Ford LTD project

[Anonymous]

Hey all, I've got a friend lookin' to do up an early 80s' LTD (the smaller ones) and I was wondering, I know they share a LOT of parts with the mustang, but does anyone know if the K-Member and rear suspension are shared between the two..

Thanks all!

--Dave.

[mfpmax]

As long as its a Fox Chassis, it should be close enough.

[Evil86lx]

The small LTD should be a fox chassis car. I would double check with sleepercoupe. He used to owne a small LTD cop car.

Most parts would be interchangeable. I'm not 100% positive about which parts are and are not.

I think we have another member here that also has some of the "big" fox car's.

kyle

[sleepercoupe]

*cracks knuckles* ok the only thing different i could find between the drivetrain is *drumroll......the driveshaft is longer, and thats it, same rear suspension set up, same swaybars, same k member, same brake system (everything going to the rear is longer), bigger gas tank in the ltd, tranny was a column shift, but the ltd lx's came with a floor shift. i have some parts if you guys need them, driveshaft, 140 certified instrument cluster, glovebox with tag from flordia saying its a police car, spotlight, front grill with red and blue strobes (NOT LEGAL). and dash clock delete plate.

[Merc]

There was an LTD II police option that used most of the parts from the special service stangs (or visaversa). Pretty much all of it will interchange. You may find some differences with spindles/struts depending on the years, but they will interchange. 78-83 Faimont/Zephyrs and 83-88 Thunderitd/Cougars will interchange as well, but the T-Bird/Cougars had wider control arms in certain years.

[Coupester]

LTD II's are very neat little cars. I have always wanted an LTD LX ... someday when more leisure time is afforded to me ...

Essentially, anything besides a Capri/ Mustang is a long wheelbase fox-body. Examples of this are the Fairmont, Zephyr, Mark VII, Thunderbird, Cougar, LTD II, 83-86 Continental, etc etc etc.

As mentioned, the driveshafts are longer, as are the flowtubes. If you are considering building a Mark VII or Continental, consider their factory-issued airbag suspension as a potential roadblock to suspension/ drivetrain modifications.

Other than that - have at it!

Back in the day, I had a 78 Fairmont wagon project that had an 88 HO longblock, Edelbrock RPM intake, T5 tranny, turbocoupe rear end w/ discs, 87-93 spindles, 73mm calipers, coil overs, etc etc etc ... the car ran 13.70s @ 101 at 3500lbs with almost all junkyard parts!!!

I highly support a non Mustang/ Capri foxbody buildup -- very neat!

[sleepercoupe]

mine was a LTD police car very awesome too bad my brother smashed it into a median at 70mph.

[Zephyr 351C]

SFCs can also be hit or miss because of the weelbase difference. I used WMS SFCs on my Fairmont and they fit nicely, they were reccomended by another fairmont guy.

I hated my LTD, of course, I only paid $250 for it so it was a POS when I got it, when I was finished with it a stripped it and crushed it. I was tempted to make a two-door wagon out of it, but have too many projects and not enough time, money, and space.

[rudefyet]

This is the person whom Dave is speaking of...

Looks like my plans will be set back due to lack of space

Altough i had one question...

Does the LTD have the same length from fenders and hood? or at least similar?

I think transplanting a 85-86 Stang front end would be quite impressive looking

not saying i'll do it....but it's an idea

[mfpmax]

Its not as impressive as it is interesting...

[Mumfts85gt]

Altough i had one question...

Does the LTD have the same length from fenders and hood? or at least similar?

I think transplanting a 85-86 Stang front end would be quite impressive looking

not saying i'll do it....but it's an idea

A guy did what you are considering and it was featured in the August 2003 issue of MM&FF (Sick & Wrong) . He used a 93 front clip on his '85 LTD, which really looks out of place. The '85-'86 would look somewhat better. He cut the backs off of each cars fenders and hood and grafted the LTDs onto to mustang fenders/hood so he wouldn't have to modify the front edge of the doors. Other than the grafting of the backs of the fenders and hood, the demensions appear to be close to the same.

[Coupester]

If you're going to build an LTD ... do youself a favor and locate an LTD LX ... they're too cheap not to. Plus, you start out with several perks ... basically the same motor as 84-85 Mustang GT AOD's ... plus you get an Auburn in the 7.5" rear end factory!!!

I like Fairmont wagons and 2-door sedans - very neat.

[Zephyr 351C]

My fav is the two-door sedan, theyre too hard to find though, I think 81 was the last year they made them, may have been 80.

I have two coupes and a sedan. Mine is one of three I've seen in this area, while coupes and four doors are plentiful.

[not-a-stang]

glovebox with tag from flordia saying its a police car, spotlight, front grill with red and blue strobes (NOT LEGAL).

So...what are you planning to do with the those parts?

Thinkin' of having some fun with some local ricers.................