafts. These are application specific and will be determined once we discuss it with you.
Last thing to be aware of is the ability to return your car or truck back to stock. With 100% of Scott’s Hotrods bolt-ins, the car or truck can be returned back to stock with no effort. Nearly all of or bolt-ins do not require any welding (including the steering and motor mounts).
If you still are unsure about which way to go, just give us a call and let us help you decide. We’ll be glad to help and make sure you end up with the best choice for you and your car/truck.
All of Scott’s Hotrods manufactured parts are guaranteed to be free of from manufacturers defects for the lifetime of the part. Warranty is non-transferable. No matter weld-in or bolt-in, this does not change. It is one of the reasons that we do not manufacture a bolt-in suspension for every application. Each bolt-in IFS has been carefully engineered to provide a lifetime of service and functionality. There have been no sacrifices made in design to “accommodate” a bolt-in unit; rather, each one has been redesigned from its original weld-in application.
