Hi, Let me start off by saying this is a great site and hello to everyone... I just bought a 70 grabber, It is a 6 banger with the 4 lug wheels. I"m looking at a 76 with disc brakes and 5 lug wheels, my question is how much of the front end can I use off of the 76? I would like to use control arm and spindles if possible. Why do they list the Idler arms as not covering all years? And last for now, do you need to change the pitman arm and center link to convert to manual steering? Thanks, Steve
Welcome to the forum! The entire suspension will swap between the cars. There are differences in the steering through the model years. You will likely need to use the later outer tie rod ends with the disc brake spindles if you retain the 70 steering gear. The ratio on a power steering box is different than a manual box although guys have converted to manual and retained the box. You can get a manual adapter to replace the power steering control valve. The adapter is available from a Mustang parts supplier.
Hi Steve, Both cars have power steering? I'm kind of surprised the 70 does, if so. I converted to manual and kept the power steering box and while the effort is heavier, as long as you are rolling it is fine. A manual box has a lot of ratio in it and is many more turns lock to lock. As long as you aren't parallel parking, the power box is fine. I certainly don't miss having to replace the return hose in the power set-up every 6 months ... what a pain! If you convert to manual, you will need to re-engineer your pulley set-up. I removed the A/C at the same time, and came up with a water pump pulley with 2 grooves off of a big Ford truck (F-450). I had to use the forward portion of it to go alt-crank-water pump. There has to be a better solution, but that is what I came up with at the time. A search of old posts will turn up a lot of info. Good luck with it.
