All Wheel Drive 64 Fairlane help needed

[blueroo]

Alright so I'm progressing along in gathering parts for my all wheel drive 64 Fairlane conversion but I'm losing sleep on component height placement and making sure I get my wheelbase correct.

The aim of the build is to make a well rounded good handling cruiser, think a "what if Ford made an all wheel drive K-Code Fairlane in the 60s"...side note, no I am not cutting up a K-Code, just my lowly U-Code 4 door.

The build is also partially based on an all wheel drive 68 Mustang convertible build over on the Vintage Mustang Fourms.

What I have so far is this:

Strut assemblies, steering knuckles, control arms and brakes are off a 2010 Mazda3 due to their light weight, compact placement, ease of availability and the fact I can fit 15" Torq Thrust wheels on that setup.

Front diff is looking like a SyTy generation 7.2 IFS out of an S10, Blazer etc. Aluminum unit again for weight savings and I don't intend to push the power levels that would necessitate the iron unit. I would've loved to use the Ford 8.8 IFS from a second gen Explorer as I already have that complete setup from a failed donor idea and because I'd like to keep it as Ford as possible but the GM unit seems to be more compact.

Engine will be an iron block 302 topped with aluminum heads and intake. From what I'm seeing although numbers seem to vary is 500-600lbs.

For steering I'm *hoping* to use the 2nd Gen Explorer rack as 1)I have it from the failed donor idea and 2) the Explorer has a similar, albeit slightly wider track than the Fairlane.

Trans will be a T56, 8.8 Cobra IRS out back and the transfer case under the back seat.

For tires I'm looking at running P235/60/R15 which come out to 26.1" tall.

I currently have the car sitting on 7" tall blocks under the rockers which drops the roof line roughly 1.5" below what a stock 64 would be.

Now, I know roughly where things should line up but I want better than "roughly" and "should"

I have angle finders, I have levels, I have plumb bobs and tape measures...I even have the factory dimension sheets for the Fairlane. I also have a crippling sense of anxiety as this car is my baby and I really don't want to wind up with a pile of scrap metal.

So, with all that said, what's the best way to start locating those front end components on the Fairlane.