Talk about a shotgun wedding, a ’66 Dart GT with a T-Bird IRS? The merits of such a build could be debated, but owner David Belau via CarDomain Blogs has chronicled the trials and tribulations of doing just that.
There were two ways to approach this build. You could cut up your car adapting the IRS to the chassis, or you do what the owner of this Dart did, build a sub-frame and “bolt” it in. Sounds a lot easier than it was.
David originally wanted to install a IRS from a Chrysler LX car but at roughly $3K it was way over budget. Instead, he settles on a Thunderbird IRS and finds one in a junk yard for a $100. Disc brakes and a stout differential sweeten the deal.
In his five part journal, follow Mr. Belau as he fabricates the sub frame in his backyard, installs the IRS, and bolts it in the car. More work is needed to plumb brake lines, get the half-shafts and drive shaft right, and tie up a lot of loose ends. Then he gets a crash course on how tricky the “math” can be getting the suspension geometry right on an IRS car.
After driving and racing the Dart for two years, Mr. Belau removed the IRS and reinstalled the old rear axle! He claims the backyard built sub frame held up just fine over those two years and the only reason he pulled it, was because the car is for sale.
You might also like
Student-Built ’68 Camaro Gets A New Beginning
Remarkably, the students designed and built the cantilever rear suspension themselves and used QA1 coilover shocks.
