Has anyone on here either done or know someone who has removed the shock towers and gone to a fabbed front stub with MustangII style upper and lower control arms and rack and pinion steering?

Almost, we did the notch kit from RRS suspension to make room for a big block & installed the complete early Fairlane front suspension kit from Fatman Fabricators which is basically a late model Mustang coil over/rack & pinion set up.
rcmotorsports has a complete kit if you want to go Mustang 11 conversion instead of coil overs.
I won;t get into the controversy about why you shouldn;t use the Mustang 11 style front suspension,at least in an early F'lane, because the kit virtually eliminates the shock towers & replaces those heavy gauge monsters with light sheet metal.
I;ve driven a 64 with the rcmotorsports stang 11 kit running a 460!
You can read all about both kits at fatmanfabricators.com & rcmotorsports.com
good luck
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roger powell

So Roger, does the RRS notch kit accomplish the same thing as the Crites kit does? Sounds like what me and another guy are talking about doing. He's working on a '62 and I've got a '64. I dont really like the idea either of not having something up front to help stiffen and support all that weight but I absolutely hate the shock towers. How much more room does the RRS kit give you? We're both going with 302 EFI conversions so we wont have the clearance issues of a big block. I'm sure without the shock towers, a guy would definately have to beef up the bracing on the front end and probably install subframe connectors to help tie the front and back ends together. I've even considered just boxing over the existing frame rails and then adding the coil over mounts instead of doing the full removal of the stock frame. Do you have any pics of your car that I could look at? Anybody else out there doing this conversion?

Hey Roger, how 'bout posting some pics if you could? I've gotten a few pics from the guys over on the FordFE.com forum and I'm looking for more ideas. I just cant see why these kits are so damned expensive when all your getting is a 150 dollar rack, a 50 dollar crossmember and another 200 bucks worth of upper and lower control arms and coil overs. I know the R&D involved is expensive and time consuming but.....Okay, I'm done with my rant. Back to topic.

RRS notch kit. http://www.rrs-online.com/shocktowerproducts.php

http://mustang520.blogspot.com/2008/07/engine-bay-preparation.html

http://65mustangrestoration.blogspot.com/

These are for mustangs but they will give you the idea

They seem a bit expensive to me, but if you aren't able to mock up and fabricate yourself they are an easy way to go.
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Steve 64 S/C big brakes 8.8 rear 289 lentech AOD, strut front suspension

If you look over at fairlane club website under Tech you can scroll to fatman install & look over Paul;s install, Paul Thankfully did the the whole Fatman thing before i did, incl. the RRS notch kit, which does come with some heavy gauge panels, bracing to replace the shock tower metal you removed,
i can send you pics if you like too
Right now mines in for some minor wiring, and power steering braided lines & lastly, chassis dyno to see how much the new 347 makes vs the engine dyno.
I got lots of pics though, just let me know where to send em,
That said, I;m heading to warmer climates, so be patient,
Happy holidays!
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roger powell

Thanks so much Roger. You can send pics to supercj69@yahoo.com if you'd like. Right now I'd like to concentrait on the front end work but by all means feel free to send any cool pics!! I've been having a discussion with some other folks over on the ford muscle .com site and one of the guys over there has used the RC kit that completely removes the towers and uses MII uppers and lowers along with coilovers. His is on a '65 Falcon Ranchero I believe and he says he's had absolutely no issues with it. I think its a drag car and he evidentaly he launches it pretty hard and even with the hard landings its still going strong. And he's not running any type of export bracing at all. Not sure which way I'm gonna go yet but I'm leaning towards either the RC type system either of their design or my own or going the route of the Fatman style with a rack and a front strut. I know the strut wont let me totally cut out the towers but I can sure trim them back a bunch. I've got a friend who was the sheet metal foreman for Robert Yates Racing and he's really good at this kinda stuff, hopefully he'll be able to help me out.

quote:

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Originally posted by steve:
RRS notch kit. http://www.rrs-online.com/shocktowerproducts.php

http://mustang520.blogspot.com/2008/07/engine-bay-preparation.html

http://65mustangrestoration.blogspot.com/

These are for mustangs but they will give you the idea

They seem a bit expensive to me, but if you aren't able to mock up and fabricate yourself they are an easy way to go.

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I just got a complete Mustang II IFS with power rack from Nine Lives Restoration for my 64 Fairlane. Less than $2K for everything including disk brakes and adjustable coil overs.

www.9livesrestorations.com
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Jerry Tomasello
70 Torino GT 429 CJ
Club Moderator - the Ford Torino Club
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFordTorinoClub/

I would like you to post some photos of your kit, it sounds like something I maybe interested in.

69super: I'm back, will shoot you some pics,
the Fatman kit is complete down to every nut & bolt, the Xmember is a huge under engine brace that you hang the lower A arms(which are a thing of beauty too) from as you probably know,
the RRS notch kit gives you room for anything up to a big block for sure,
Even with the new crossmember & heavy metal tower notch kit, Fatman insists you use the firewall to tower braces or Fab new ones which i did, & highly reccomend an export brace too. Fatman insists the Stang 11 install, on a F;lane is a big no-no.
For those of us with no time to scrounge the yards, or maybe(as some love to insinuate) the talent to put it all together. there;s nothing like the RCMotorsport kit or in my case the Fatman complete kit. Simply use the wallet & in a week or 2 you have everything you need!
Check out my KRC p.steering unit too, can you believe,going by its size, its more powerful than the stock Ford piece, weighs about 2 pounds & is good to 9,000rpm! If i get the new Retrotek EFI in place i;ll send pics of it too.(I'll say it first, why didn;t you just piece together a ford EFI kit from junkyard parts for half ther money!) Same reasons as above
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roger powell