new car's on the ground!!!!!!!

That car is gonna be a one of a kind!! I think it's great!!!!

 

Just out of curiosity, how much does Jag rears and front clips go for out there? I wish I had your fabrication skills.

 

At first I was going to you late model thunderbird IRS and mustang II for the suspension. Chris (radmav) told me he was using the Jag IRS. One day when me and my buddy were hunting for maverick parts in the wrecking yard, we came across a 86 Jag XJ6. After looking at how simple the Jag rear is I thought it would be much easier to do so I bought it, $160.

The Jag was also the perfect width, I did some research and parts are avalable and at reasonable prices. So at this point it was jag rear and mustang II front.

Some guy came in the shop and we were talking cars he told me that a buddy of his put the jag front in a 55 F100. Me and the wife were shopping at the wrecking yard (half price day) and I took a closer look at the front suspension. To my amazement it was similar to the rear in that it was a modular unit. Six bolts hold it in and everything is bolted to the crossmember, I took some measurements that day.

A couple weeks later I bought one from a different yard, this one had good rotors, OK rack, and KYB shocks, I paid $145 for it.

 

Curious about the Thunderbird IRS, did happen to measure it?
I wonder how it hard it would be to put it on a Maverick/Comet?

Has anyone else put rear disc brakes on a Maverick/Comet? I seen the other post regarding the Explorer.

 

Wow, thats got to be an unbelievable deal and a half.

 

So Thomas, do you mean to say that the Jag front end and rear suspension are basically bolt ins on a Maverick? This sounds too good to be true. If so, what's the down side to this sweet deal? SIncerely; John B.

 

No they're not bolt ons for mavericks but they are bolt ons for jaguars. What made them easy was the fact that they are complete units. The rear has the springs, shocks, brakes, axles and center section mounted in one cage so trying to figure where to mount everything is done for me. I just had to make it fit the car.

For the front the rack, upper A arm, lower A arm, brakes, shocks, and springs are all mounted to the cross member. The width of the cross member is wider than the maverick frame rails. So this means the engine compartment will not have shock towers and can be sealed, unlike the mustang II fronts. The mustang II's upper control arm is mounted to the top of the frame rail partialy in the engine compartment.

The other factor to use these parts was the track. On Tammy's car we put a 4" wider axle and used spacers to make the front 2 3/4" wider. With the jag stuff it's already the right width, I just had to change it from 5 on 4 .75" to 5 on 4.5" to fit ford wheels.

 

I must say I'm more interested in the front end than the back because I was planning on going with the MII in my 71. I didnt realize or remember seeing the MII sticking in the engine compartment on Tammy's car at the roundup. I guess I was so taken back by the rest of the car it was just too much for my 3 remaining brain cells to absorb. So, the Jag width is the same as the Maverick? Did you cut that notch in the crossmember? Looks like it fits pretty good. In your research did you determine what years will work?

 

No offence takin John, I just don't want someone to buy these parts thinking it's a slam dunk. There is some fabricating required, like the lug pattern. There isn't alot of room to move the lugs so I had to find the largest size knurled 1/2-20 studs. Not the length but, the press portion. Then I bored the original hole offset for the 4.5 bolt pattern. The crossmember has been cut in the center to give more clearence for the oil pan, and it looks like I will have make a custom oil pan too. And I still need to work out the upper shock mount, it may look similar to the offroad truck. A "U" shaped tube mounted to the frame in front and behind the suspension. I also have to work out the motor mounts, shouldn't be to hard. I plan on using 79-93 mustang motor mounts and making the frame mounts from there.

The front measures 60.5" from wheel mount to wheel mount, I believe the stock maverick is 3" narrower.