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Back with another 4V in an old Ford project.

80K views 283 replies 24 participants last post by  Dave R 
#1 ·
Hey guys. I am at it again. My last project never was finished but I will do it this time. Some of you may remember my 94 MkVIII drivetrain into my 63 Galaxy project about 4-5 years ago. I still have the car but had to sell the drivetrain to pay other things off. Well, now I have a 63 Fairlane 4 door and I just sold the 351/AOD I was building for it and I picked up another 94 MkVIII. My Fairlane is a 75,000 mile 4 door 500 that had the 260/FMX 2 speed setup in it. I pulled that, welded in a Rod and Customs MII front end into the car and I picked up an Explorer 8.8 with 31 spline, Limited slip, 3.73's and disc brakes. I plan to 4 link that someday. Here are a few pics of my work so far on this project. ..................... I have started to gut the MkVIII and am going to use the wirig from it as well as the radiator if possible. I'll cut the core support to fit it. I'm hoping to keep the interior as stock as possible and just have it a factory looking car on polished 16" TTII's with a low profile tire. I'm keeping the IRS and air bag setup from the Lincoln though. I think I owe the Galaxy a drivetrain and completion. It's still in North Dakota. I moved back to Cheyenne and will be enlisted here for my last 2 years before I retire here for good. I'm looking forward to getting started on the transplant now. Just a few more homey do's before I can get going though. More to come. Dave
 
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#5 ·
the uni-body inner aprons frame rails and shock towers. this car is 50 years old with metal fatigue. (basically same car) I had a 64 fairlane with a 400 stroker 351 based motor with EFI EDIS8 N/A built for daily use with a moderate lift cam, however the motor being a torque monster at such low RPM twisted the body, a weekend later after being parked I pulled the motor and discovered that the right side was 1 inch higher than my left side the shock towers had wrinkles and the frame rails were cracked. these cars are not suitable for the engines that we stuff into today. literally the sheet metal that has been used for the car structure is very weak, and adding a Rod and customs setup into the mix by welding to the flimsy rails is actually asking for disaster. you delete the factory shock towers the whole setup is weakened by 70 percent. there's also been a lot of stories like mine and many people stay away from this setup. what I did was ordered a set of feather light frame rails $427.00 and a 96 junk yard mustang GT strut suspension for $150.00, since I know metal fabrication and working in a steel shop for 6 years I did the work my self. the handling is so smooth and tight with the new front end, and I have a lot of room.
 
#6 ·
I see that argument a lot on removing the shock towers. I have seen some people add tube steel supports tying the frame back to the fire wall. I am running a basically stock 4V, and added sub frame connectors. Sounds like your set up had a lot more hp and torque, and I could see that being an issue in any of the unibody cars once you get to a certain point.

Time will tell. I am a long way from getting mine on the road.
 
#7 ·
at 4500 I think it was making 560ft lbs, the power was at 505 I think. i made it for a lot of torque something a street engine needs, and man did it have a lot. the factory sub frames are weak., there is a lot of guys that swap the frame rails out and add thicker/stronger rails and add tube in the front and back to the firewall and I like that. I used feather light frame rails and a rod and custom cross member with bottom control arms. the cross member is bolted to the rails as if it were a K member so that I can drop the motor from the bottom, the struts are bolted to a tube going to the fire wall and down to the rails. im also using a hydra boost brake cylinder. the engine im selling and I have plans for a 6.2l swap, but that is going to wait until next spring.
 
#8 ·
I have read many stories and even seen one similar to yours. This guy had a stroked 8.2 deck that had around 11:1 compression with a power glide behind it. He was racing and had twisting issues too. I don't plan on ever going over 300hp out of this engine (if ever) until I've surely addressed all the strengthening issues. I plan to run a beefy sub setup with a triangulated 4 link from AirRide Suspension and tie it all together. It's a 4 door Dairy Queen run car, not a race car. I want it to get out of it's own way but not light them up. I think I'll be fine with this setup. Sorry to hear you had issues. I heard many more worse stories about stock setups having issues from a few other certain vendors that tailor one setup to every type of car/truck imaginable.

Only time and skill will tell.

Thanks for the heads up though.

Dave
 
#9 ·
I've seen a 69 mustang twist the right side up so bad the car was declared total the engine broke the towers trans went right threw the tunnel when it happened. 20.000 car gone the guy had a lot stuff done to the car with a very expensive paint job. . however in that case you should be fine although I still cant trust stock ford uni-body structures from that time period even with or without the RnC kit. you might want to check out AJE K member conversion kits, . but just in case you want to get wild with it in the future now you know there will be something that can go wrong.
 
#10 ·
Dave - can't wait to see your progress!

steel - I'm not gonna jack Dave's thread but, sounds like you didn't prepare your car very well for high torque/HP.

Keep the progress pics coming!
 
#11 ·
2dr_sedan, you're right i didn't prepare it right. the first time!. a sub frame connector was not strong enough to stop the buckling of my stock frame rails and the warping of inner aprons. there's multiple reasons why guys frown on the RnC kit on a stock frame.
 
#12 ·
Honestly, I can see the concern area's with a MII front end but it's not just one brand. They all take the lower portion and remove it for a style of their own. The strut towers are surely gone on all of them so it's not just one brand. I'll work with it. I'm not afraid of metal work. I'm building a 4130 roll cage for my son's Polaris RZR170 that they just rolled and I've done plenty of rear suspensions and a full tubular setup on my 9.5X Fox body stang. I had an old 83 Z28 that I didn't prep and put a new motor in it about 18 years ago. That thing shut the hood and back hatch so crooked, I had to push them both over to latch them from all the torque twisting the car up. I'm pretty sure no matter what I run across, I've dealt with similar and am not worried about working it out.

Thanks all for the comments.

Dave
 
#13 ·
that's old school un-body for ya! my girl friend has a 1969 mustang fastback she wants to start on soon, im tossing the idea of making a full frame for the car. simple deal to do. but you are right its not just RnC products its every one who uses the M2 design on stock flimsy rails. now if the rails were replaced with stronger thicker ID wall rails with reinforcement tied into the firewall, then by all means go for that M2 kit.
 
#14 ·
I think I'm just about ready to get started pulling the engine and all from the Lincoln now. Took a few weeks to get the roll cage built for my kids' RZR170 after the rollover. I am going to get the toys out of the garage now before the snow flies and get to tearing this thing apart. Of course, now that I decide to go the 4.6 route, R&C decides to almost double the engine mount standoff prices. $75 just a few months ago. Now they're $125. Crap. Guess I'll be making my own again.

Progress pics soon to come I hope.

Dave
 
#16 ·
Well, so far today I was going to get the car back on jack stands and leveled out but.........All I was able to accomplish was to clear some room around it and get some boxes off the trunk. We just moved here a month ago and we are STILL trying to get unpacked. Actually, I think I just found another MkVIII locally but it's a 97 I think and I want to put that setup in the fairlane and the 94 in my 63 Galaxie. I had a 93 setup in the Galaxie and it's ready to receive it again. This way I could save the firewall with the side entrance throttle body. If they go for the deal, I'll do that. If not, then I'm sticking with this plan. I should know soon.

Dave
 
#17 ·
I got the car back on the jack stands and leveled. I took off the fenders and the hood and it really needs cleaned from the traveling on the U Haul trailer. No biggie. I'm going to cut the drivers side bracketry off that supports the core support along the frame. I'm going to have to work the Lincoln radiator into place as I'm not going to try and go with something else since this one works. I want to use the fan and all. The battery is going to go in the back so I'll use the battery tray pocket for the intake setup.





I need to get this drivetrain in quickly. I just made a deal for a 57 F100 that the Lincoln IRS is going into and then I'll be doing a 2V Crown Vic 4.6 and IFS in it next.

Dave
 
#18 ·
I got the donor car in the air. Not on air but in the air. That's because I'm using the most primitive suspension ever. I lifted it and set wood blocks in the suspension. I aired down the tires and drove it around the yard to the front of the house and backed it into the garage. Now she waits for me to tear into her. Soon, soon.



Dave
 
#19 ·
Up to today, I haven't done much else. Kids and work have dominated my time as well as the preparation to start up school again. 3 more courses and I'm done with school forever!!!

I got the entire trunk and back seat "unwired" and it's all on the floor in the back waiting for me to go forward with it. The engine bay is starting to clear out. Air Filter assembly, battery, AC hoses and coolant all gone. I have also put the front end on jack stands and am getting 2 more this weekend to put the rear up and get all the underside disconnected. I really hope to get something serious done to it soon as I need to get rid of the shell so I can clear a place to park for the wife when the snow hits.

Honestly, I just want the engine and tranny out so I can start to test fit it all in the Lane and get the IRS put away for my 57 F100 project. Going to put a modular in that as well as a Crown Vic front end after the Lane is running.

More to come with pics. I swear it. I just know how boring destruction pics are of a car. I like construction and progress pics.

Dave
 
#20 · (Edited)
I got a lot done today on the MkVIII. I got the exhaust off, the wiring in the bay all marked and disconnected. I got the steering, shifter, fuel and all other things out that needed to be. THe only thing holding the drivetrain in now is the tranny mount and the engine mounts. I will drain the trans and then lift it all out tomorrow I hope. Just need to find a good spot to hook up the cherry picker.

The interior is shot. I took it all apart to the dash so far and have unbolted it. I'm going to start unplugging it and get it all out tomorrow too I hope. The little red books you see below will help me along in my journey. Just got them today.




 
#21 ·
Can you guess what is missing from this next pic?????



That's right! I finally got the drivetrain out of the Lincoln. Had to drop the subframe while I lifted the engine but no biggie. Here sits the Fairlane with her new heart in front of her. I need to get the 8" rear out of her and swap it into the MkVIII so I can have it able to be loaded and unloaded on the flatbed to the junk yard. The IRS has to be put aside for my Galaxie project someday.



I can't wait to fit this package into the Fairlane and frown on the firewall and tunnel work I'll have to do. I really wish I had a newer engine with the side exit throttle body. I'm not waiting and not spending too much on this. I have the rest of the car to deal with. I'll pull parts and get them powder coated and leave it as is. I'll make an intake tube or something myself.

Next step, finish pulling the wiring and then get the IRS out.
I'm freaking sore and tired.
Dave
 
#22 ·
I had to box the fire wall at the back of the throttle to clear the position sensor, and I had to cut the tunnel out, move it up 2 inches and back a bit to get the 4R70W to fit. I dont know if you saw my post about that, but If I had moved the crossmember forward from where R&C says to mount it about an 1" to 1.5", I think it might have cleared and would not have had any effect on the front clearance. Mine still looks like frankenstein at this point. Hope to get back on it this fall.
 
#23 ·
I just PM'd you about the parts. I saw your thread a while back and planned on the same radiator mounting setup but you beat me to it. I'm going to copy it for the most part....sorry. I saw your firewall stuff too as well as the wiper swap inside. I like that and will probably do something similar. We'll see. I will fit it all in and then pull it, final weld it all and clean everything and paint before final install.

Can't wait!

Dave
 
#24 ·
Finally got all the wiring out of the Mark.




I also got the 8 inch rear out of the Fairlane.




The explorer 8.8 will need chopped 3" but I'm going to pull the IRS out and just for ****s and giggles, settle it under the Fairlane to see what it looks like under there. Either way, I don't really want to use those springs again so I need to get a 4 link if not the IRS. Baby steps.......

Dave
 
#26 ·
I got the IRS out and the 8" in its place. I measured the hub to hub mounting surface on both. The 8" is 57.5" and the IRS is 63.5" . 6" exactly. Not too bad but it would mean I'd have to get new wheels to replace my TTII's.



Now I just need to find a way to hard mount the 8" into the Lincoln so it'll go on the flatbed. After that, it's their problem. It's just sitting in position on blocks right now.

Dave

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, I still haven't put the package in the mail. I'll get it soon I swear.
 
#27 ·
I got some work done on the car today. The Lincoln is gone and I am upset with my 58 F100 so I got busy on the Fairlane on my day off. I got the engine and tranny installed. I have room for the Lincoln fan and radiator and I don't have to cut the trans tunnel or firewall. I do have to notch the crossmember about an inch or two because the pan is close. I will probably make my own pan someday but for now this will do. I tried to mate my R&C mounts to the factory Lincoln ones and realized, I have 2 rubber mounts in each side. I had to readdress that anyways because the steering shaft is completely in the way. I just took the C bracket and the engine plate parts of the Lincoln mount and got rid of the rubber part. The two are bolted together now and I'm working on the R&C mounts back onto the frame. I am contemplating cutting the lower cross bar off the frame and making it bolt on so pulling the engine and trans would be easier. I don't expect to do it too many times but you never know. I'll see when I pull it this time after welding the mounts. As of now, it sits on blocks with 4 plumb bobs lined up from the front radiator support, crank at the front, trans tail shaft and rear bumper centerlines. Engine is level and I just need to get these mounts in and subs done to attach the trans cross member to.







Anyone see any problems yet????

Thanks
Dave
 
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