Crown Vic IFS Wheel Backspacing

[Gritsngumbo]

As I begin to take my 63 Crew Cab apart for refurbishing, the question of installing an IFS has again arisen. Since the "Dakota" style IFS is currently not available I'm back to the CV. stalled out on the CV before because of the 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern and I wanted to use the old "innie" style wheels.
Now I'm wondering if one of the wheel manufacturers can make a wheel that will fit the CV hubs and still allow the "innie" type hub caps. Anyone have the backspacing specs and dimensions of the stock CV (or Boss-type)
wheels? Thanks in advance.

[matt2491]

Jag IFS is my recommendation. I love mine. Elpolacko, the guy who made the Dakota kits, led me in that direction after I found out he no longer produced the kits. I'm glad he did.

[Gritsngumbo]

Tell me more. How expensive, how obtainable, bolt pattern etc. Or a link or two would be great if you have one handy. Do you have any pictures of your install? Thanks.

[randyr]

Jag IFS is my recommendation. I love mine. Elpolacko, the guy who made the Dakota kits, led me in that direction after I found out he no longer produced the kits. I'm glad he did.

Any pics of the Jag IFS, Matt? What years? Model? etc.

[Nick64Slick]

before I put 06' bullitt style rims on mine I had 07 CV steelies on the front (CV front end) and 03 CV steelies on the back (stock rear end) with 1 1/2" spacers and the track width for both was nearly identical. The older CV steelies will take snap on caps, but the newer style are almost flat and would need the screw on style. They look decent stock, but the holes/openings in the rims don't match so its a little odd if its a color other than black, and even then its not the greatest look. track width is a big limiting factor for the CV IFS. With the bullitt style rims (since they are the same offset front to back) I'm a noticeable amount narrower in my track width at the back then at the front, but some custom offset rims would do the trick. I'd imagine wheel vintiques could do the same for some steelies, but the fronts will never be anything but flat unless you want them sticking past the fender, there's just no way since the CV IFS is so darn wide. Another option if you want to use the same offset wheels front and back is to go with a rear with a larger width such as the earlier CVs since going larger then a 1 1/2" spacer on the stock rear is unadviseable, but again, you'd be limited to very "flat" wheels. Not sure if this was helpful, but keep us posted, I'm interested to see what other people do with the front end.

[Truckfarmer2]

I have 2 Jag front ends but they are not installed. Email me if you want photos of what hey look like.

[69supercj]

Clicked on your profile and you dont show an email addy. Send me some pics to supercj69@yahoo.com if you would please.

[Gritsngumbo]

I'd also like to see pictures. PM Sent. Thanks.

[matt2491]

Yeah I'll have pictures soon. I will also post a big write up on how I did it in my truck.

Any Series III XJ6 (or 12) is what you want. I believe the years are from '79 to '86. The whole subframe drops out from under the Jag with 4 bolts. I got mine from my local junkyard for $200, complete.

When I first heard about the Jag IFS I also thought "well this is probably going to be expensive." Turns out its not much more costly than any other IFS. The bolt pattern is Chevy 4 3/4" but that didn't bug me. Also, the track width is 59.5" That's pretty damn close to our original 60" width.

There are multiple ways to do the install. One way is to fab up some forward and rear mounts so that the entire crossmember can bolt up to your frame like it did to the Jag chassis. The whole thing is soft-mounted on rubber bushings that way, kind of like leaf spring perches. Another way is to cut all those mounting extremities off and straight up weld it to your frame. That's also good. What I ended up doing was the best of both worlds, in my opinion. I cut off all the original Jag mounts and fabbed up my own frame perches so that the crossmember cradles the frame. With the appropriate gussets and support pieces, it was just as strong as welding it in, but allows me to still unbolt the whole thing and drop it out from under the truck. That makes it solid mounted too. (I didn't want extra soft ride characteristics of the rubber mounted way.)

The Jag IFS is a very nice suspension because it looks great and is very durable (no stamped control arms, its all forged pieces). It's a relatively modern design that gives great ride quality and handling (performance parts are available- I went with a bigger sway bar and poly bushings). Lastly, its compact. With a little trimming here and there, the crossmember fits the F100 frame nicely, and you can set your ride height anywhere from REALLY low to only a few inches below stock.

The other thing that might interest you guys is that my truck is also my daily driver, so I didn't have a bare chassis to build off of. Instead, I had a week off so I jumped right into the project. I did the entire swap without pulling the engine or removing any of the body panels.

To sum it up: No, there aren't any kits on the market that will tell you exactly where to cut and drill and weld to make the Jag setup work, but if you have a little ingenuity and common sense, it's a relatively simple swap and rewards you and the truck with a sweet suspension that will last a long time. To be honest, I've never done an IFS swap before, but after doing this one, I was surprised at how straightforward it was. I'm not a pro fabricator or welder or anything, so if I can do it, you sure as hell can to! )

Like I said, I'll have that write up for you guys, with the pics, as soon as I have some free time.

[69supercj]

Sounds good Matt, looking forward to the write up. And thanks for taking the time to do this, I appreciate it.