70 two door to 75 four door Front suspension swap questions.

Discussion in 'Parts Interchange' started by 70GreenMonster, Oct 19, 2015.

  1. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    I am swapping the front suspension to 5 lug and to power steering.
    I will be swapping brakes, spindles, tie rod ends, steering linkage
    I want to swap the coil springs too because my car was set up from the factory for a 200 and it has the light duty springs. I am putting a 250 in it for now and plan for a 302 later, so i will need the bigger springs anyway.
    Do I need to swap the upper and lower control arms also?
    or will the 4 door springs fit on the 2 door spring seats?
    Should I replace all of it together?
     
  2. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    the part #'s are the same in 2 different catalogs for the 2 different control arms.
     
  3. Krazy Comet

    Krazy Comet Tom

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    For true '70 models through the '80 Granada, upper and lower control arms are exact same... The 69.5 and any other Ford intermediate, Falcon etc back to '66 can also use those arms for replacement(as well as back to '67 for Stang/Cougar)... Some of the later arms may have a different ball joint pin size....

    Only major difference in '69 to '70 arms are the ball joints went to a cheaper to mfgr three bolt(rivet) design vs prior four bolt... Tie rod pins are slightly smaller on '69.5/earlier, must match year spindle...

    No matter what the year, generally by 65 - 70K mi both upper and lower control arms are junk, mine at 66K mi were completely worn out...

    BTW my Comet jumped up probably 1.5" with the alum head/intake 306 vs all iron 302, I installed 170/200 springs to get it to set level...
     
  4. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    I don't even know how my ride height was when I bought the 70 because the motor was in pieces in the back of my truck the day I brought it home, so the front was really high.
    Maverick motor the day purchased.JPG
    Most of the other stuff,(radiator, starter, alternator, etc.) was in the trunk making the back end even lower..

    Since I have had it, it looks like its about to do a wheel stand at the drag strip.
    100_1879.JPG
    Tail down, nose up!

    I am curious to see how it will end up with all the new stuff and a motor in it.

    I think I want it to be just a little higher in the rear. Maybe 1"-2"

    Because I am installing a 250 and all of the other options on the car I would not go back with the light springs even if these are a little bit too tall. I would get some aftermarket lowering springs with the correct spring rate for my car's weight.

    Right now I have some that are paid for and we will see...

    Rear suspension and brakes done except bleeding of the hydraulics.

    Starting on front suspension this week.
     
  5. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    Couldn't get the nose down, so we changed back to the light duty springs.
     
  6. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    You could have cut a coil from the stiffer springs to achieve the desired height.
     
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  7. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    From what I understand, the tips of the springs are where the soft part of the ride is. The middle is where the stiffer part of the spring is.
    Lowering springs include the comfort zone in a shorter spring instead of cutting off the soft part and leaving a ride like an empty F250.
    If I was building an autocross car I would cut them in a heartbeat, and it probably would be 2 coils for a serious drop and a car that would turn left at 40.

    But I am building a Grand Touring machine and I have to balance absolute performance with luxury ride comfort and interior sound level at 75 mph is important also.
    I am adding probably close to 500lbs to my Maverick with bigger motor, bigger trans, A/C/ P/S, sound deadening materials, etc. but I am also adding about 200 HP at the brakes. I'm aiming for a Mark VII LSC kind of feel.
    Comfy on the highway and still composed in the curves.
     
  8. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    Before I'd cut 2 coils, I'd install drop-spindles.
     
  9. Krazy Comet

    Krazy Comet Tom

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    And then it would beat you to death, no thank you... After rebuilding my front end and installing the alu headed & intake 5.0, I wound up pulling my originals back out and going with 6cyl springs...
     
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  10. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    Nonsense. I cut a coil from my front springs, and my car rides just fine. It was the 4-leaf rear springs I had that were unbearable.

    As long as the 200 I-6 springs don't cause bottoming-out on dips in the road, he should be okay.
     
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  11. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    I think the 200 springs will do well. the suspension is at max decompression with the motor in it right now, but not all the other stuff installed yet.
     
  12. Mercurycruizers

    Mercurycruizers David (Coop) Cooper

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    When I did the 5 lug swap with manual disc brakes on my 70, I left the 200 6 cyl springs in. It lowered the front enough to give it a slight rake. I also used the 5 lug rear end with the 4 leaf springs. The donor car was a Maverick 74 4 dr with 302 auto. I used the 70 drive shaft. I bought new outer tie rod ends, hoses, calipers, pads & rotors. I also used the c-4 from the donor. I also used the 302 & c-4 from same donor car. Remember you will need the accelerator cable & wiring harness for a v-8, the 6 cyl won't work. That's where the donor car really came in handy. Had everything I needed for the swap.
     
  13. Krazy Comet

    Krazy Comet Tom

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    Call it nonsense if you like, cut a already too stiff spring and it'll ride even worse...
     
  14. 70GreenMonster

    70GreenMonster Member

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    I am keeping the heavy duty rear leaf springs from my 4 door 75 donor car. The shackle that connects the spring to the body is longer too.

    shackle difference.jpg

    The swap raised the rear about 2-3 inches from the worn out original leafs and shorter shackles.

    I will build my motor wiring harness 1 circuit at a time. I have a new 200 amp alternator and I am going to use the existing fuse panel as a sub panel and keep those circuits in place and add another fuse panel to run all the new gadgets I plan on installing like a stereo system and many electrical accessories with big electrical requirements. (like electric cooling fan, amps, seat heaters, power seats, Satnav, A/C, additional lighting, etc.)

    But that is a whole other can of worms I am not opening yet, just starting to think about it coming up.
     
  15. 74LDO

    74LDO Member

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    I used Moog part number Mog-8088 they are listed for early and mid 60's fords. They have the original spring rate and load capacity BUT they are 1 to 1 1/2 inches shorter. They dropped my front end and they feel good. I think they were 65.00 at summit and fit perfectly.
     
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