Picking this up in a couple weeks.

71ChargerRT

71ChargerRT

Well-known member
I found it through a friend, and my dad had a Sportsroof version when I was a kid with the Q code 351 Cobra Jet, or 351 Cleveland with a 4 barrel if you prefer. In my opinion it's the best looking front end of any Gran Torino. The fella that owns it parked it in this spot in April of 1987, I was 13 at the time...

Few bad pics... It's tough to get in close.



 
Nah, he's a 70 year old truck driver that doesn't like to sell anything. He has a '76 Cougar XR7 and '72/3 Cougar out there, along with 20 some riding lawn mowers, a couple dune buggies, 5 or 6 VW Bugs, and assorted farm implements. My only in with him is his son, otherwise that car would just continue to sink into the ground.

That '72 is sweet!
 
its the ONLY face i like to be honest....and in my pick of first cars was a 429CJ GT ranchero of the same face.....that car was ohhh so nice but it was a smidge over my budget at the time and the guy wouldnt budge..so was the tripple green 69 firebird with ALL the goodies ...of all the cars i looked at i still think i picked the right one without a doubt
 
having a few chassis swaps under my belt..i can tell you that ...if you want to do that...pick your cuts!!!! and take full advantage of being able to lower your tub onto the chassis if you want the car to "look" lower without BEING lower...and without any detremental handling issues

secondly..your pan will dictate your seats and your carpet..so keep that in mind too

having a CV in my shop right now...i can tell you that the mounts on it are totaly moveable..and ive moved some rears allready to re-locate a hitch "higher"..in fact the body actualy has multiple frame holes built in....for unknown reasons
 
Nah, I'm not planning on that. I just posted it up to show how little Ford makes major changes through the decades. If the frame on mine does happen to be rotted I'll save the front clip and part the rest.

I'm not that dedicated to this particular car, if it wasn't a '72 it wouldn't even be up for consideration.
 
hell id see if the front end could be swapped without too much effort...major improvement im told...after owning a couple 70s/80s linc, and a 66galixy, and my 58 ford...i can say this...ford never changed the frame much....hell a 1980 lincoln frame looks EXACTLY like a 03 CV frame
 
From everything I've read the '03 frame is wider, the '92-'02 frame on the other hand is almost a bolt in swap. Slight differences at the front and rear, but easily correctable with a donor frame. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of benefit to frame swapping unless you're using the '03 and newer frame.

The coil springs on the other hand are a nice upgrade, especially police versions.
 
I'm not sure I understand how coil springs would be an upgrade, especially with "flexible flyer" body-on-frame construction. I suppose coil springs and the flimsy stamped control arms weigh less, but from any high-performance standpoint it would seem a big step back. "Floating like a heavy turd" isn't a performance consideration, for the record. Don't make the mistake of thinking a domestic-maker control-arm rear suspension has any relation or similarity to a four-link other than the number of arms, or that it's somehow better than leaf springs. It's absolutely not.
 
The GT has coil springs on all for corners. The CVPI has a front spring rate of 710 and the rear is 160, the GT has spring rates of 350-450 front and 145 rear, depending on engine size and handling package. There are other considerations of course, as well as other parts that need to be reinforced, namely LCA's front and rear. That, good shocks, the 1-1/8" front and 7/8" rear sway bars and a Mustang fast ratio steering box tighten everything up nicely.
 
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