HELP!! I need to identify this front end.

I was told I had a mustang 2 front end under my truck, but today I was told it is not. Can somebody tell me what front end I have.

Thanks,

Steve

 

hey hey, i dont know,,,looks like they installed real nice though....mac

 

its either a pinto or a bobcat(mopar).

 

I'd guess pacer. They used R&P and normal A arms like that.

 

get the number off the rack and pinion.

 

Ill second mopar. Volare clips are real popular on effies.

 

uh....volares do not use rack and pinion. They have a good old fashioned steering gearbox and linkage. And torsion bars, no coil springs. Ever looked at a "modern" mopar?

 

What bolt pattern is it?

 

Volare have torosionbars so noo not a Volare

 

Volare's are torsion bar suspension, Bobcats are kinda like pintos or Mustang 2's

 

but what does an AMC Pacer front suspension look like? Do a search...

 

my bad guys! Im lucky enough to never have had to look at a mopar

 

That would be my guess too...

 

then you probably shouldn't offer your uninformed opinion that it's a mopar front end...???

 

I have to agree with squirrel I think it is a pacer and I also think the uninformed should keep quiet.

 

After a brief search it looks like it is probably leaning toward being a pacer front end. I am building a 53 chevy truck, is it worth my time to keep this or should I look for a mustang II clip.

Thanks,
Steve

 

hey if it works and you arent gonna build anything crazy why change it?

 

I'd check on " normal wear parts " availability, and if they have parts I'd use it. you have discs already and if it was cleaned and painted wouldn't be much different than Mustang II. JMO

 

-----------------------
Mopar?? Huh??? Can I have some of
whatever you're smoking? Volare's used
a single, transverse torsion bar. The other
Mopars - the A, B and C bodies - used
twin longitudinal torsion bars. This front
end in the picture has coil springs, not
torsion bars. And to the previous poster
who suggested it was from a - quote -
"Bobcat (Mopar)" - newsflash - the Bobcat
was simply a Mercury-badged Ford Pinto
which in turn had the same floorpan and
used the exact same suspension as a
Mustang II!

Mart3406
==========================

 

Uhhh....no, Volares, etc used 2 crossed torsion bars.

 

If you can get parts to replace all of the wear components I would stick to the Pacer unit, The Pacer was a big heavy car, not so for the 2800 pound mustang 2. These look like stock components, the only thing that looks remotely mustang to me is the lower arm, if they are Ford they will have a Ford oval stamp on them somewhere, most likely the top of the lower just behind the ball joint connection. The ball joints may also have an oval. Another tell tale stock Ford trademark is the absolute lack of any type of grease fittings on anything.

 

Looks like Pacer. They work fine, and parts are available, but they tend to develop leaks in the rack. They also use lower pressure pumps than the Fords. I would suggest putting an 82-88 T-Bird rack .Then you have the best of both worlds. Pacers also have 11" brakes, besides being heavier. You also also can put 2600 lb. bags on a Pacer that won't fit on a Mustang II.

 

One other thing, a Pacer front will not sit as low as a Mustang II. I have one under a 55 First Design panel.

 

IF it is a Pacer the spindle will be two piece. The AMC spindles have an upright section and then the spindle snout that bolts to the upright with four horizontal bolts. Hope this helps ID it for you.

 

----------------------

Ooops, my bad. You're right - two transverse
bars. I must have been thinking of the little
known, one-year-only '64 Henway Volare and
confused it with the much more common '76 to
'80 Plymouth Volare!

Mart3406 (Official Henway Motors Corporate
Historian and Archivist)

 

Hey, Flight75;

Sure looks like a Pacer to me. Ran one under a 47 Ford pu for a couple of years. Liked it so much, was the only thing I saved from the pu. Well worth keeping, even if you have to "adjust" the P.O.s' installation. As mentioned, AMC had the two-piece spindle, allowing different drum brakes, a good-sized solid rotor, & the huge-by-large vented rotors; like you have. Last time I checked, parts avail was a non-issue. & I think, IIRC, you can get a non-power rack also. Nice sized swaybar [well, anti-roll-bar], too. Everything is H.D. componentry. You will like it...

Marcus...

 

Pacer had a 3000# curb weight and the MII was 2822, not a huge difference.

 

If the front tires barely clear the front fenders it's a Pacer. They were popular because the whole unit just bolted under the frame like the Corvair. Not a lot of welding required. They quickly faded because they were so wide. You had to run rims with all the offset to the inside to clear the fenders. A friend had one under a 40 coupe and finally replaced it with a MII.

 

Definately check the parts availability. I remember one coming into the shop and some of the parts were outragously priced.

 

That fat squat looking thing only weighed in at 3000, I guess ugly has a way of looking heavy, still that cross member looks stouter than a stang 2 unit.