Mk1 and 2 independant front suspension conversion!

[Sundowner]

Vented discs with 5x112 PCD too.........

What discs are you running on your van

[MrMPuk]

What years are Mk3s? I know bugger all about anything post-Mk2.

http://www.fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2635

[Luke]

one thing i did think of although mk1/2 hubs will fit on mk3 front end - im not sure how it will be re. caliper clearance - but if you redrill you can machine the edge down to get the caliper clearance as sundowner has done with his

[carnut1100]

I'm running Ford Falcon XY ( 1971 ) discs which have separate hubs, but the conversion works with other Falcon discs with the integral hubs, although a small step has to be turned in the back of the hub to clear the backplate bolt heads. i had a set of XC discs to do the conversion, but swapped them for a set of XY ones so I didn't have to get them machined.
I used Castlemaine Rod Shop kit, but if I was doing it again I would just measure up the stuff on the car and make it myself, as it is a piece of cake. There is a caliper bracket ( for Holden HQ calipers) , a shrink fit spacer to pack the disc at the correct distance, and the bolts and washers etc. The kit cost $150 about 6 or 7 years ago, and the conversion took an afternoon in total.
The Transit bearings fit straight into the Falcon hubs and the brake hoses screw straight in, but it is a good idea to get some longer ones made, as they tend to rub on the shocks a little. Long term this is not a good idea.

So, if a Mk1 hub will fit on a mK3 front end then my kit should fit also, and give me Falcon stud pattern on IFS with minimum messing around, as this conversion looks MUCH easier than widening a Holden front end and making it fit, which was one option I was considering......

[Sundowner]

I'm running Ford Falcon XY ( 1971 ) discs which have separate hubs, but the conversion works with other Falcon discs with the integral hubs, although a small step has to be turned in the back of the hub to clear the backplate bolt heads. i had a set of XC discs to do the conversion, but swapped them for a set of XY ones so I didn't have to get them machined.
I used Castlemaine Rod Shop kit, but if I was doing it again I would just measure up the stuff on the car and make it myself, as it is a piece of cake. There is a caliper bracket ( for Holden HQ calipers) , a shrink fit spacer to pack the disc at the correct distance, and the bolts and washers etc. The kit cost $150 about 6 or 7 years ago, and the conversion took an afternoon in total.
The Transit bearings fit straight into the Falcon hubs and the brake hoses screw straight in, but it is a good idea to get some longer ones made, as they tend to rub on the shocks a little. Long term this is not a good idea.

So, if a Mk1 hub will fit on a mK3 front end then my kit should fit also, and give me Falcon stud pattern on IFS with minimum messing around, as this conversion looks MUCH easier than widening a Holden front end and making it fit, which was one option I was considering......

Yeah i thought you said it has a falc conversion its the same kit when fitting falc discs to TE cortina

It just threw my when you said you had 5x112

[carnut1100]

Falcon PCD is 5x112 isn't it?

The other option for fitting the hubs to a Mk4 front end is to look in a bearing catalogue, as I am sure there would be a bearing that would tie the early hubs to the later spindle.
Is the Mk4 spindle larger or smaller than the Mk1/2?

I have been asking around, and I can get a complete front end minus discs and calipers for around $5-600 plus shipping, but Mk4s are FAR esier to find, and parts for them are also easier and cheaper. It looks like I might be going the Mk4 way and trying to fit the Falcon hubs onto that.
If the later spindle is smaller than a simple shrink fit sleeve would do the job, but if it is larger than the spindle would need turning down, or a suitable bearing needs to be found. I think the bearing would be easier.

[Luke]

The other option for fitting the hubs to a Mk4 front end is to look in a bearing catalogue, as I am sure there would be a bearing that would tie the early hubs to the later spindle.

i think the probelm is one is metric one is imperial - i had a look and couldnt find anything - but i didnt try that hard as even mk1 hubs on mine would be too wide!
the other option is to have mk4 hubs redrilled - coincidently ive been working on a mk4 redrill just this morning and i'll update my progress on here

[carnut1100]

Does anyone know the sizes?
It would be a simple matter to turn a sleeve with a metric inner diameter and an imperial outer diameter and use the bearing with the next larger size inner.
Make the sleeve 4 thou undersize and shrink fit it. Works a treat.

[Luke]

Does anyone know the sizes?
It would be a simple matter to turn a sleeve with a metric inner diameter and an imperial outer diameter and use the bearing with the next larger size inner.
Make the sleeve 4 thou undersize and shrink fit it. Works a treat.

its not as strait forward the wall thickness on the smaller one isnt big enough to fit the largser bearing mk4-mk3 isnt easy mk3-mk4 would be possable this way

ive got both hubs so i can take some measurments for you

[carnut1100]

Fantastic!
If you could do some measurements and maybe a rough sketch of the 2 types of hubs, I can mesure up a Falcon hub, and maybe if you could measure the stub axles on the Mk 4 and the early types?

I can draw everything up properly in AutoCAD ( which is a big part of my Engineering course) and look at making some hubs to fit, maybe reducing the track at the same time.
My lathe could easily swing a 150mm diameter hub no problem as long as i can get the bright steel for it....

[Luke]

right roughly the mk4 bearing O/D is 64mm and the mk3 casting O/D is 65mm - the mk4 casting is way thicker

the only way to do it would be a bearing with the mk3 o/d and mk4 i/d - mabe it is possable, but for mine even mk1 hubs would not be narrow enough so i didnt persure it any further

i'll get some more accurate measurements of the hubs/ stubs later

[Luke]

bit of info for anyone contemplating doing this job, ever since ive had it running there has been a tight spot at one point on the steering, it was hardly noticable (although the MOT man noticed it and thought it was the rack it wasnt) when i changed it to a power rack it was almost gone (the MOT man tried it and didnt notice it), but i could tell it was there because i was looking for it, anyway it bugged me so i had to sort it
i thought it could be the column bent so i swapped that - wasnt that
i shimmed the column and could get it better but not rid of it, eventually i came to the conclusion the angle of the u/j's connecting the column to the rack must be too steep, exadurated by the fact i moved the entire crossmember back to get my wheels more central.

so...... today i fitted 4 spacers to move the rack forward by 40mm - took it for a test run and it was perfect

i need to make a decent bracket to hold it solid as at the moment the rack could come loose and move sideways
i'll post a pic of it here when i do its also given me the chance to lower the engine a couple of mm - to give me more clearance at the top

just thought i'd add that incase anyone is contemplating doing this as its took me a fair time to sort it out

[Gunslinger]

that could be invaluable for anyone doing this, steering and suspension geometry can be a tricky thing when doing stuff on the fly like this

[rover]

eventually i came to the conclusion the angle of the u/j's connecting the column to the rack must be too steep, exadurated by the fact i moved the entire crossmember back to get my wheels more central.

Dont like to say "I told you so" but....

At least you got there in the end

Rover.

[BOLTON WANDERER]

Thanks for this thread, you have just talked me out of it

i have a mk2 ci travelhome and a mk 4 diesel, the latter i bought for the engine to fit to the ci
but discoverd it has rack and pinion steering i was seriosly thinking about swapping this over untill i saw this thread, i think i will just have to live with changing lanes without moving the steering wheel.