I bleed Ford Blue
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- January 1, 2019
- Messages
- 300
- Reaction score
- 154
- City, State
- North Olmsted
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2021 Explorer ST
I have a project in mind that I'm doing some research for. First a little background info on this future project. All 1967 to 1996 F100-150's with a regular cab shortbeds have a 117" wheelbase, and the current trend is to ditch the twin I beam or twin traction beam on 4x4's and swap in a IFS cradle from a late model crown vic/gran marquis. The swap gives you a real IFS with upper and lower control arms and power rack and pinion steering. The swap also causes some issues, namely, afterwards you now have a 5 x 4.5" lug pattern on the front but a 5 x 5" pattern in the rear so you either have to swap axles and drums to get the same wheel pattern or run two different wheels that you can't rotate, also you still have the prehistoric leaf spring rear suspension bolted to the weak C channel frame rails. So I was thinking about a IRS swap from a 2000-2004 mustang cobra or from a 2015+ mustang but it's a lot of work and you still have the weak C channel frame. So then I thought why not do a frame swap, so then I started looking and found that the 3rd and 4th gen explorers have a fully boxed frame, a real IFS with factory coilovers, a real IRS with coilovers and an 8.8" center section, 4 wheel disc brakes, power rack and pinion steering and they have a 113.75" wheelbase. So all you need to do is strip it down to a rolling chassis and stretch it 3.25" and then fab up the correct frame mounts and swap on your body of choice. I prefer the dent side F100-150's that ran from 73-79. And since the 02-10 explorers had an optional V8 the coyote is a bolt-in using the same engine mounts that were on the 4.6. I plan on running a coyote 5.0 with a built 6R80 auto and a whipple supercharger at about 12-14 lbs of boost.
Up here where I live around Cleveland a 2wd explorer is about as rare as hens teeth, and with the power I want to put to it I will need 4wd to get the power down on the dragstrip. So what I would like to know is are the front hubs on a 4x4 spring actuated and vacuum released like the F150 are from 2004 to present or do they use a different system? And also, how strong are they? Can they handle approx 800 hp?
Up here where I live around Cleveland a 2wd explorer is about as rare as hens teeth, and with the power I want to put to it I will need 4wd to get the power down on the dragstrip. So what I would like to know is are the front hubs on a 4x4 spring actuated and vacuum released like the F150 are from 2004 to present or do they use a different system? And also, how strong are they? Can they handle approx 800 hp?
