What makes this swap possible

So, what makes this swap work so well? Credit cross platform interchangeability. When Ford moved into the 1970's, some midsize 60's platforms got reborn. For example, the Falcon got torn in two during 1970. The early 1970 Falcon looks like the 1969. the 1970 1/2 Falcon looks just like a Torino. Strange, because the Torino became it's own line with no relation to the Falcon except that 70 1/2 deal. But somewhere in that period, the Maverick was born of the old Falcon platform. Some things that worked well, like front suspension parts, just floated onto the new platform. Why redesign what works? It looks like Ford was experimenting with front steer, rack and pinion steering on the Mustang and just kept using a known, workable front suspension setup on the Maverick. Mercury apparently liked the Mav, so the Comet appeared too. The Comet is just a fancy Maverick. Later the Granada appeared and the Maverick/Comet picked up some parts there. (Note: this discussion is just my take on how things appear - the real story might be completely different) Look behind the front tire of any 66-69 Mustang or Falcon and then behind the front tire of a 76 Maverick and you see the same setup. When Ford put disk brakes on the Maverick/Comet, they just made a new spindle that bolted up to the existing suspension. Here are your potential donors:

- 1974-1977 Maverick/Comet

- 1975-1980 Granada or Mercury Monarch

Now we have a disk brake spindle that bolts to existing parts. The spindles bolt up because the taper of the ball joint shaft holes match the taper of the existing ball joints. That is key, because the same ball joints have been used on the Falcon/Mustang since 1963. The only part number differences (at least in the aftermarket) seem to be grease-able/non-grease-able (permanently lubed) and 3 bolt/4 bolt. So, the spindles bolt right up.  (NOTE: the lower ball joint is the same part back to 60 in Falcons but I don't have enough data to confirm the fit of the 60-62 upper ball joint)

One thing that did change was the tie rod ends. Here is where you will have most of your problems.  First, the dimensions associated with the spindle mounting point for the outer tie rod end varies. For example, on the older cars the tie rod to spindle bolt was 7/16". On the later models, it is 1/2". The taper of the tie rod end mount also varies between models.  Another thing to look out for is the thread that mates with the adjusting sleeve.  For 63 up V8 Falcon cars, 66 up all Falcon and 67 up all Mustang, the tie rod adjusting thread was 11/16-18.  On 60-62 Falcon, 63, 64 and 65 6 cylinder Falcon, 64-66 Mustang 6 cylinder manual steering cars the thread was 1/2-20.  One more exception: 64-66 Mustang with power steering - the thread was 3/4-18 on the left side.  Because of the taper and spindle thread, the outer tie rods MUST come from the donor car.  V8's before 66 and all later models will mate "foreign" outer tie rods with the existing inner tie rods via the adjusting sleeve.  As noted, the early 6 cylinder cars and other exceptions will require a swap to V8 front linkage (center link, inner tie rods and possibly idler arm) or you'll have to fabricate an adapter. Mustangs Plus carries some extra length adapters (at the time of this posting) to help mate odd rod lengths.