68 f100 restoration.

[Fordkid68]

Went to the junkyard and picked up the suspension this morning!

It's off of an 03 Mercury Grand Marquis that only had about 120 thousand miles on it.
It is in fairly decent shape other than some rust. I am already planning on replacing the upper A-arms, ball joints, and wheel bearings.

It is already missing the brakes, but I would have gotten new anyways.

The coil springs look brand new, and even have stickers left on them, but the struts are definitely used. Hopefully they are still ok.

cv.jpg

cv1.jpg

[hfdco4]

Looks good

[Fordkid68]

Got the suspension unbolted from the frame. I had to cut the bolts holding the sway bar on cause they broke off inside the frame and were just spinning, but other than that it went fairly smooth.

cv2.jpg

cv3.jpg

[Fordkid68]

I decided to buy an install kit to box in the frame, but I don't know about engine mounts yet. Outcast Auto works makes some, but they are pretty expensive, so I don't know if I should buy them or try making my own.

[hfdco4]

If you are confident in your abilities, go for it.

[Fordkid68]

The disassembly continues!!
I removed the upper A-arms, and struts. the upper ball joints were the hardest part but I eventually gotem.

cv4.jpg

the steering rack and knuckles were next. Now it is completely torn apart except for the lower ball joints.

cv5.jpg

And an install kit showed up in the mail. Pretty soon I'll be mocking it up.

cv6.jpg

[hfdco4]

Are you going to "clean" the cross member with an Aluminum Cleaner?

[Fordkid68]

Are you going to "clean" the cross member with an Aluminum Cleaner?

Yeah, I will. And I'll probably also paint it, to keep it from corroding.

[hfdco4]

That's a good idea. Use that aluminum paint to show off that nice crossmember!

[Fordkid68]

Well, I got the cab floor painted. I haven't really had a whole lot of time to work on stuff, but I've been trying to get as much done as I can.

floor paint.jpg

floor paint2.jpg

I also took a bunch of measurements for engine mounts, trying to figure out exactly what I need to make. Since the engine is moved to the right 3 inches from the factory, I might move it about an inch to the left to hopefully make room for the header on the right side. I might also have to raise it a bit, because my engine has a front sump oil pan.
I'm also cutting apart all the suspension stuff on the front of the frame to get ready for the C.V. suspension.

[Fordkid68]

well, there's no going back now!
I finally started cutting out the front suspension for the c.v. swap. The first thing I did was weld angle iron across the frame to keep it nice and straight, then just cut out the center crossmember with a sawzall.
I still have to cut out the remnants on the inside of the frame, and take off the spring perches.

cvcut.jpg

I also temporarily put bolts in the front cab mounts to keep the frame square.

[Fordkid68]

Got some more done on the suspension. I drilled out all the rivets, and got the right spring perch off! I still have a lot more to cut away.
I've been trying to get as much done as I can, but have been very busy.
More updates soon!

cv.jpg

[hfdco4]

At least you are making progress and it looks real good!

[Fordkid68]

At least you are making progress and it looks real good!

Thank you!!
You just got to keep working whenever you can!

[hfdco4]

Any new updates?