Best price putting C4 Vette suspension in big Mustang? Mid south area?

[CadVetteStang]

I live in Arkansas, and am about to get a 73 Mustang to replace my stolen, Caddy 500 powered 72 Mach 1 clone. This big Stang is 2” wider than a C4 Vette and want to swap in C4 front and rear suspension. There is already 7 and ½” backspace available between the rear hubs and the leaf springs, so the frame rails should be in about the right spot and I don’t think the car will have to be back-halved to do the rear swap, but mini-tubs are a given.

In the front, I think the Vette frame rails are narrower (maybe enough to fit just inside the Stang frame rails making a front section cut and weld pretty straight forward. GM inner front fenders could be used to form the new metal replacing the Stang shock towers. Because of the small amount of fabrication that would be needed in this swap, I’d do the work myself if I was a welder and had the equipment to measure and line it all up, but I can’t do it.

I can get used front AND rear Vette suspension for half the money that it would take to buy all that is needed to modify the Stang’s front suspension to a road race setup with 13” brakes. Even with the best aftermarket setup, the stock C4 suspension would still handle better.

I just need to find a trustworthy shop that can do the work strong enough that I can trust my life to driving it at triple digit speeds and who can do the work without driving up the price to the ridiculous Mustang Aftermarket level. I’d also like it to be within driving distance of Little Rock, Arkansas if that is possible. (Memphis, TN would be 2 hours away while Dallas, TX would be 6 hours away.)

If the shop is priced right, I’d let them build the motor mounts and tranny mount adaptor for the Caddy 500/Th400 engine/tranny swap as well.

Any recommendations for shops that might like to take on this Cad-Vette-Stang project as a budget build?

[baggins]

just curious why a caddy 500?

[CadVetteStang]

just curious why a caddy 500?

*gets on soap box and breaths in.....

351C is 575 lbs. Chevy 350 weighs about the same. Cadyy 500 with iron heads and aluminum intake is 595 lbs. So it is the same weight as the Small block cars as far as handling is concerned. No need of big block springs. The distributor is in the front and the motor mounts are farther forward than Chevy or Ford. In most cases, this means the engine can go back a few inches and can transfer so much weight that actually less weight is on the front wheels than with SBC or SB Ford. The Caddy 500 operates in the low RPM range and is the most efficient big block engine ever produced. When built and geared correctly, a mid size to light car can get 20+ MPGs with a carb and no overdrive. Give it fuel injection and an overdrive, and 25 MPG plus is workable as long as it is not too heavily cammed. A 10: 1 500 with a stock cam makes 550 lbs. TQ@ 3,000 RPMs and 400 HP at 4400. Add an aluminum intake, headers, an RV cam, and do some very mild porting and some cars lift a fender on launch and run 10-13 second quarters depending on their ability to get traction; most can burn rubber all the way through the quarter – if the goal is to put on a show, more than put up some fast numbers.

The Caddy was built with a high nickel content in the block and heads, so they rarely wear out and there is no need for hardened valve seats to run unleaded gas. With modern engine building techniques, these engines can 200,000 miles or more between rebuilds. Some Caddy drag racers have gone for hundreds of wheel standing quarter mile races between builds – and some of those are 12 second cars that get 15+ MPGs on the drive home from the strip.

Because there is so little that needs to be done to these engines, they are cheaper to build than Chevy up to 500 horsepower and 600 lbs. of torque. Then it is about even for a while. Chevy and Ford get cheaper to build one you are in the 800+ HP range,

However, the stock Caddy block (2 bolt mains) can handle up to 2,000 horse power.

One thing that gets the build to be more expensive is the custom shaft rocker system that need to be installed if the engine is to be operated at RPMs higher than 4800. However, a 500 HP/ 600 lb. TQ engine is in the 4800 RPM range and has no need of it.

So, why a Caddy 500? A stock motor is like a Chevy 454 with aluminum heads and $1,500 worth of go fast parts, its in the small block weight class, and a fuel injected one can get the gas mileage of GMs 3800 V6. It will hold together for years of abuse, like modern gas, you can buy one in salvage in running condition for $125 - $250 dollars and can put it just about any engine bay that a SBC or SBF can fit into. It is the absolute cheapest and most reliable engine to race (under 500 HP) and you can drive it home instead of trailering because it will out pull your towing rig by 100 HP and get 10 MPG better gas mileage while doing it.

In my opinion, if the Caddy 500 was offered as a factory option in the 70 Vette, then popularity of that 18 MPG super car would have caused it to become the most desired GM engine offered and it would be the standard GM performance of today, because it provided the advantages of both big block and small block without any of the disadvantages of either.

*steps off of soap box and clears throat

Well, you DID ask - LOL

[Finch]

I am starting to look for my first paying gig as a side project which could work to the benifit of those who get in early. I am in Nashville and have a good full time job so can offer some very competitive rates since I have overhead yet.

My Mustang is on the cover of PHR now and Hot Rod just shot my Camaro at RTTH V so you can use that as a gauge for the quality of the work. Also I have done a C4 swap into a 66 vette that has done very well at several events even in the unpainted stage it is in.

One thing I do recommend is with all that torque the Dana 44 rear will be a must when shopping for the C4 donor parts. If interested shoot me a PM.

[Bad Bird]

Can you please throw up a few pictures, specs or even the build of your 73 Mustang? I know some people don't like them, but I think they are very good looking cars. Certainly more refined than the early Mustangs to boot.