Joined
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2 Posts
Hey guys, love the site, been mulling around in the shadows for a while. I thought I would bring out my 61 Econo project. I purchased it out of Spokane about 3 years ago and had it shipped to me.
1. Custom 2x4 square tube chassis
2. Crown Vic IFS
3. Complete air ride suspension
4. TBird MN12 IRS
5. Keep the original I-6 and throw a small turbo on it, just for fun
6. Swap out the 3 speed for a C4 transmission
7. 20" Wheels
9. 40"x80" sliding ragtop (van is an ex-camper so the hole is there already)
10. Fill in the aftermarket side window
12. Fabricate the rear windows to open/close like the rear side vents on Ford Expeditions do with a switch and motor setup.
13. Body drop (only if needed)
14. Ditch the front bumper
15. Ditch the rear bumper
16. Custom exhaust tips to exit where license plate goes
17. French license plate into rear door
18. Ghost LED brake/tailight setup
I think that about covers the meat and potatoes of this build.
Original state:
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Here is my TBird IRS:
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I Spoke with Dave at Team 321 out in Florida. He is going to build me the IRS cage, with a square tubing mount, so then I had to figure out the ride height with the CV IFS, which is about 10" off the ground. With a front tire diameter of 25", I calculated a rough 1-1/2" drop in frame height, which would take me to 9" to the bottom of the frame. Now, at this point as an aside, the body sits 5" below the bottom of the frame rail, so my body ride height will be about 4".(You may notice my calc's don't equal my comments here....I made some changes once I realized my math error and have not updated the drawings yet.) I don't think I'll need a body drop.
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From there, I let Dave know, and in the meanwhile, he sent me a preliminary drawing of what the squre tubing rails would look like.
![]()
Here is the revised drawing he sent me, with 9" ride height and 28" diameter tires and Shockwave air bags.
![]()
From there, I told him I was going with a 32" diameter tire, so he sent revised dwgs with the tires added, to confirm no interference with the Shockwaves, control arms or frame rails. This brought his IRS Cage up almost to my ride height. Small adjustments made to the final design.
![]()
At the same time, I had to figure out what track width I wanted to go with, which would also determine my backspacing for my rear wheels.
![]()
Once I had this figured out, I feared that my CV IFS may be slightly too wide. I have endlessly calculated the numbers, and it's so close. The problem I have run into, is it is very hard to find wheels with the mounting face pushed out almost to the front of the wheel. So, I pulled out the solid front end, and slid the IFS under it to get some true measurements.
![]()
And then I drew it out and while it may just fit, with heavily modifying the door sill and bottom of the doors, I did not feel good about it. I sent out some emails to a few local fab shops to see if they would narrow the IFS for me to meet my desired 56" track width. Then I had a revelation....I don't really need a cross member as it is not supporting the engine. So now I am going to cut the IFS apart and bolt the end pieces to the frame and gusset between the frame rails, where the IFS bolts to the frame. If this does not work, then I will look at getting a MII IFS kit.
![]()
Rack, control arms and miscellaneous accessories removed from the IFS, and ready for extracation
![]()
Here is what it will look like at final ride height. It’s sitting on jack stands, with the wheels under it for visual reference.
![]()
1. Custom 2x4 square tube chassis
2. Crown Vic IFS
3. Complete air ride suspension
4. TBird MN12 IRS
5. Keep the original I-6 and throw a small turbo on it, just for fun
6. Swap out the 3 speed for a C4 transmission
7. 20" Wheels
9. 40"x80" sliding ragtop (van is an ex-camper so the hole is there already)
10. Fill in the aftermarket side window
12. Fabricate the rear windows to open/close like the rear side vents on Ford Expeditions do with a switch and motor setup.
13. Body drop (only if needed)
14. Ditch the front bumper
15. Ditch the rear bumper
16. Custom exhaust tips to exit where license plate goes
17. French license plate into rear door
18. Ghost LED brake/tailight setup
I think that about covers the meat and potatoes of this build.
Original state:
Here is my TBird IRS:
I Spoke with Dave at Team 321 out in Florida. He is going to build me the IRS cage, with a square tubing mount, so then I had to figure out the ride height with the CV IFS, which is about 10" off the ground. With a front tire diameter of 25", I calculated a rough 1-1/2" drop in frame height, which would take me to 9" to the bottom of the frame. Now, at this point as an aside, the body sits 5" below the bottom of the frame rail, so my body ride height will be about 4".(You may notice my calc's don't equal my comments here....I made some changes once I realized my math error and have not updated the drawings yet.) I don't think I'll need a body drop.
From there, I let Dave know, and in the meanwhile, he sent me a preliminary drawing of what the squre tubing rails would look like.
Here is the revised drawing he sent me, with 9" ride height and 28" diameter tires and Shockwave air bags.
From there, I told him I was going with a 32" diameter tire, so he sent revised dwgs with the tires added, to confirm no interference with the Shockwaves, control arms or frame rails. This brought his IRS Cage up almost to my ride height. Small adjustments made to the final design.
At the same time, I had to figure out what track width I wanted to go with, which would also determine my backspacing for my rear wheels.
Once I had this figured out, I feared that my CV IFS may be slightly too wide. I have endlessly calculated the numbers, and it's so close. The problem I have run into, is it is very hard to find wheels with the mounting face pushed out almost to the front of the wheel. So, I pulled out the solid front end, and slid the IFS under it to get some true measurements.
And then I drew it out and while it may just fit, with heavily modifying the door sill and bottom of the doors, I did not feel good about it. I sent out some emails to a few local fab shops to see if they would narrow the IFS for me to meet my desired 56" track width. Then I had a revelation....I don't really need a cross member as it is not supporting the engine. So now I am going to cut the IFS apart and bolt the end pieces to the frame and gusset between the frame rails, where the IFS bolts to the frame. If this does not work, then I will look at getting a MII IFS kit.
Rack, control arms and miscellaneous accessories removed from the IFS, and ready for extracation
Here is what it will look like at final ride height. It’s sitting on jack stands, with the wheels under it for visual reference.
