has anyone used the independent rear suspension from a 1993 T-Bird? I have one i removed and want to use it on my 1939 Ford coupe. It has the 8.8" rear.
Have you got some pictures of the Tbird IRS you could post? Haven't really looked at one live and in person. If it's an 8.8, should be plenty strong as lots of people are using the Explorer version of the 8.8 and seem happy with it. How wide is the unit? What kind of springs does it use? Photos and measurements of the unit in the donor car would help us help you.
I think it will be too wide for the 39. A friend and I thought about doing one on his 65 Falcon,was too wide and looked like A LOT of fabrication to make it work! JMO,ROY.
I am with 65COMET, to wide and too much fab work to be practicable. Sent one to the scrap. Depending on you application, a Ford 8" or 9" is more suitable.
Its an option on the factory five cobra ,might get some info from their web site.but agree with the others 8 or 9 inch with a stabilizer bar is the best bet.i put a vette rear in my 34 before there was a kit for it and the amount of fab work and pricy parts,i would of been better off with with the ford rear.Only thing better was braking.
Jimmy at Futuretech in Mentor Oh put one in a Charger (I think it was a Charger ) he had to narrow it but it worked out very well and it was cool.
Look at a Jag IRS.... those have been put under rods since the mid-sixties. Parts aren't any more expensive than any other rear and it comes mounted in a 'cage' that can be pretty easily hung under most cars. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=855
I bought a 46 ford coupe project that has one installed. I don't have any pics and the car is stored in a container until spring. The width is a bit much, and if I had installed it, I likely would have looked at narrowing it. On this car I am running hubcaps, so the modern offset wheels won't be an issue. The install work looks pretty simple as there is a lot if structure on the rear end to work with. It also helps that the t bird is a pretty heavy car, everything is built pretty strong. Looks like less fab work than using a jag or vette rear, but it is not nearly as pretty to look at. The cost being a fraction of alternates, I think it's a good choice.
Aside from it being too wide, braking is something to consider also. What will you use for front brakes? Your front brakes and rear brakes need to be compatible and be able to share the same master cylinder. That T-bird rear has some tiny little calipers,which require more pressure than all the usual front brake options for hot rods/street rods. A close friend of mine used that rear in a '46 convertible, and used wilwood calipers on the front end. The two styles of calipers take different bore size master cylinders. He used the master cylinder recommended for the Wilwood front brakes, and the damn thing won't stop...it's all front brakes. Just another thing to do your homework on before you decide.
No, not at all. All those do is control the RATE of pressure rise to the rear brakes. I wonder what the Factory Five cars mentioned above^^^are doing for their braking system? Surely they have something worked out.
I have one to put in an O/T vehicle . the t-bird rear is 63.5" wide ,another drawback is 5x4.25 bolt pattern .
check out these guys http://team321.com/truckirs/truckirs.html then either install the cobra mustang hubs or redrill the ones on it
Hope fully Elpolacko will see this and respond. He put one under his dad's '37 about six or seven years ago, and it was way too wide to do the trick. Typical of Steve he not only narrowed it but fabbed new control arms and a complete cage to mount it to the chassis with. Having been standing there while all this went down I can soundly say in a swap from car to car, NOPE!
That 4.25" on 5 bolt pattern really limits your wheels choices, and the Cobra hubs are $150 each... if you can even find them. You'll also have to replace the hub bearings if you remove the hubs as pressing them out destroys them. You're SOL on a Chevy pattern, there isn't enough meat on the hubs for that. Went all though this on a '96 'Bird I had (wanted different wheels), finally went with adaptors in the rear.
I just recently bought a 1993 tbird IRS posi trac. I bought the car strictly for a donor for my 54 f100. I haven't installed the rear end yet but like the link above for the guys at team321 make a set up that can be welded onto the 53-56 f100 with minimal fabrication. I know your using it for a 39 but I would give them a call and see if they can't put something's together for you. I also saw that they sell the already drilled hubs with 4.5x5 For pretty cheap. I will take some pics of mine and maybe it will help with measurements for yours. *From hub to hub I measured 64"..... From mount to mount (front to back) 26".....Mount to mount (side to side) 34.5".....if you have any other questions or want me to take any other measurements let me and I'd be glad to help. Chris Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
thanks fellas for all the help on this t-bird suspension.It has been so cold here(+7* some days) that I have not been able to go out and even look at the rear-end. It is up to 38* today, so maybe my god-damned COPD will let me go out side. cold air is rough on my lungs. If the rear is tooo wide, I probably will not use it, but I see speedway motora in Lincoln makes a fiberglass rear fender 3.5" wider, so it might be a go after all. thanks again, Hnery "Ford"
Widened fenders on a '39 coupe would be unattractive. That's a beautiful car from the factory.....I would hate to see you do that. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
metal man, have you ever seen wide rear fenders on a 1939 ford deluxe coupe? I thought they would look nice, with wider wheels and tires?
I've seen them on either a '39 or a '40 coupe before, and I didn't care for it. Henry got the lines so right on those cars, it's nearly impossible to improve them. To be honest, when I saw them, I thought it looked like the builder was covering up a mistake. I'm not tying to run down your ideas, It's just that I have been doing this my entire life and have built a lot of cars, and my advice is to keep it simple. Either the original banjo rear, or a 8'' or 9'' Ford rearend of the correct width to run some nice factory or aftermarket 15'' or 16'' wheels.
the tbird irs rear will be far too wide for a 39.. I have seen them fitted to 56 f100's and I am currently fitting one to a 47 ford.. however my project is somewhat "unique" (and wider than a typical 47 ford) http://forums.aaca.org/f231/doing-impossible-modern-day-sportsman-build-342640.html
from Elpolacko's dad: The rear end has not been narrowed or new control arms. All the components are stock. Springs replaced air bags. Here are few pictures of frame and rear-end on 1937 Ford chassis:
I put one in my Jag Sedan project. Get the 8.8 version from a V8 bird. I liked the irony of a Ford IRS in a Jag. Also because it can convert easily to air bags. I narrowed it by sectioning the cradle and halfshafs 2" on each side, leaving the control arms alone. Pics in my album.
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