Plenty of oil pan clearance.

 

I will probably lower the engine another 1.5" or so to help with handling and improve trans clearance in the tunnel. The motor mounts are just tacked in place anyway so it should be easy to move.

You gotta love that crown vic front crossmember, Plenty of space for anything you could want to put in the engine bay. I love it!!

Let me know what you think

 

Have you rolled it back and forth after putting the weight of the engine in? It may have a little bind on the tires, moving it may let it settle a little more. And of course the weight of the radiator & coolant may help a little as well. Also, isn't the axle tube (rear) close to 3"? If so would putting the springs back on top give you about what you need? I had planned (but never did) raising the spring perches on mine because of your situation--I wanted lower, but not quite as much as placing the springs underneath got me.

How much wider is the track of the rearend? I assumed it would match (pretty close) since it came out of the same car as the front? Is one axle longer than the other, i e the pumpkin not centered? If so, that's an easy way to narrow the rear, just cut the long side to match the short, and then use two short axles. I did that on a buddies S-10 once. Don't remember where the 9" rear came from, but one side was a good 4" shorter than the other, so it was an easy way to narrow the rear 4" without custom axles and such.

By the way, what's the HP potential of that diesel??? I'm sure the mileage will be terrific.

 

Ok here are my thoughts on the rear suspension, I need to raise the rear 3" to get it level with the front so I could put the axle under the leaf springs like it was originally from 67, that should make it sit 6-7" higher than it is now. This setup would make the rear 3-4" higher than the front. I could then use 2" lowering shackles and then have the springs dearched 1-2" depending on what is needed. I am not sure but if I went this way I dont think I would have to notch the frame which would be great.

I would love to hear everyones thoughts.

Can anyone recomend someone that sells some good drop shackles?

 

I just finished changing the rear again. I put the 8.8 back under the springs to get it back in the air a little. The rear fender lip to ground now sits at 32" high and the front is 29" I am looking for some drop shackles and will get the springs dearched 1" or so to level the truck out.

Do they make drop shackles that you can adjust ie: 1",2",3" at a time? maybe ones with 3 holes for a total adjustment of 3"max or as little as 1"

 

wow, you are doing an awesome job..... i thought that it would be way too low for my tastes but it looks perfect..... why not just keep the rake stance instead of leveling it?

 

1960s Kid here, I have been researching but have not found out, yet. I can get a 1997 Crown Vic police special with 89000 miles on it. I have found that the suspension is similar. Can I use this on my 1960 F100 with the same setup? I wish that I could find the answer by researching the internet. So far no luck. Hate to bother you. The automatic tranny in the donor car will only go into first and reverse, any ideas or suggestions on that?

 

The tranny may need to be rebuilt but I am no tranny mechanic. The only year crown vics that have this aluminum crossmember is 2003-2007. The 97 had a crossmember made into the frame its not a bolt in setup. I have heard of guys cutting the entire front frame section from the firewall forward on the older vics and grafting it onto the truck frame. I think it would be a good bit more work to weld an entire frame section on though but thats just my opinion, I didnt even take the fenders off I just cut the front crossmember out with a cutting torch and took a couple measurements to make sure the crossmember was where I wanted it and drilled the 4 holes to mount it and thats it. I then had to make 2 plates with 2 holes each and weld them on to be able to mount the trailing arms to the frame. I would say a good weekend worth of work if you take your time.

 

Im really diggin those magnum wheels. I may have to copy you...... I was thinking to run some Ram SRT-10 wheels, but I would rather only have to have the rear axle and rotors redrilled.

What happened to the 9 inch rear from the truck and why did you swap it with a 8.8??

 

Great thread and cool idea! I'm very interested in hearing how it rides when your finished. This seems to be the way to go for IFS. I would be interested to know how difficult it would be to use the Crown Vic rear suspension as well. Keep us posted!

Mike

 

I never had the 9" the original rear end according to the data plate was a dana 44 with 4.10 gears and posi, that rear is sitting in my shop right now with new a/t tires. I would sell it cheap if anyone wants it. I swapped the 8.8 in for the large disc brakes,3.27 gears, posi, and it was dirt cheap I couldnt even buy a used set of gears for a 9" for what I bought this rear for it was so cheap. LOL

 

oh yeah I looked at using the crown vic rear suspension and it would be a big pain. You would have to raise the bed floor up or just cut a section out of it to clear the suspension. I figured I could 4 link it or air bag it, heck you could even install a lincoln mark 8 rear IRS in it with some bracket you can buy off the internet for about $350. I will be using the leafs for now then later I will change it for the 4 link or maybe the lincoln mark 8 IRS.

 

what is the 8.8 out of?

 

2006 crown vic

 

That is awesome carcrafter22 great job! And thanks for sharing all this info. you have my head swimming!
OMG! I think my simple-budget-restoration-turned-out-of-control-frame-off-restomod is about to get even more out of control! How does this happen?!?!?!? I think I need to stay away from this site!