Topic: Converting early Pinto suspension to Mustang II

[EP73Pinto]

I’m sure this topic has already been covered, but I was unable to find it in a search. I have a 1973 Pinto race car. The suspension is in dire need of rebuilding, but all of the suspension components are obsolete and cannot be purchased new. I want to convert my 73 Pinto to Mustang II suspension components, so I can use all of the trick adjustable control arms and such. The only thing that is important to me is that I get to use the same 13 inch wheel with the 4 x 4 1/4 bolt pattern, because I don’t want to have to buy new wheels as well. I use Basset 13x10 wheels with the 20x10R13 Avon race slicks, and they are easy to come by at this moment. If there is already a thread that covers this topic, just a simple link would suffice.
I contacted Racer Walsh via Facebook messenger, and they said they could help with this conversion, but gave me no information beyond that. Let’s say they were less than helpful.

[JoeBob]

I understand not wanting to spend money for different size wheels, but I don't believe you will find 13" tires.

[EP73Pinto]

As stated in my original post, I run the Avon 20x10R-13 A11 race tire. I’ve raced this car for 12 years and never had a problem getting them. Street tires aren’t available, but race tires still are.

[oldkayaker]

Not having done this but just looking at the dimensions, the following might be done:  For the MII lower arm to bolt on, the attachment tabs under the crossmember would need to moved further apart front to back (not sure of the side to side location).  I believe the MII strut rod is a little too long and a 74 up Pinto one would be needed.  For the upper MII arm to bolt on the frame, mounting holes would need to be moved further apart and the hole shape modified to accommodate the diamond shaped shank of the MII bolts, a spacer block welded to the frame to raise the mounting point to accommodate the taller MII spindle.  Fortunately your unique 73 steering rack has the larger tie rod ends to fit the MII steering arms.  The above assumes the MII and 74 up Pinto front suspensions are the same except for the strut rod.

Could replace the front crossmember with a 74 up Pinto one or with one those custom made crossmembers used by the hot rod groups.

[EP73Pinto]

That info is what I was looking for. I didn’t know how much different the geometry and attachment points were between the two.
I’ll look into getting a whole kit, that includes the crossmember. [size=78%]The difficulty there is that most of the hotrod MII suspensions use a 5 lug hub. [/size]
I’m planning on going to a power steering rack as well.

[TIGGER]

The guy that ended up buying my old 72 hatch converted it to Mustang II by cutting out the cross member and installing the 74+ cross member.  I never saw the completed product but his wife drove it around for another 2-3 years after he did the swap till the car finally succumbed to the tin worm.  He ended up swapping the drivetrain into another body.    The parts are out there for the early front suspension.  I see them from time to time.  It might take some time but I think you can find the parts.  good luck to you

[65ShelbyClone]

The MII and late Pinto spindles are also a lot taller than the early ones.

https://welderseries.com/early-pinto-vs-mustang-ii-spindle-differences/
I had a late Pinto parts car that I was going to cut the crossmember out of for possible transplant into my '72, but at the time wasn't able to have the car laid-up for such a lengthy (sub)project.

[oldkayaker]

Here are some rough measurements I took.

[65ShelbyClone]

The difficulty there is that most of the hotrod MII suspensions use a 5 lug hub.

That's not an issue because you can still use stock replacement late Pinto/MII rotors(which, unlike the early ones, are still cheap and easy to get) and calipers(and/or caliper brackets, not sure). The spindle snout is the same as many other Ford cars. For example, I'm using Granada 11" rotors and bearings on '72 spindles. Granada rotors are usually what is included with MII front suspension kits.

[Wittsend]

Sometimes I forget how old our cars are. Today the newest Granada is 40 years old. I can remember my monthly treks to Pick Your Part / U-Pull Parts back in the 90's and there was hardly a Granada that didn't have the front suspension pulled. It would be a very rare sighting today. But given all the early Mustang/Falcons etc. still on the road the Granada rotors still have their place.

I was curious to see the build run of the Granada and the Wiki provided this: " The Ford Granada derives its rear-wheel drive chassis from the 1960–1965 Ford Falcon."