Pics of Crown Vic ride height?

[yossarian19]

I really ought to be studying but hey, the kid isn't asleep till 930 and by then, my brains are shot.
Anyone have pictures or better yet measurements of the ride height after a Crown Vic IFS swap? I know I saw some but can't find it any more.
I'm realizing I made a mistake sinking money into my solid front end, plotting out the Industrial Chassis Dakota kit vs Crown Vic...

[yossarian19]

WOW.
In my google searching, I found a post I'd put up back in February - asking the same questions I've been asking in the last week or so. Maybe I need to stop thinking about this
Pinche Caliche is the build thread with Crown Vic installed.

[mr48chev]

They don't seem to work well on Chevy frames even though Bubba and Leroy down at the spit and whittle club will and probably have told you they are the hot lick. I've seen a lot of posts by someone who intended to put one on his truck because his buddy said it would fit great but I have never seen a thread on any board where one was installed and finished on an AD truck nor on a TF truck for that matter. Someone may come along in five minutes and show how he did it on his truck but that will be news and education to me.

The Ford guys who run then have to run positive offset rims to get the tires under the fenders on mid 60 Fords.

Here is a link to a Google page with lots of photos of them mounted on Ford frames that are somewhat wider than AD frames and they can use the factory bolt holes to bolt the aluminum crossmember to the frame. That is one of the attractions for the Ford guys.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Crow...y%20AD%20truck

[semn49]

Here is a link to the one I started on my '49. Unfortunately I don't have any measurements and won't be able to get them for awhile as it's 5 hrs away in storage.
Now, would I use the Crown Vic front on an AD truck again? Nope, not even if it was free! There are a lot of options out there that are way less headaches.

Will it work? I'm sure I can make it work, given time.

My $.02 worth.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ight=crown+vic

[Softpatch]

Why a Crown Vic .?
with all the aftermarket parts IFS kits that will bolt in for around $2200
complete with Disc set up as of July Good Guys show
is it the price.?
do you want your truck for rally purpose.?
want it to handle like a Go-kart.?
.
I've never done a Crown Vic Conversion
But pretty sure you will hate your truck after
the man hours & stress of trying to get it to fit and work
.
The old tired true statement K.I.S.S.
.
.
.

[mr48chev]

looking at Semn49's photos it is easy to see that he spent a lot of time cleaning up that crossmember cutting the engine mount towers off it and then narrowing it to fit the AD frame. The rub there is that you have to have access to someone who can weld aluminum. I'd guess he has between 40 and 80 hours in just modifying the crossmember and mounting it to that point. I wouldn't want to guess what the welding charge to have a shop weld it back together would be but that might equal a Speedway MII crossmember.

[semn49]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

looking at Semn49's photos it is easy to see that he spent a lot of time cleaning up that crossmember cutting the engine mount towers off it and then narrowing it to fit the AD frame. The rub there is that you have to have access to someone who can weld aluminum. I'd guess he has between 40 and 80 hours in just modifying the crossmember and mounting it to that point. I wouldn't want to guess what the welding charge to have a shop weld it back together would be but that might equal a Speedway MII crossmember.

That's pretty much why I wouldn't do it again. Although I had access to a welder that welds aluminum, and a friend that is a kick ass welder. Could only guess at the hours, but that sounds about right.
If I would have known about a Speedway cross member back the I would have gone that way.

[59chev]

Why are you not considering the Camaro Clip? Width is bang on for a Task Force, ride height is great and rebuild parts are easily accessible. If you are doing it yourself it is most likely the cheapest option as well.

Lux Blue's thread over on the HAMB lays out this swap step by step.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...ne-day.148978/

I have seen Mustang 2, Camaro Clips, even 73-87 Chevy truck clips grafted in to 55-59's but I have never seen a Crown Vic swap in a Chevy. I think they work better on the late 60's and 70's Ford Trucks because they have a wider track width than our Chevys.

I did the same thing as you, sunk a bunch of money into my stock front end ( Kingpins, drag link, ect ) then ended up cutting it all off and doing the camaro swap.

[yossarian19]

On an AD truck, no, I don't get why you would do the CV swap.
On a TF truck like I have, it's the right width at the frame and workable at the wheel wells.
As for why CV vs MII or Camaro - you should drive a Mustang II or a Camaro and then hop into a 2009 Crown Vic and tell ME why you would spend another $1,800 on an MII kit. I might be cocky, here, for a guy who hasn't driven an MII truck - but I daily drive a Crown Vic and I'm confident it handles a hell of a lot better than anything out of the 1970's.
Plus, the GAWR is listed higher than the TF's original front axle - so I'm confident that even with a full load of gravel in the bed, the truck is going to steer and stop.

[mr48chev]

I'd have to say that on any front end setup you have to consider several factors;
1. What is the cost?
2. Are repair parts and especially wear parts like bushings and ball joints readily available though normal sources? It doesn't do any good to put a front end under the car that you end up having to go though some "rare parts" vendor to get old stock parts at inflated prices for.
3. How much work do I have to do to install it? Semn49's photo shows that he has massive hours tied up in that setup to just get to that point. On frame swaps and subframe or clip swaps that has to include the hours you put in getting sheet metal to fit and building brackets for the bumper (s).
4. Possibly higher on the list than some of the others is will the wheels I want to run work with this setup. Even the wide square F100 Fords that run the Crown Vic crossmeber usually run positive offset front wheels to clear the fenders.
Does that go with the look you want?

I've run rear steer front subframes from first generation Camaros on two rigs including my 48 and the 51 Mercury I had. Both drove great and I was comfortable driving both at 80 mph on the big roads all day long. Both took more work getting the front sheet metal to fit and clear than it did to get the subframe lined up and welded up.

I've got a Jag XJ front suspension at the house that someone hacked up to use airbags with. Super easy to put under my AD frame and it should drive great but the missing parts cost a bunch. No Jags in the local wrecking yards to pick from either as the insurance companies sell all of them to yards in the Seattle area.

I bought a 92 Dakota a while back to pull the front suspension off to use with one of the Industrial Chassis crossmembers. About 600 to get the crossmember to my door and I need to upgrade the brakes but I have had the bigger rotors in the shed for years so that isn't that big of a deal. Bolt on unit, readily available parts that are rather simple and the front end is designed for rack and pinion. Plus no hacking of the front sheet metal outside of possibly a little bit around the upper control arms. And no engineering degree required to install it.

On any of them I think it is wise to do the research including asking who has installed and is running one and get input. Don't just take what you read in a magazine article, what the guys down at the corner hang out say or what someone throws out because someone said it would work. A lot of stuff can be made to work if you wan to go to the trouble of making it work and thinking it out but it may not be worth the effort involved. Case in point hacking up a TF frame to put a later C-10 front crossmember under it. There the Crown Vic would be a much more viable choice.


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