Thread: 46 Ford front clip? 8.8 in rear?

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46Ford

To answer your question on swapping frames, I can only pass on second hand info.

I have heard that the mid 60's B-body GM products are very close to the track and wheelbase dimensions of 41-48 Fords. These were V-8 cars with decent(1960's) suspension and rearends. They also had triangulated 4-bar rears with coil springs. If you plan on running air bags, that would make it a lot easier. The downside is that these were front drum brake cars and most are going to need complete suspension rebuilds. They are also getting to be very expensive. You might find a beater four door Lemans or Chevelle cheap though.

As far as being easier to swap, that's the big question. Most likely the entire floor and trunk will need to be rebuilt. If you have good floors now I would be hesitant to cut them up. Your call. I'm better with frame work than sheet metal, you may be the opposite. Of course you also have the option of channeling the body when you do the swap. The bodies are pretty heavy too and you may need to move them around several times before you're done. Most people don't have that capability easily available.

One other option you have is to use stock MII or Pinto. I did that to my car because I was "bucks down" when I built it.

Even though they are uni-body cars the MII(and Pinto) has a crossmember that can be cut out and grafted to your frame. That is the "old school" way to do the MII. It was done that way for many years before someone got the idea to sell pre-made crossmembers. The frame has to be notched on the inside for the crossmember slide in and the frame needs to be boxed. You will need to c-notch the bottom to clear the steering rack and brackets will need to be fabricated for the MII strut rods. Don't be tempted to bend the struts to fit as some have done in the past. Build the brackets to fit the stock strut rods. Too many ways to screw up the geometry if you bend them. The advantage to using this front end is that most of the original frame stays intact so other that inner fenders everything still fits(body wise) as it should.

As far as the rear suspension goes, parallel leaf(Hotchkis type) is easy to fabricate and doesn't require cutting up the rear of the frame or body.

Also, no matter what you do to the front end, remember to mark the center line of the front axle before you remove it. I bought a 46 parts car one time that had the wheelbase 4" too long because whoever had installed the MII had put it where the original crossmember was. The 41-48 cars had the axle behind the crossmember.