Crown vic VS twin I beam

[DKC]

You may have read my posts about trying to find a 73-79 donor truck to gain power steering on my 66 slick. Around here, donor trucks are hard to find and crown vics are plentiful. The more I read about the crown vic swap, the better it sounds. Also, I keep reading how much handling improves with the crown vic swap.

However----- When I think about whether the 66 twin I is unsafe in modern traffic, I wonder what has changed with the twin I beam in 30 years.
Because-- I often drive my 96 F350 twin I beam diesel dually at freeway speeds, (and then some) and it handles solid as a rock. even pulling a 5th wheel camper. No specific question here, just thinkin out loud and interested in your opinion and experience..

[Alan Mclennan]

sounds to me like the crown vic is the way to go, it`s not just power steering it`s disc brakes and better suspension as well, and there's the Dakota conversion as well`.. Mike Kimbrel has done that swap..

[bruceandersson]

I think the reference to being unsafe is that most of the vehicles on the road today have ABS. If you like to tailgate with 50 year old technology, its probably very unsafe. I've done the 73-79 disk/power upgrade a couple of times. Its simple and greatly improves the driving (especially at low speeds) and stopping of the truck. I talked to a guy a couple of weeks ago who had the complete setup for $100. What part of the country are you in? I still see the 70s trucks available on Craigslist and in yards in Ohio. The Crown Vic is definitely a move to a more modern system as if you take everything you need you would get ABS to go with the disks and power rack and pinion. I did the 70s upgrade both times in an afternoon. I suspect the Crown upgrade would take a lot more time and would involve the electrical system as well as the brakes and steering. If you add the rear end as well or the complete frame, it's a marathon. Just my

[yellodog]

someone put 100k on my truck with nary a dent, can't be all that bad, no?

[Alan Mclennan]

yello, if yours is a 65`model that's only 5 1/2 miles a day, or 19 miles to church once a week... I do get what your saying tho

[William-in-St George]

DKC, This really depends on the budget, time, skill set and your planned end use of the truck. I think the disk, I-Beam and PS swap is the most economical way to get a bit more modern steering and braking. I'd advise to simply keep looking. These scrapped old Fords are out there. Ford made millions of them and while most are still working many have found their way to the scrapper.

[LM14]

Really depends on the end use of the truck and your likes/dislikes on wheel choices.

The CV is actually too wide and requires a big negative offset wheel.

The CV isn't as "sturdy" as the twin I beam setup.

There are starting to be rumblings of cracked aluminum cross members on trucks. I haven't seen one but I've seen it mentioned on a couple different sites now.

If you want to lower and modernize and like the looks of larger wheels with a lot of negative offset in the wheels then try the CV. Remember you also have to change the steering column to make it work and also upgrade the master cylinder and brake lines.

You'll have to change the MC and possibly modify the steering column with the disc brake/PS upgrade on the twin I beam, too.

No reason the twin I beam can't be made to drive nice and stop well. The parts are out there. The CV is another option that is very popular right now. I did a lot of looking at all the options on my last 2 trucks and decided to leave the '66 alone while I had it and went to the Industrial Chassis Dakota kit on my '62. Correct track width, still truck parts and goes in easy. Looked real hard at the CV ut didn't like the wheel options for it, not my style.

JMO,
SPark

[Toyz]

I tend to agree with Steve, the IC is the best economical option. Not to defend the CV, but there are several factors which figure in. The track width increase is slight if correct wheels are utilized. Using a zero or negative offset will result in an extra increase in track width, as well as a very unfavorable KPI, which affects both handling and component loading. The other caveat is, although the CV was designed for heavy duty and police use; buying an assembly from a very high mileage commercial vehicle may result in stress failures mostly related to previous damage or abuse. Utilizing " old school" wheel offsets just add to the potential for failure.
To me, the bottom line is intended use; if you want a "sports car with a bed", then the CV may well be the way to go. If you want a "truck" with proven load capacities, and the attendant handling, then one of the truck conversions seem an acceptable answer. The key in either option is to keep the original steering and suspension geometry as designed. This is where the later I beam, as well as the Industrial Chassis design excels, IMO.