caprice front clip??

[cnb]

i just read in a truck mag that the owner of a slick installed an 84 caprice front clip on his trcuk. ive never heard of this set up, i have heard of he crown vic front clip. anyone else hear of using a caprice clip? Also, in regards to the crown vic... what years are compatible, and would one from the town cars, grand marquis work as well since thay are basically thr same vehicle?

[ICEMAN6166]

never heard of the caprice clip
plenty of other kinds i have seen or heard about.
its not my specialty or even what i would want but the crown vic or the dakota would be my choices with the crown vic being first because its a ford item.

[ezernut9mm]

i don't know that the caprice clip is any different than any other gm car built between 1955 and 2000. lol. 03 and up on the crown vic and grand marquis. they have the bolt in aluminum cross member.

[cnb]

thanks guys

[Greg D]

Technically speaking you could weld any thing you want to the frame of your truck.
The Crn Vic crossmember mentioned just happens to be the exact same width as a Slick frame.
You box the rails, weld tubing in to reinforce the bolt holes. You have to weld a bracket on top of the rail and it pretty much bolts in.
It is literally about as easy as front suspension swap gets.
There is a series of videos on Youtube showing one guys install.

[cnb]

Guess im gonna start looking for a crown vic. again, dosthe town car/ grand marquis fit as ell seeing theyare pretty much the same?

[rbeck204]

A disadvantage to the CV is the width. A Ford LTD or Camaro or other clip has a narrower width and allows more wheel choices. It is more work to install the full clip but may be a better end result. I used a 78 Camaro subframe and was very happy with the result. Required a small amount of inner fender trimming but allows me to run 8" wide x 18" wheels with no problem. I was able to get my desired lowered stance as well. Lots of oil pan clearance as well. My two cents.
Rich

[ezernut9mm]

the 03 grand marquis is the same as the crown vic. i think the town car uses an air ride suspension doesn't it?

[Toyz]

The 03 and up CV, Marquis and T/C are referred to as "Panther" architecture. I am not aware of any difference in the front suspension other than varying spring rates. The police packages, and extended wheelbase Town Cars, get higher spring rates. I believe the air leveling suspension is rear only.
With more and more vehicles utilizing a "fwd" wheel offset, wheels are becoming easier to find. The SVO Mustangs utilized this pattern in the mid-eighties; the 2005 and up Mustangs also utilized an interchangeable pattern and offset. It's all a matter of what you prefer, or what fits your requirements. If "heavy duty" is on that list, then the Panther and the Industrial Fab Dakota kit give the most bang for the buck, IMO.
The Panther suspension IS slightly wider; it also has much bigger standard brakes than most other conversions, in a package designed for long-life commercial use.
My projects currently include a frame with a Fatman MII conversion, a straight axle frame with an earlier Town Car conversion, and a complete Panther conversion, as well as a '65 with a later F150 suspension and drive train. I probably have more conversions than I will ever complete, but i am still looking for the right Crown Vic P1, Marauder, or Town Car lwb as a complete drive train, frame, and suspension donor.
Paul

[ezernut9mm]

i thought the t\c used air on all four corners. the lower an upper a arms are different and the spring conversions seem to be pretty model specific.

[Toyz]

Lots of changes since the major change in '03. Suspensions as a unit will still interchange. '06.5 up returned to steel lca's, upper arms remained the same.There's more performance upgrades available for the Panther than I was previously aware of.
Here's some more debate pro and con, including some from Industrial Chassis, prior to his development of the revised Dakota kit.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/show ... p?t=255247

Paul