Having a few growing pains with my 57 not stopping and steering sloppier than a bowl of cereal I decided to for-go the Crown Vic swap and go over the front end. The 302 I'm running was mated to an AOD with a cracked bell housing. Initial thoughts were to buy a good/used AOD and ended up with a much better 4R70w. Here's my goal:

1. Crown Vic front End
2. 79 Econoline Tilt/Auto Steering Column
3. Relocate 7" Master Cyl + Booster
4. 03 Mustang 4R70w Auto + Baumann TCS
5. New Cab Mounts (yea they're shot!)

Pictures of the truck:






Engine out! Old 302 K Member that was half *** welded in by the previous owner:



I'm copying Rippy154's CV swap design and went with 3/16" 6" angle iron seam welded to square the frame. My Mig regulator is shot (new one on the way) so am getting a bit more splatter than I'd like. Weld penetration is good though which is all that matters




Frame drilled out for the CV pegs and through bolts. Welded and fits great!



Swaybar bushing brackets nuts welded inside frame.



Inner frame prepped and painted and ready for box. I'm boxing the frame in segments for easier fitment.





It rained today so haven't made much progress. Yea I'm doing this build in my driveway More pics to come!

 

What year CV did you use?

 

You've got a great looking truck to start with and it looks like you're getting on with it.

Steve

 

Thanks. This has been one hell of a project spending about 30 hours week to get this runner back on the road.

The CV swap I used was off an 05 Merc Marquee.

Here are some updated photos of where I'm at.

New in-tank fuel pump added. The frame rail pump wasn't recommended for an EFI setup.


Plates welded seam welded in 4 chunks to box the front back to the cab mounts.


Painted and pretty. CV front is sitting on the frame, not bolted at this point


Control Arm bracket made and welded to both sides of the frame. Welded nuts to allow for an easy install.



Cab corners cut, and sheet metal bent and seamed. Also used a urethane sealer to ensure this area is now water tight.


Not the best shot but floor pans, cab mounts, and hump finished.


Firewall stripped, holes all patched.


Battery box finished and ready for paint


Steering column bracket fab'd up. Using a 79 Econoline tilt column. I've had to cut down 5" to fit and clear.


Skipping quite a bit now but the motor and trans are installed. Had a high pressure line fab'd up for the stock Explorer 302 pump. Works great!



Next are brake lines

 

Snagged a Ford 8.8 rear end off an Explorer Limited. 3.73 LSD, 31 spline, disc brakes (and the same bolt pattern as the CV), and a sway bar for 121 bucks!!

 

Brake lines are in. Getting closer to her maiden drive.

 

Hey this looks great! Nice job. Interesting choice of engine in it too

 

Talking to the Mustang guys, the late model Explorer 302's were the lowest milage, easy to find and had the best bang for the buck. Motor cost me Just under 400 complete with a tunable MAF ECU. I prefer EFI over Carb as I plan to daily drive my truck and am looking for a simple turn-key truck.

Took it out for a spin last week and wow, that trans controller is aggressive out of the box! 3-2 and 2-1 downshifts are beyond impressive!

The speedo needed to be corrected, I wasn't doing 55 in residential area :P

 

I might have to consider that engine. I daily drive a 74 f250 with a 428. 450 hp.lol 12mpg and I have to run premium.lol

What mpg you think yours will get?

 

congratulations! good to see out on the road

Joe

 

Thanks man. You can always go Carb with it as well but the Explorer GT40 cast manifold is great and there are all kinds of go fast parts for it as well as chip tuners.

 

Lets see some more pics of it!

 

Sure! What kind of pics are you looking for?

I'm currently working on the rear end. Decided I wasn't smart driving around with a 4disc combo valve and still having drums in the rear.

I used an Explorer 8.8 Trak Loc 3:70 rear end. Ended up having to replace the spider gears, clutch plates, and S spring which should now give me a reliable and fun. rear end for years to come.



Bed had 1 old wood spacer. Not sure who's good idea it was but shocked it was still in 1 piece (also why the bed set weird on one corner...



Bed removed, old and ugly!



Frame was C notched using CPP's kit. Only have pictures after the frame was stripped and painted (same as the front end)



Axle tubes, shock mount, and spring mount welded to the axle. Painted with a hammered grey. Looks great!



Shock tower now welded in and painted. Shocks fit great! Swaybar end links fab'd up and installed. Axle cut, balanced and new u-joints installed. Next is re-fitting the gas tank and making new hard lines.