Hi all. Im new here and was hoping I could get some assistance with my build. I have a 63 Galaxie that I would like to do a frame swap on. I have done tons of research but have only seen later years and they were using crown vics. My question is can I use a crown Vic frame or not?
highly doubtful, at least not without transplanting most of the floorpan- the 63-65 were totally different frames- 65 was a squarish perimeter frame, where 63 was more coke bottle shaped for lack of better words... I'd dig up frame sheets from 65 and 63 shop manuals and youll see the basic shape differences- its pretty major
...then look at the massive amount of work in this thread to put a kinda similar crown vic frame under a 65-
http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/galaxie-pages/592018-66-galaxie-07-p71-merger.html
I'd expect ten times more work to do the same under a 63
I was reading somewhere that 63 and 63 1/2 they used a smaller guage metal but not sure if different style. Also I'm not sure what all goes into choosing a donor frame Other than where the wheels are located. I have not bothered to measure but I would love to put the frame on my 91 Lexus Ls400 with same motor or something like it. If anyone has ideas on choosing a donor frame that would be great too!
off the cuff, i'd think keeping at least *most* of the 63 frame- even if from a donor car was needed- would be easier- if you desire IRS or other more exotic options, splicing in the lexus rear might be easier if you had a solid frame for attaching to... but think youre asking for a awful lot of work
not familiar with the 63 setup at all, but maybe look into simply upgrading it- get rid of the offset shafts if it has them, brake conversions are pretty common, more modern alignment specs/radials alone would dramatically change the ride, adding slapper bars/small sway bar to the rear and bigger one up front with firmer bushings will reduce the boaty cornering... I dunno, but think theres a lot there to work with, and it might save a ton of time and money...
Ive had a dilemma on my 69 mustang about the frontend, and have pretty much decided its getting a frame of some sort- but look at a mustang's sheetmetal setup, its a odd derivative of the inexpensive falcon, and i just cant see any really great options out there with myriad mustangII conversions, etc... think im gonna go the hard way there adapting a front steer SLA with bigblock duty stuff- currently most economical startng point looks like a 02-earlier crown vic clip, narrowed in the center frame and links as a building block- just because the car has really no 'hard points'...on a full frame 63 gal though, I never heard many complaints of flex/frame failure...seems like the foundation is there already, but know from JC Allison's thread comments the 63-64 fords with the offset shafts were a really bad design, and folks that upgraded sound happy with the improvements... even if youre wanting a roadracer setup, geometry could be tweaked by moving upper control arm/fabbing new arms if need be to change roll center, etc... just seems like all the 'base' is already there to me on a full frame car... really think just trying to get more modern roll center/caster/camber by shifting whats there, possibly changing arms, that any setup could be chased easier than starting over putting a frame under a mismatched floorpan... just my 2 cents
good luck on your quest, which ever way you decide to go
hey for some inspiration, search 'merc9' and look at some of the insane tweaks done to that old cyclone- i know theres a page out there documenting suspension geometry updates and thinking behind it- a truly amazing car- heres just one page that popped up-
http://www.gearheads4life.com/features/the-merc9-racer/