1972 Gran Torino Sport project-Coyote swap

[Sj_mr2]

This is my latest project car. To start off most guys would say the car is too far gone, and not worth the effort.From what I've seen on this site, I don't think I'll have that negativity here!


135689135690135691

[Sj_mr2]

First order of business is stripping the car down to a shell:
135692135693135694135695135696135697

[Sj_mr2]

135698135699135700
Discovering ALOT of rust issues!

[Sj_mr2]

At this point I realized I was going to need the body on a rotisserie, and none that I found were going to let me roll the chassis from under the car easily as they all seemed to have the center post, so I designed and built my own version:
135701135702135703135704135705135706135707135708

This will allow me to roll the chassis in and out with ease to check fitment as the project goes along.

[Sj_mr2]

I don't know if the pictures convey just how little structure remained in the body of the car, but suffice it to say some reinforcement was in order before I hung it from the rotisserie:
135709135710135711135712135713

[Sj_mr2]

This was a big day in the project, got it up in the air, and my design worked out just fine!
135714135715135716
135717

[Sj_mr2]

Now, at this point it's obvious. not much of this car is worth saving, so out it goes:135718135719135720

[wyattroa]

crazy, Ill come along on this ride with you. Great work with the rotisserie

[Sj_mr2]

Now for the first major piece of the puzzle. I needed a new frame badly. The old frame was destroyed and could literally be crushed with my hands. Doing some research I discovered crown victoria's frames are a close match, and the wheel base is damn near identical. So i picked up a 2005 Crown vic p71 (police interceptor package). Got somewhat lucky on this one, it has the alumimum lower control arms, and 3.55 posi rearend. I'm going to use the entire frame and suspension, and make a major upgrade in handling and stiffness in one step.
135721135722

[Sj_mr2]

135723135724135725135726

[Sj_mr2]

Now if you've been paying attention, you'll know I was definitely in need of some floor pan structure as well, and well, I know the crown vic floor bolts to the crown vic frame...135727135728135729
sandblasted the rear section and epoxied it.

[Sj_mr2]

This is where I was slightly blown away by how close the cars really were. 30 some years apart and the floor pan from side to side was within 1/16 of an inch. front to back was virtually identical as well. I had a couple of pieces of satincoat metal bent up to serve as my new inner rockers and welded them to the crown vic sections and dropped it in place. as you can see even my donor needs minor rust repair :)
135730
135731135732135733

[Sj_mr2]

The trunk floor wouldn't work from the crown vic becuase the gas tank is underneath it on the torino and behind the axle on the crown. so I took a chance and bought a trunk floor meant for a chevelle, and surprise it fits almost PERFECTLY! At least clost enough that I can make it work. I'll need to add mounts for the frame and for the fuel tank, but it's better than starting from scratch.
135734135735135736

[Sj_mr2]

135737135738

[Angelo]

Damn. Aren't you the mad scientist. Cool car getting a new lease on life. Nice jig! Good call on all the sourcing you did to graft together a serious ride. Your right about posting here. This is the forum to see the skill of HOTRODDING at its best. Lots of mad skills being turned into rolling art.

[Sj_mr2]

Getting more of the floor positioned and repairing some of the torino inner structure. Everything is being mocked up with clecos and the frame will be bolted in place before welding to ensure nothing is out of alignment.
135739135740135741135742135743

[Sj_mr2]

My rotisserie idea proved to work out just fine and got the chassis rolled into place for the first of many test fits. Mocked the fender up to see if the wheels will be centered in the openings, and everything looks great!
135744135745135746135747

[Sj_mr2]

That's more of less where I stopped with the body for the winter. As you can see I'm working outside and in canada that really limits the amount of time I can work on the car. So to keep the ball going, I picked up this gem:
135750
And much to the dismay of my wife, it promptly ended up in the house on a stand lol :)
135751

It's a 2011 coyote motor sourced from an F-150. not much difference between it and it's mustang counterpart besides cams which will be easily upgraded and .5 lower compression, which I see as a good thing because I can only get 91 octane in this province.

[Sj_mr2]

The real nice part about using the coyote in this project is it will be almost plug and play. I'll be using the 4r75w from the police interceptor donor which will get rebuilt and converted to a full manual valve body and I'll run a ratchet shifter. That will allow me to keep the alumimum drive shaft and all the stock engine mounts. Since the crown vic was a mod motor as well, the stock motor mounts will bolt right up.

[Sj_mr2]

I just had to give the engine a touch of old school class to make it more at home in the torino:
135752135753135754135755
I'm kind of looking for a boss 429 feel.

[69stang]

I'm loving this build! Love the 72 Gran Torino Sports. Used to have one, even had a 429SCJ and 4 speed for it but ended up selling the car and trading the 429 for the 351C in the mustang. Would love to have another.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://s231.photobucket.com/user/RogerC62/media/Cars/cars014.jpg.html)

[Sj_mr2]

Thanks! I was really on the fence about the engine, the car didn't have one. It was originally a 351C 2 barrel car. In fact I've got a 460 and a c6 that I could have used. In the end it came down to wanting the much lighter engine, and the more modern nature will work well with the modern chassis. I'd love a stick shift but finding one on a budget that will hold up to the coyote and high rpm shifts is hard to do. I will eventually be buying a t56 for it but with so much else to do it will stay auto for now. Got to avoid project creep.

[Later-A-body]

Well I'm impressed. Built your own jig....brilliant. The whole Crown Vic deal is really cool making it work with the Torino. I love seeing alternative cars on the site. Really cool project. Too bad you have to deal with working outside. Nice choice on the Coyote motor.

[wfo guy]

I like what I see. I was going to mention that a cop car ecu has no anti-theft in it but I'm guessing you will buy the Ford control pack to make all this work. Is the tread of the crown vic wider than the torino? That could make wheel selection a little interesting. I'm a real fan of the fish mouth and the dash. I've had fastbacks and now that I'm old, I'm not so excited about the limited visibility. You are correct about being in the right place. There has been some serious restoration efforts on this forum. Welcome and keep going. :)

[Sj_mr2]

I like what I see. I was going to mention that a cop car ecu has no anti-theft in it but I'm guessing you will buy the Ford control pack to make all this work. Is the tread of the crown vic wider than the torino? That could make wheel selection a little interesting. I'm a real fan of the fish mouth and the dash. I've had fastbacks and now that I'm old, I'm not so excited about the limited visibility. You are correct about being in the right place. There has been some serious restoration efforts on this forum. Welcome and keep going. :)

I'm probably going to use an f150 ecu and harness and just remove what I don't need. They can be reprogrammed now to bypass security and just flash on a manual mustang program.. Being in Canada I am trying to avoid buying high dollar items from the US because of the canadian/american exchange.

[Sj_mr2]

I'm really getting impatient for the nicer weather to get here again. I've been gathering some more tools to get at the bodywork in the spring. in the mean time I've done some more work on the engine, including stainless hardware for the valve covers and coils, breathers, and BOSS 302 coil covers:
136879

[vintageracer]

This is my latest project car.

To start off most guys would say the car is too far gone, and not worth the effort.

From what I've seen on this site, I don't think I'll have that negativity here!

That car is NICE compared to some of the JUNQUE some members here have started with!!!!

Charge ON!!!!

[cbpldc]

I am so in for this! Love Torinos!

Chris

[Sj_mr2]

Got some more work done in the last little while. The coyote oil pan doesn't quite clear the cvpi crossmember, there is an odd shaped hump that needs to be removed. I cut it out and made up a patch, welded it in and coated the entire pan with resin to guarantee no leaks. Still need to sand the runs down smooth, but I might leave it as it won't be very visible in the car.
Also I had to modify the cam cover to fit the police interceptor alternator. I figured it would be worth it to use because it's a 200 amp alternator, and from what I can tell the coyote usually uses a 130-150amp unit. Plus i already had it from the parts car, so saved some money. I had the machinist at work mill the mounting tabs down 3/8ths of an inch to get the pulley in alignment with the belts, then I made up a bracket to catch the other mounting point. Still need to order some better looking hardware and clean up the bracket a little for paint, but the concept should work fine. Once my a/c compressor and tensioners show up I can work on mounting the p/s pump.
137747
137746
137745
137744
137743
137742
137741

[minendrews68]

I'd just have to say three things. 1) I admire your fortitude! 2) What kind of critters lurks outside and 3) I'd sure hate to be you when your wife gets home and sees that motor in the house!
All jokes aside I think your doing a great job, I don't think I would have that kind of patience, but keep it going you've made tremendous head way already..:twothumbs

[ryeguy2006a]

Very ambitious project, but you are doing a terrific job so far. Very interesting how you have merged the crown vic frame and pans. Can't wait to see more updates.

[Sj_mr2]

Its been awhile since the last update, progress has been slow this summer, but things are picking up now again:
First update is where I left off with the accesory drives. I looked around for a kit to do what i want, but they all seemed overpriced to me, so I went ahead and designed a simple setup using a reverse rotation corvette pump, a dodge grooved pulley and a bracket of my own deiign to allow the belt to be adjusted without a hydraulic tensioner.
142562
142563
142564
The inner belt on the crank will run the a/c and p/s, while the outer belt runs the water pump and alternator

[Sj_mr2]

Now the reason for the slow updates, I finally bought a house with a garage :)
142565
Now that I have easy access to the car (it was a half hour drive away before) and I'm all settled into the new place, progress will be much faster.
Started again by making some progress on the floor pans, including some rust repair but mostly lots of measuring to be sure it was placed correctly and burning it in.
142566
142567
142568
142569
142570
142571

[KiwiStarChief]

Now that you are all cosy and warm in the garage, let's hope the progress will be quicker. Please keep the reports coming, as this is a fascinating project. It was said earlier, but worth repeating; you are one clever dude!

[vwmopar]

My grandpa always says 'you can't turn a pig's ass into a silk purse". I always argued the fact. This project is prime example it can be done. Nice work dude!

[gator68428]

Crown vic frame and pans merged with the Torino! Love it!:headbang::hail::cool:

That's the headline here! Coyotes are cool and all--and a little bit of a change up from the oodles of GM cars with LSs swaps... But man, the crown vic part is very enticing!!

[Timberline]

Love this build !!!!

[1sikride]

This is wicked.

Go Canada go

[813Demon340]

Very cool build!! You have talent and great ideas. Congrats on getting so much done on a car that most people would have parted out. Keep up the great progress and updates!

Did I spy an AMX or two in the background of the pic where you've got the body half off the Crown Vic?

[Sj_mr2]

Very cool build!! You have talent and great ideas. Congrats on getting so much done on a car that most people would have parted out. Keep up the great progress and updates!

Did I spy an AMX or two in the background of the pic where you've got the body half off the Crown Vic?
Yes. the car was being kept at my uncles place. He's got a couple amx's and a javelin.
Now, as with any project, it's 1 step forward, 2 steps back. I wasn't happy with the way the firewall was coming together, and the only reason to keep the crown vic firewall was the plan to use the hvac components. after I found out they were going to interfere with the hood and fender location the next choice was easier:
145237
I had cut the firewall section from a parts car with the idea to just use the A pillar section to repair the rot on mine, but after some thought and lots of measuring replacing the entire section from where it spot welds to the rockers seemed like the best choice. Even my "new" section needs significant rust repair under the cowl panel :) Sometimes I hate canada.
145238
My initial thought was to just graft the torino firewall into what was left of the crown vic floor, but it would have looked really awkward, and they didn't line up well. So the next best thing was a flat firewall:
145239
Still lots of cleanup to do, and some holes to fill in, plus I need to make the top of the trans tunnel and add some bracing inside the car to avoid oil canning, but overall it should have a smooth look when finished.
Also started playing with the shrinker/stretcher to make the reinforcements that connect the A pillar to the floor:
145240

[BigbBoomPete]

Wow...just Wow

Well done... your no fear attitude is inspiring. Keep it up

[Josh@Ridetech]

Badass! My dad has a couple of these cars and loves this kind of work. I'll be forwarding him this thread. Keep it up!

[RMMiller]

Too bad you aren't closer to me, these might be of interest to you. We have some clean, solid sheet metal in our area.

https://kpr.craigslist.org/pts/d/72-grand-toreno-fenders-hood/6347474662.html

[ryeguy2006a]

Keep up the good work, looks great! When I was scrolling through the pictures I said out loud to myself "Whoa" when I saw the picture where the whole firewall was gone.

[Motown 454]

Great build and plenty of ingenuity on your part. Great ideas on the combination of parts and the engine looks brand new with the paint work on it.

[Sj_mr2]

I'm waiting on some tools to finish up the firewall, so I shifted focus to the trunk pans this weekend. Got them tacked in place and made up some braces to extend the factory piece to meet up with the chevelle pans. Overall I'm really happy with how this turned out considering crown vic floor, chevelle pans, and torino body :rolleyes:


146482
146483
146484
146485

[chunger]

Interesting Project.

Will stay tuned to see how this turns out!

[Sj_mr2]

146584
146585
146586
146587
Had some time to kill today at work so decided to try out lead body work. I work in a radiator shop so I've got access to solder flux and a bead blaster. I think it came out nice for a first attempt. I plan to do most of the major body work this way under the epoxy primer then just light filler and high build over the top for block sanding.

[Sj_mr2]

Now that I've got all the body mount locations line up and everything tacked in I put the body back up on the rotisserie. Finished all the welding in the seams on the main floor and layer down a good coat of epoxy over everything. Once I'm done with the rear section the overall bottom will get treated with lizard skin or something similar after the seam sealer.
148069
148070
148071
148072

[Sj_mr2]

Some more rust repair this weekend, as well as more work done getting the flat firewall in place. The inner cowl is all patched and in epoxy now, once it's seam sealed I can weld the outer cowl back in place.
149164
149165
149166

149167
149168
149169

[NoNo]

A Gran Frankenstino ! I love it !

Man, you take the restomod thing to the next level...

[Sj_mr2]

The inner cowl is all sealed up and coated with epoxy and nox-rust and I was able to get the outer cowl section back in and start the process of welding it all back together. I don't even want to know how many welds i'll have made on this car when I'm done. 6 pounds of mig wire so far.
149380
I also started to work on building my rear subframe. Got some 1/16th satin coat metal bent up to mimic the cross section of what's already there and cut/shaped it to fit the trunk floor
149381
149382

[Sj_mr2]

149414
Finished building the rearmost subframe and started to work on the rear crossmember area.

[aps63]

YOU SIR, ARE AN ANIMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Teriffic job, keep it up. I love Torino's.

[Sj_mr2]

Pulled the car back off the rotisserie today for the second or third time of god knows how many. I need the car back on the frame so that I can finalize the location of the two rearmost body mounts that need to go on the subframe that I made. I also started to mock up some of the sheetmetal so that I can modify the front rad support. So far it looks like I'll need to move the mounting points up 3.5-4 inches on the factory rad support to mount properly to the crown vic frame. I'll need that all in place so I can make bumper mounts then I can have the frame blasted and put in epoxy. Oh and I had to put the proper GTS hood on. Looks much better with a scoop
149971
149972

[Sj_mr2]

150324
150325
Started cutting up the rad support to fit the crown vic frame. the mounts sit at least 6 inches higher on the frame, and I'm using the crown vic radiator/condenser setup so alot of the factory rad support is simply cut off. Once I'm happy with the fender location I'll make up the mounting tabs to the frame. Also started playing with the plastic crown vic fender liners. They don't look great but are alot lighter than the steel torino stuff. Maybe they are still available new for a reasonable price?

[Sj_mr2]

150785
150786
150784
The firewall is finally all burned in. Now just a bunch of smoothing out with the flap wheel and some paint and seam sealer and that's one more project to cross off the list. Playing around with rear tire sizing now which is one of the down sides to the crown vic suspension. The shocks and control arms are located outside of the rails so it really limits the tire width. I've got a 255/35/19 mocked up now, with what looks to be enough room to spare for possibly a 275 width if I can nail the offset just right on the rims. With a planned 400-450hp I'm hoping that will be enough tire. Or maybe a 255 width on all four corners. Any input on this would be helpful from guys with some more experience. I'm not too worried about drag launches but mostly autocrossing and maybe the occasional track day will be in this car's future.

[beater65]

. Or maybe a 255 width on all four corners. Any input on this would be helpful from guys with some more experience. I'm not too worried about drag launches but mostly autocrossing and maybe the occasional track day will be in this car's future.

I been running a square setup on my car that I autocross so I can rotate wheels and get as much life from a set of tires as possible. when street tire I run are $200 ea and track tire I want to run are $276 ea. You tend to not want to trash front shoulders all time an be replacing them often. Something to consider.

I originally wanted a wide rear tire compared to front, and also ive read a wider rear will sometimes have tendency to push if front has less grip than rear. Also a reason I went with a square setup.

[Sj_mr2]

150847

150849
Had some time today to get the firewall all prepped and epoxy primed. Now it's time to prep the rest of the interior floor and get that in epoxy as well.

[JRANGER]

hows the build coming? Any updates?

[Styx1967]

Check out the link below. I stumbled on it a couple weeks ago but I am not sure how old it is. Fatman Fab is making shorter control arms for the crown vic front end. This is just a press release but should be useful for easing at least the front wheel sizing issues you are facing.

http://www.fatmanfab.com/press-release-crown-victoria-narrowed-tubular-control-arms

[Sj_mr2]

Ok took the summer off of this project to finish some other things, but back to it now.
Picked up a t45 transmission from a 2000 mustang because the decision to run an auto was killing me inside.
159477
Plan on going through it strengthening some things and upgrading the syncros so it will shift at the higher rpm the coyote will run.
Also picked up the wheels I'll be running:
159478
Picked them up for a good deal locally. They are spec'd to fit a 2015 mustang which is the perfect size and offset that I need. Specs are 20 x 9.5 front and 20 x 10.5 rear.
Here's where I'm at today in the build:
159479
159480
159481

[andrewb70]

Will a T45 hold up? Maybe run a T3650?

Andrew

[Sj_mr2]

Will a T45 hold up? Maybe run a T3650?

Andrew

Probably not long term no. Some guys have used them with success. Using it mostly because it was cheap and available. Eventually will be swapped out for a t56

[Sj_mr2]

159522
159523
159524
Had a little bit of time in the garage tonight so I threw the rear end back under the car to check and make sure the rims would fit. Seem like it's going to work out just fine which is a relief!

[digitalsolo]

Wow, what a project. You've made some incredible headway considering what you started with! I dig the creative solutions, nice work!

[Bird of Prey]

That car is so right . They make beefed up crown vic racing arms for the back now. Great job , since my car was stollin , I need another monster .

[speedfreakcobra]

Wow, i just stubbled across this. Very nice. Torinos are my favorite cars. And i love the crown vic frame. Hats off to you. Keep up the good work.

[Sj_mr2]

168933
168934
168935
168936
168937
Started the bodywork on this car last weekend. Had some rocker panels bent up and started roughing in the drivers side quarter panel. I want all the gaps and everything set while the body is still on the frame before I pull everything back apart to be cleaned and painted. Still doesnt look like much but progress is definitely being made.

[Sj_mr2]

169048
169049
169050
Welded the rocker panels in and I'm pretty happy with the fitment. Next job is to weld in the quarter panel. It needs to be butt welded because they dont make full quarter panels for this car. What's everyone's opinion on butt weld clamps like pictured? Is there a better way to do it?

[ryeguy2006a]

I was wondering what happened to this car. Glad you are still making progress!

[Sbeck09]

169050
Welded the rocker panels in and I'm pretty happy with the fitment. Next job is to weld in the quarter panel. It needs to be butt welded because they dont make full quarter panels for this car. What's everyone's opinion on butt weld clamps like pictured? Is there a better way to do it?

I use those, but I almost prefer magnets more since you can get a tighter fit and it seems to help the panel be flush with the outside better. Eastwood has a magnet kit for panel work. Either way seems to work fine though if you really take your time.

[1tuff68]

186520

[Sj_mr2]

Yeah it's been awhile since I've updated this thread. Still slowly picking away at things.
191281
191282
The chassis has been all stripped down/painted/detailed and the body set back on to really start the bodywork process. The engine was set back just over an inch in the frame to accommodate the aluminum factory driveshaft. Multiple small details are finished as well as most of the major fabrication.

[egoman]

Always good to see ford being built.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looking great, glad this project is still going. Keep the updates coming!