Anyone seen this? Crown Vic front suspension to F frame?

OMG, this looks awesome!   This is for a bump side, but looks like it would probably work for a Bullnose.   This would be an awesome swap I would think, for a 2wd street cruiser.   Lower the rear to match and BAM.  

https://www.blueovaltrucks.com/tech-articles/ford-f-100-crown-vic-front-suspension-swap/

The friend I helped with a 1956 Dodge used a Mustang II setup, and said he wished he had gone with a Crown Vic swap. The Mustang II front suspension was pretty well overloaded with a Mopar 360 sitting on it.

I would never do a Stang II set up as I feel it is to light duty for anything it would ne used on.

As for the CV in our trucks it is not that easy.
If you do a search (Google) you will find that some have started but I dont know of any of them finished and on the road.
IIRC 1 was on a Bronco and the other a pick up and both stopped at about the same place with the CV suspension just placed there.

The problem with our trucks is the frame where the CV needs to be mounted it is not flat like the early trucks are, its curved.

The pickup the user cut the frame out and welded in steel to make it flat.
I did not like how it was done as I think it could have been done a little better.

I want to say there is a company that makes a kit to bolt / weld the CV into our trucks but cant think of it off the top of my head.
I have my eye on a short bed frame if I can get it for the right price and would do a CV swap to it and then could do a body / drive train swap to for the WOW!
Or build another truck but dont tell the wife LOL

The other thing if you want to lower our trucks there are drop beams but you can do the full CV frame swap or use the frame & firewall / floor to replace the firewall / floor of our cabs.
Look into what is done on the bump & dent side trucks and most of that can be done on ours.

As you can see my wheels have been turning on this CV swap from the front suspension swap to full frame to full frame / firewall / floor swap.
Dave ----

Yep, there are a lot of projects out there stalled for one reason or another.   That's why I insist on keeping mine running, even if it's not super cool truck.   I know how easily I can get distracted, so I have to keep the truck going.  I'm dreading it being apart for a week while I get seat upholstered and carpet in.   One litte thing goes wrong and I worry about getting it going again.   But that's me.  

And as much as I like this idea, not sure I would take it on.   Would love to see it done though.

I hear you on being down.
When I was rebuilding mine I worked as fast as I could to get it rolling so it felt like it was not that bad.
I also tried to get it moving under its own power ASAP, again so it felt like it was not that bad.
It took me 4 years before I could drive it, before that it was only a bad short test drive.

I know something has to be done with my seat and if I have to take it off the road for a week I am ok(some what) with that but would not like it down more than that.
I enjoy drive my truck and used the truck all last week to / from work and 2 days this week and it is 37 miles each way, if my math is right that was 518 miles! Now wonder the miles add up so fast!
Dave ----

Mine is the perfect project for me.   All the hard stuff was already renewed.   I just have to do maintenance and fix up.

I have become accustomed to driving mine a couple days every week and it being down a week will suck, but I'll have evening work to do - getting old carpet out and new carpet in.  And getting ready for the new seat.   I say that is all, but I already know I'm going to need door panels soon since the pass side has cracked in two places on the top. BUt the interior is going to be basically renewed.  Not restored, but renewed.    That's where I sit so that's the big thing for me - be comfy when we're out in it.  

I was going to leave the seat, but since we're going to new carpet, may as well do as much of it "Right" as possible.  

Sean Holman of 4 Wheeler Mag (which has probably been bought out again by now) had a long-running Project Speedbump, which is a Dentside with Crown Vic front suspension and a modern turbodiesel, or a hemi, I forget which, something fun and fast.

Great guy, actually answers messages, I sorta lost touch with him after we left yurrup.

Could be an info source for your idea. CV front is said to bolt right in.

Crown Vic suspension swaps are OK for trucks that are going to be week-end warriors or trailer queens but it's not for me. There is of course nothing wrong with it if that's what you like though because we are all different and like different things and there's room for all of us. I my self do not mind that my truck rides like a truck and it's suspension is more than capable enough for my style of driving, in fact if I ever hit 60 mph, I'm in a really big hurry as the majority of the time I rarely get as fast as 55 mph with the majority of my driving being 45-50 mph. If that's not fast enough for ya, go around. I also don't mind how it rides as I have owned more trucks than I have cars. My truck is my normal daily driver as it's not only more comfortable to me than my '90 Lincoln Town Car but around town my average fuel consumption is better than my car. Also the car is currently parked due to a front brake caliper trying to stick when you push the brake pedal, all due to an idea by the factory to use phenolic pistons in the brake calipers. Easily fixable though. If I want a truck that rides like a car, I'll go buy myself a Ford Ranchero but again, that's just me, to each his own.

The Crown Vic swap has been done on a Bullnose, but you have to basically drop the truck to the ground and tuck the wheels. The ones I've seen are driving around with no inner fender liners because the wheels are tucked in there so far. It's not my thing at all, but dropping them to the ground is all the craze these days. I'm more of a stock ride height guy...I don't even like the levelling kits that everybody installs, but again, to each their own. We can't all like the same things.

The suspension is one thing...and it doesn't bother me at all in the Bullnose, it's the steering that gets on everybody's nerves. If somebody made a kit to install a nice rack and pinion steering system on a Bullnose, I would have done that years ago.

Good point.  I wouldn't want to have to modify my old truck that much.   Mine seems to have a pretty low stock ride height any way.  Probably weak springs?   And it was bought to live with us as a truck.  SO whatever I do, we have to be able to go get a load of building or yard supplies.  

Great idea about a kit to convert to a more precise steering system.  

Darth's steering isn't bad at all (a) he's a one ton, 22 ft long dual rear wheel load hauler (b) still has the original king pins, just greased regularly. The second fact is why there is a slight tendency to wander due to friction.

Biggest issue is very few shops can or will correctly set these trucks up, especially the heavier ones with king pins as the only way to change the caster and camber is to actually bend the twin I-beams. Properly done they will hold a setting indefinitely, Darth's last full alignment was in 1994 not long after I bought him. Proof is the front tires wear dead even.

I haven't put enugh miles on Walter's new tires to know if it's out.  Other than it's not way out because they still look good after 1000 miles.  Mine is stable in a straight line.   Turns fairly precisely.  Only thing it really doesn't do well is return to center.  Wants to stay turned.  Or wherever you input.   I would like the feel of IFS in that regard - that it return to center and not want to just stay turned.   HOWEVER, I have not had it aligned since I bought it.  My favored shop closed and I haven't taken time to find a new shop.  It might be fixable.  

I need to go look up the steering a little more.  I understand that these TIBs have fewer adjustments.  OR at least fewer EASY adjustments.  

rcarlisle wrote

I haven't put enugh miles on Walter's new tires to know if it's out.  Other than it's not way out because they still look good after 1000 miles.  Mine is stable in a straight line.   Turns fairly precisely.  Only thing it really doesn't do well is return to center.  Wants to stay turned.  Or wherever you input.   I would like the feel of IFS in that regard - that it return to center and not want to just stay turned.   HOWEVER, I have not had it aligned since I bought it.  My favored shop closed and I haven't taken time to find a new shop.  It might be fixable.  

I need to go look up the steering a little more.  I understand that these TIBs have fewer adjustments.  OR at least fewer EASY adjustments.

Being you have an 81 it has kingpins that come in 2 different sizes.
I will take a little work but you need to disconnect the tie rod at the wheel end at each side and with the wheels off the ground try and turn the wheels by hand.
Each side should turn easy and if not the kingpins could be frozen.
If they turn easy then I would say it needs more caster as it helps keep the tires  pointing forward but can make it a little harder to turn the steering wheel.

My 81 had frozen pins and on the test drive I almost ended up in a ditch as it would not return to center.
The shop that pressed the bushings in and reamed did not do it right and they are to tight.
It dose wonder some but the front end checked out ok on the rack.
The shop said because the pins are so tight is why it does not return to center.
It still will not return to center but it has gotten better over the almost 2 years on the road.
Dave ----

My '81 returns to center just fine like it's supposed to do.

Yea but you did not have a machine shop that you were told by 3 different places could do the job mess it up by reaming the bushings 1 at a time from each side so you could not install the pins!
I had to hone them out and "drive" the pins in just to get the spindles on.

This made them really tight. They have gotten better the more I drive it but still not like it should be.
Dave ----

The crown vic swap is pretty common, there's a facebook group about it that is a ton of help.  I always recommend the swap to people looking to lower their truck.

Cool.   I'll probably never do that to mine, but thought it was very interesting.   I liked HotRod Garage's Crown Hick, where they put a whole truck on a whole chassis.

351FUN wrote

The crown vic swap is pretty common, there's a facebook group about it that is a ton of help.  I always recommend the swap to people looking to lower their truck.

How many of them are doing it to a Bullnose truck?
Most are doing this to the pre 80's trucks as it is almost a bolt in as the frames are flat, not so with ours where the suspension needs to be placed.

It has been a while since I looked over this build https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1519659-1985-f150-bullnose-project-cv-swap-4-6-a.html
I cant remember if it was just the suspension or full frame?
There is also a company that makes a "kit" for our trucks but I dont remember who it is at this time.
Dave ----

>How many of them are doing it to a Bullnose truck?
Most are doing this to the pre 80's trucks as it is almost a bolt in as the frames are flat, not so with ours where the suspension needs to be placed.

The group is called "1980 to 1996 Ford F-150 Bronco Crown Vic Subframe/suspension swap" so I'd reckon they're not doing it on the older trucks   I don't know anything about the older trucks, I've never had a Ford older than '83.

351FUN wrote

>How many of them are doing it to a Bullnose truck?
Most are doing this to the pre 80's trucks as it is almost a bolt in as the frames are flat, not so with ours where the suspension needs to be placed.

The group is called "1980 to 1996 Ford F-150 Bronco Crown Vic Subframe/suspension swap" so I'd reckon they're not doing it on the older trucks   I don't know anything about the older trucks, I've never had a Ford older than '83.

I do follow all the older year truck to see what they are doing and to get ideals.

What I meant by what I said was this CV swap is mostly done on the pre 80's trucks as the frames where CV suspension bolts to is flat unlike ours.

If you do a Google and YouTube search on CV swaps see what comes up, almost none if any for the 80+ trucks.
Now that not to say it has not been done just not as many as the older trucks.
Dave ----