[Christopher Ihara]

Boy, had a hard time getting to that video. I liked it though.

The 86 Porsche 944 had a wheelbase of 94.5", front track of 58.1" and rear track of 57.1".
The 69 Escort MK1 2 door saloon had the same wheelbase of 94.5", front track of 49" and rear track of 50".

There are a number of MK1 Escorts running today that have the 944 drivetrain and suspension on highly modified but original frames today. It's been almost 30 years but I'll see if I can find anything I can put on line. It was film not gifs and I have no idea of what box or where to look. lol

Here's a highly modified Escort MK1 Van with a 2JZ GTE VVTI and assembled Skyline IRS rear differential and suspension.

As I wrote, it wouldn't be anything like a bolt on swap but there's not much that can't be done this side of stupid or ridiculous. That's the domain for Roadkill. lol Seriously though, altering that subframe assembly, finding suitable CV axles along with finding or making suitable control arms. I have no idea on heights appropriate for the car but that's not to hard to solve as needed. It's about having the time and will to do it or the money to have it done.

I have a NOS 2013 Coyote leftover from Watson Racing and Hellion when they prototyped and built the twin turbo Mustang Turbo Jet's. Now that was a nightmare I wouldn't have gone near. Except for the basic GT body style the finished car didn't resemble the original car at all because of the power it could make.

You HAVE a TT Coyote?! It was my understanding the fellow from Roush who was working on the program hung himself behind the office and that was one of the reasons the TT coyote never made it into the CobraJet.

 

[River]

You HAVE a TT Coyote?! It was my understanding the fellow from Roush who was working on the program hung himself behind the office and that was one of the reasons the TT coyote never made it into the CobraJet.

LOL!!!!

No. I wish. What I have is a NOS Coyote left over from the program. I say NOS but it really wasn't. The engines were dyno'd for the build but this one never got made. I really wasn't interested in it but I was offered a deal I couldn't pass up and took it. I had had my eyes on a 67, ohc 427 I came across in Maine and had been putting cash away for, for over 2 years to get. I got the Coyote though and passed the info on about the 427 to a couple people I know that didn't have to save up for it and they fought over it. lol

Anyway, the engines were being stored at the old Dana, big truck test track in SE Michigan and when I went to pick it up the story I got from the fork lift driver at the track that help me load it up was this. I can't verify this but he said originally there were 4 engines left over. They had been there a while and the current track owners didn't want to store them anymore. He didn't know who of the people involved with the builds was contacted but when they got back to the track they struck a deal. If the track sold 3 of the engines for them the track could have the 4th to sell. He said it took them more than 6 months to sell the 3 engines and they just wanted the 4th gone. The engine was offered at a great price and the guy who runs the track told me if I take it he would throw in an unopened Ford Performance control pack for the engine that was on the shelf with the engine. So in a condensed telling, that's how I got the engine.

This is the first I've heard about the guy from Roush though. Roush could very well have been involved with the cars but they were built by Watson Racing. As far as I know and have ever heard, every "R" car from Ford is hand built in their shop. It's interesting too that this had come up because of the discussion that's led to this. As the discussion was going on about putting the S550 IRS in a SN95 and even Fox Body that I was adamant about, at the same time I wouldn't do it. If I was compelled to install an IRS from an S550 I would use this from Watson.

Mustang S550 Lightweight 9-inch Drag Race IRS 2015 - CURRENT

S550 Mustang Heavy Duty 9-inch Lightweight Drag Race IRS 2015 - CURRENT

shop.watsonracing.com

It's also available in a road track version. Understand, I confidently say this because I know it's not something I'm ever going to do for myself regardless of which one is used. lol

Why this is interesting timing is because a good friend of mine that lives 2 blocks away and was an usher in my wedding just finally got an old Crosley he bought online and had shipped to him. Was suppose to be a 47 but turned out it's a 49. He had said he was done building cars but when he saw it, because of this virus he thought it would make a nice gasser. One of the other guys there is a fabricator and metal shaper that has had a lot to do with Watson so I asked him about the S550 IRS and cars it could be put on. A close quote from him went like this. You can put it on damn near anything you want. All it takes is balls to do it and the ability to finish it. I also admit I may have been cocky about this but I admit 40 years ago I probably would have also said it can't be done. But, during that 40 years I've seen, been involved with and done myself enough I just accept if it's realistic, in some way it can be done. The non-realistic is for Finnegan and Freiburger. They would look at the 550 IRS and a dead, 20 year old, 15 ton dump truck and somehow come up drifting truck. They did try it with a full size city, public transportation bus.

And BTW, enjoy the holiday weekend and stay safe.

 

[exno254]

I wouldn't say "dumb as hell". Rather, ill informed. But if you persist with the plan, then perhaps "dumb as hell" LOL.

Oh hell no, I'm a working college student so if people say it's a dumb idea that's expensive as well, I'm definitely not going through with it lol.

Putting on Cobra rear discs is not all that pricy. What can get pricy are the axles and wheel/tires. And these days, finding a 03/04 Cobra IRS for under $1K may be very hard. Moreover, given how old these things are now, you still may need to rebuild/replace some of the pieces. Just say'n.

I know it's not as pricey if I use junkyard parts, but I wanted to do a full cobra disc brake setup for the back and front since ideally I want to go with 5 lugs in the future, and it's especially hard since every thread is different in their methods constantly.

Like the other suggestions, I'm definitely not going with an IRS unless somehow it falls into my lap for stupid cheap. I've been lurking in the usual 5 lug disc conversion threads, but I still don't understand things like wheel clearance and the like, so looks like I need to do much more research. Is there any sort of mods that I should buy/focus on to reinforce it as a daily driver instead then? A lot of people tell me to get subframe connectors and other things from Max Motorsports.

 

[qtrracer]

Regardless of the body type, full length subframe connectors are a must to help keep the body rigid. If the car is a 'vert or T-top, then a strut tower brace and so-called G-load k-member brace will help keep the front suspension in place during hard stopping and cornering. (Due to limited or no top reinforcement, the K tends to "bend" at the firewall during these maneuvers without the bracing.) Beyond these, then roll bars add significant rigidity but at the cost of lost passenger space, etc. Just keep in mind that the Fox body is not a rigid platform from the factory so any added bracing helps.

As for wheel clearance, I found that just about any stock sn95 Cobra 17" wheel, 8" or 9", will clear a Fox body wheel well with no to minimum mods. Even when I used sn95 a-arms on my 86 (the 86 K member is different than on the 87+ v8 cars which allowed this mod), the mod was to raise the car a little and run more camber for a 17x8" 96 or 01 Cobra or 17x9" 95 Cobra R wheel to clear the front fender. Rear clearance was never a problem with the stock sn95 wheels.