aero body swapped onto a '98+ frame

[79lincolnlover]

What would the key issues be if this was attempted?

[mrltd]

I would think the clearance in the rear area/gas tank because of the revised suspension.

[Leafsrule16]

Honestly, i think your just better off selling the car. Its going to be a big hassle to pull a whole body off and then put on another one and cost a lot more then the car is worth or you'll get out of it. Its going to take serious work

[Jason_GMQ91]

Honestly, i think your just better off selling the car. Its going to be a big hassle to pull a whole body off and then put on another one and cost a lot more then the car is worth or you'll get out of it. Its going to take serious work

yeah very true, but just remember his car is very rare, not very many out there of Touring Sedan. He is trying to find a nice solid frames to replace it for his CV TS.

[sly]

isn't the panther frame basically 2x4 steel beams down the sides?

if that's all that rotted out... cut the welds... remove the beams... replace... weld. done.

[mrltd]

isn't the panther frame basically 2x4 steel beams down the sides?

if that's all that rotted out... cut the welds... remove the beams... replace... weld. done.

Only part... the sections that rust are in a formed section.

It's really not that hard to pull a body off.

[Tiggie]

Swap it Aero-for-aero, bolt up no hassle (other than the whole body swap). Why do you want whale?

[79lincolnlover]

I'm just throwing ideas around...

Swap it Aero-for-aero, bolt up no hassle (other than the whole body swap). Why do you want whale?

Just a thought that popped up. If I can find a good, reasonably priced, solid aero (92-94 ideally) I'll consider buying it then swapping my Touring Sedan stuff over. The 93-94 are the same style but have a different front end (modest grill) which can be swapped.

[rick99601]

Honestly, i think your just better off selling the car. Its going to be a big hassle to pull a whole body off and then put on another one and cost a lot more then the car is worth or you'll get out of it. Its going to take serious work

its a P75, so imho its worth it.

[351m]

For the Whale frame, go to a wrecking yard with a measuring tape and see what the differences are between key areas. suspension, body mounts, frame widths etc. Also look for good aero frames.

Lifting the body is simple enough, use bottle jacks or an engine hoist to lift it, block it up, put the frames side by side and swap everything. Probably making things seem simpler then they really are though.

[Merc3517]

This might be useful. If anyone would like to archive this info go ahead but what I have saved is much better quality so I could email the files I have to the proper person to be dealt with as necessary to post them in the best quality possible. These files as saved on my computer can be zoomed in ridiculously and everything is clear but I just can't get that quality on the internet for some reason. Let me know.

[gadget73]

The only true difference would be in the back. I suspect the only possible interference might be between the bellcrank for the watts link and the fuel tank.

[Merc3517]

By comparing the diagrams I provided above the entire length of the frame is about 29mm longer for a 1998 than 1994. There are a bunch of differences so if you are going to do it I would suggest a rolling frame because the aero suspension is not going to work on a whale frame. Basically you would need to put your body on a whale frame that already has everything. and you still might have some fitment issues because the rear body mounts are a little further back it appears. The rear suspension is totally different and the front suspension is different so your not going to get away with a bare frame and swapping all your suspension and stuff over. the 2003+ frames are really different still.

I would try to find an aero frame if I were you because if you didn't anything you needed for your suspension would be a different year than your car.

[gadget73]

The front suspension isn't that different. You can put the 98+ front stuff on an aero without much bother. the only real difference is how the UCA mounts, it uses frame brackets vs the pivot shaft on older models. the rear suspension is the really big change. Hell, I have 98+ front suspension on my 86, and I made that happen using aero upper arms.

[Merc3517]

I can agree with that. Still think it is more work than it's worth. What are you getting from a 1998 frame?