I got the holes for the locating dowels drilled and the crossmember popped right in place upon reassemble so that was really good. Hanging all the new components in place.
The cab mounts still need some trimming but for now they will keep the cab located on the frame rails and allow me to slid it front to rear.
I had to do a little modification to bottom of the radiator support where it will set on the frame rails and cut some pockets in the frame rails for the support and the gravel pan with View attachment 6160145 View attachment 6160145 a final cutting to come later.
I spent some time cleaning up the area the rad. support will set in , then cut the support brackets loose from the support so they can be centered over the frame. The rack's up through 07 have electronic variable steering assist which when unplugged defaults to the easiest effort mode. So I ordered one for a 08 when this was no longer used.
The Police Interceptor had a bigger front sway bar, makes a slight improvement. My CV came with no rear bar !!! Bean Counters really wanted to save $10. I found a Civilian Handling Package rear bar, at a U-Pull yard. HUGE improvement.
This front end is from a 04 Town Car, there were no sway bar brackets with it. I bought a pair of Energy Suspension bushings and brackets for a inch and a 1/8th bar. The bar has to stops on it for the bushings that need to ne moved in about a 1/2 inch or so on each side and I have to come up with a good way to anchor the brackets to the frame. The rear suspension is still up for debate, my original plan was truck arms but right now I am leaning more to a parallel four link.
I got the rack and the calipers installed, I need to find a Crown Vic to see just where the sway bar mounts to the frame and I am working through some thoughts on the rear lower mounts ( trailing arm bushings )
I have limited shop space so I have got the truck moved back and the stands spaced so I can get the cherry picker in between them. Also have the frame ( what there is of it ) level front to rear and side to side. Hopefully I will get the motor here this week and see what we have to work with. I have to buy a caster/camber gauge to see where that is at before I can move forward with a mount for the rear lower bushing.
As my faint memory recalls, I had the sway bar where the end links were verticle in placement. I used bolts through the lower wall of the frame and had machined cutouts on the inside of the frame rails for nut access. I don't recall what the measurement was for the lower a-arm center to center was. When I lowered the truck, I had to grind a notch where the lower alignment bolt went in the alum crossmember to get the camber good. Seems like there was something of a recess in the crossmember and I ground that out until it was even with the rest of the crossmember.
https://range-industries.com/products/crown-victoria-lower-control-arm-mounts These are a nice option. I don't know if they are the right dimensions to work on my straight rails but if they are most likely that is what I will go with.
Thanks for the info, I have several friends who have Crown vics sitting around , I just have to go take a look and get some measurements. You can see the camber adjustment in the one pic before I installed the rack.
Still chugging along ! the owner had the wrong flywheel so we are waiting on the replacement. The plan is to index the scattershield and install the clutch and transmission and then set it all in place to fab up some mounts and a crossmember.
Bonus points to you. So very few people even consider this step, as if the myriad pile of parts are somehow all made exactly the same. Fascinating theory...
I have been working on the motor mounts , some 1/4 in. plate and will use a 1/2 in. bolt to fasten to the crossmember. I am still waiting on the flywheel.
We are still waiting on the flywheel, I have the seat and steering wheel set in place for a fitting with the owner. I got the chance to go through a closed up Plymouth store the other day and came across these pedals in the parts dept. So the plan is to use them if possible. They look to be out of a Chevy ? Vette, Chevelle ? . I did come away with a few other items that are pretty cool. No Holy Grail though ! The hacked up pedals are what was in the truck.
I have spent a little time working on the pedal mounting. There is still a long ways to go with that. It will have a hydraulic release bearing and I got a new M/C for a 73 F350 . The M/C is a new BRAKE BEST from Oreillys and is aluminum so that will be nice with no rust issues. Plus it has a 1 and quarter inch piston.
I got the new flywheel ! had to w arm it up a little so it would go on. Now I am just waiting on someone to come by and turn the motor for me .lol
Spent a little time on the Ford, got the rack centered and marked for future reference ( 3 turns lock to lock ) Getting things so I can set the toe ( close anyhow ) and discovered the flywheel bolts are to long and touch the back of the block ( almost ) which will only get worse when you push the clutch in .
I finally made it to a friends shop who has a supply of Crown Vics, They had one on a lift so I could get the measurement for the sway bar mounts easy enough. I ordered a caster/camber gauge and then I can finish setting the front end up before I put the motor in place.
I got a good start on mounting the sway bar bushings today. I decided to use 3/8 bolts from inside the frame rail so I had to cut a couple access holes for a wrench, it worked out pretty slick.
The Jalopy Journal
