50 merc chassis swap

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Dick Dean preferred using mid-size Olds chassis from late '60s to early '70s with a wheel base of 118" for this swap.

The 1969-'73 Pontiac Grand Prix also has a 118" wheelbase. Additionally, the 1977 Olds 98 Regency 4-door and Buick Park Ave have a 118" wheelbase.

The above info is summarized from p. 46 of "How to Build Shoebox Fords Mercurys 1949 - 1954" by Rich Johnson.

Good Luck!
X

 

I might be interested in the flathead tranny combo? Is it for free?

Steve k.

 

It was the second issue of Custom Rodder.

 

If you are planning on using the bolt on aluminum Crown Vic crossmember and matching independent rear end I think you will find that they are way and to hell and gone too wide for a Merc.

The 118 WB GM frame swap works because in the long run it is pretty much the same as channeling the body with the stock frame.

When I put the 75 Monte Carlo frame under my 51 Coupe I stretched the frame by cutting the welds at the back of the side rails loose and sliding the rear section back to get the correct wheelbase and welded it back together. That was about a one hour process. I used Tri-5 motor mount biscuits for body mounts. The big rubs were having to cut the whole section over the rear axle out for frame clearance and figuring out how to mount the front end sheet metal. There also was a hell of a lot of modification needed to clear the steering.

It has been a wonderment to me that no one has come up with bolt on replacement A frames/control arms for the 30's, 40's 50's independent front end cars so guys can run ball joint spindles and not have to cut up frames or swap frames. How about it suspension fab guys? That should be something fairly simple to figure out and there must be a market for it.

 

Mr48chev There are a few of us who do make ball jointed A-arms. Jamco and I make them. For it to be fairly simple to figure out you are correct if all you want is to fit the ball joints and spindle onto the a-arms but its another big issue if you want to highly improve handeling as well yet keep it a true bolt in. Rick Erickson

 

Sold the merc!!

 

You are posting on a thread that was dead for around 6 years. That is a normal FNG thing though.
Fist thing I would do is measure the outside to outside of the tires on the Ford and find a Lincoln sitting somewhere to measure the outside to outside width of the tires on it. I'm thinking that the Lincoln is way too wide but you have to let the tape measure tell you if it will work.
Back in the 80's and 90's Dick Dean did a lot of 49/51 Merc frame swaps with Pontiac Lemans and maybe some other GM donors using floor boards and all. That may have been that along with wheel base the factory location of the engine was closer to what was in the Merc. That is one thing to consider when looking at a donor, where does the engine sit in relation to the front wheels as some late models have it way too far forward compared to what you need with the Ford.