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Technical 63 ranchero and 65 mustang compatibility

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Indecisivebuilder95, Jul 6, 2016.

  1. sorry if it is a obvious question. I used the search function and and can't quite seem to find the exact info I need. If I were to buy a GRAB-A-TRAK suspension setup for a 65 mustang will it bolt up to my 63 ranchero. I would be buying the whole thing. id like to say thank you for answering ahead of time or looking at this thread. I'm still pretty new to this board. I'm pretty young 20 and still learning a lot of this. I'd like to say thanks to all who helped in my previous post.
     
  2. In the front, the upper and lower control arms will directly interchange but nothing else will. In the rear, only the shackles and u-bolts are the same.

    Everyone assumes that the Mustang was wholly based on the Falcon, but the very-similar-but-slightly different Comet actually donated more parts to the Mustang than the Falcon did...
     
    LOU WELLS likes this.
  3. then we can swap out whats in between the uppers and lowers struts in the front and whats in between the shackles in the rear ? Just need the right ball joints in front for a v/8 set up and not sure what he has - never heard of a "grab a trac " set up....the Granada/Monarch drive train/suspension finds it's way into the early stuff so not so sure why the 63 back vehicles wouldn't...
     
  4. Barn Find
    Joined: Feb 2, 2013
    Posts: 2,312

    Barn Find
    Member
    from Missouri

    Shouldn't the vendor be able to confirm?

    I seem to recall my 63 Comet V8 had a unique idler arm that was troublesome.
     
  5. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Yes, in the front. That is what is on the front of my '60 Falcon. The springs will need to be trimmed. Falcon shock towers are not the same height.

    The steering stuff is Falcon specific, and V8 versus 6-cylinder specific.

    The rear springs are specific to the Falcon platform, and different between the Falcon and the Ranchero.

    Do you have a V8, or are you planning on putting one in?

    What is the part number of the specific kit you are looking at? I will have a look and make sure you are okay.

    Mustangs Plus, where Grab-A-Track comes from, is local to me. Good people. Good parts.
     
  6. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The springs (trimmed, too tall by a little), the anti-sway bar, the radius rods, and tie rod ends (so long as they are V8 to V8, or L6 to L6) all interchange, too. Just drove my '60 Falcon, with all of those Mustang parts on it.

    The shackles are not the same. The Falcon/Ranchero springs are narrower. The u-bolts only interchange if the axle is the exact same model.
     
  7. I don't know about the six cylinder stuff, but the V8 steering parts don't interchange. The '63-early '64 V8 Falcons/Comets had unique steering linkage, when Ford introduced the Mustang they changed the Falcon/Comet steering mid-year to use the updated Mustang parts although they still had a unique center link. The Mustang sway bars are too wide but can be made to fit, although not all that well. The early V8 cars also had unique strut rods, but the later ones can be used if you have the matching steering stops IIRC.

    I used to own a early '64 V8/4-speed Comet, and at the time steering linkage parts were all but nonexistent (never did find a good idler arm to replace my marginal one). Oddly enough, the Comet used the same rear suspension as the Mustang. These days, if you have the early steering and it needs rebuilding it can be cheaper to replace it all with the late repo parts....
     
  8. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    No. I have a 1965 Mustang anti-sway bar on the front of my 1960 Falcon. No modifications required.

    All early Falcons had unique strut rods, which can quickly and easily be modified to fit first-generation Mustang control arms. Same for steering stops.

    All of the steering parts, for all years are available.

    I have 1965 Mustang V8 steering parts, with a 1964 Falcon center link on my 6-cylinder Falcon. I reamed the spindles to take the tie rod ends. That took 5-minutes per side.

    I have been interchanging Mustang and Falcon parts for 30-years and have not run into what you keep describing.

    Unless you are dealing with post 1966 parts, or a car that already has them on it, I don't follow you, at-all.
     
  9. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    At this point I half-expect to be told that I cannot run air conditioning, a 215mm Kevlar stage 2 Mercedes Benz clutch, a T56 6-speed, and an 8.8 rear end from a Ranger pickup, with 5.13 gears, and 4-lug factory wheels.
     
    ffr1222k and need louvers ? like this.
  10. Gimpy, if you've ever dealt with a early V8 Falcon/Comet, you'd know what I'm talking about. The six cylinder linkage is very similar to the later V8 linkage (and I can see where you could possibly swap parts) but not to the early V8. For starters, the tie rods are about 3" shorter, with their pivot points on the center link located just inboard of the idler/steering arm points (yes, this steering was noted for bump steer, one reason Ford changed it). Second, the Mustang engine tub is about 1.5" wider than the Falcon/Comet, so a Mustang bar will also be wider to match, causing your sway bar links to run at angles down to the control arm (this is also why a Mustang center link won't work). I had issues with the sway bar links binding until I replaced the bar with one that had 'adjustable' ends and by reversing the ends got rid of the binding. Don't ask me what brand the bar was, it's been too long. Global West recommended the second bar FWIW. I was also running the Delta Bay Falcon/Comet specific lower crossmember and strut tower brace.

    Yes, the early V8 steering parts are now available... but costs about 5 times what the late Falcon V8/Mustang stuff does...
     
  11. I want to just get there 1,000 kit it is a complete rear and front suspension along with a steering rebuild kit. I just want to know if it'll bolt up to my frame and spindles. Also have a 289 I want to put in to. The car was a project car my grandfather passed down to me. He was cheap and I do not know the original motorist size. I just want to know if I could buy there complete front and rear suspension and bolt it up to my steering, shackles, and spindles (and anything else I'm forgetting that wouldn't be in the kit) jus to get the suspension up to date. Unless you know of another way to just buy all brand new parts to full rebuild the front suspension. Thanks so much for your help everyone.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2016
  12. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    All of the parts on my 1960 Falcon came from them. They all bolted on.

    I am not aware that they have rear suspension parts for an early Falcon. They have narrower springs than Mustangs.

    There is a data plate on the back side of the driver's door. That will tell you what engine it had.
     
  13. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  14. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 24,397

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have had three. Maybe they were made differently on the East Cost.
     
  15. There are Falcon-specific vendors that will have the parts the Mustang vendors won't have, it does pay to price shop...

    It's easy to know if yours was a V8 car; just check the VIN. It will read 3A27F10XXXX if it was originally a V8. If the fifth letter isn't a F, it was a six cylinder. Keep in mind that the six cars used lighter-gauge metal in the frame rails, rockers, and shock towers, as well as 4-lug wheels, so if you're planning on a V8 swap, I'd highly recommend the Delta Bay crossmember and shock tower brace to reinforce the body.
     
  16. There was two early V8 steering linkages; '63 to April '64, then April '64 to '65. The steering box and spindles would interchange, nothing else. Didn't matter which coast they were built on...
     
  17. deathrowdave
    Joined: May 27, 2014
    Posts: 4,850

    deathrowdave
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from NKy

    Pitman arm , idler arm , center link , tie rods , are different . Dont know about control arms , or springs . Rear just added one new leaf to each side of OEM springs and it was as good as new
     

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