Hey, wrench-heads: Got into a discussion here at work about the origins of independent front suspension, and one guy said that the '49 Ford was the first with ball joints.
Now, I know my old '41 Plymouth had independent front suspension, but it had a kingpin-type setup.
As a Chrysler/AMC guy, I’m reluctant to concede Ford primacy in anything, but could he be right? Is the '49 Ford the first American car with ball joints? My head is spinning…
I believe he is correct. I have an front end suspension auto catalog and I can’t find anything before the ford that lists ball joints for parts to order, so thats a likely sign.
Unless of course some other mfg from Europe or something beat for to the punch… thats a possibility but I dunno.
This Ford fan site lists 1954 as the year Ford introduced its ball joint front suspension to the regular line, but mentions that it was introduced on the 1952 Lincoln.
http://www.vatoweb.com/54ford/tech.html
I believe another site lists TRW as the inventor, but I imagine their work was done in cooperation with Ford.