Front end swap ?'s

[Jyov345]

Hello I have a 71 f100 long bed that has no motor or tranny. I am planning on using the rear end for my 70 and since the 71 is sentimental to my wife I was gonna get it back on the road for her to drive. Performance is not a huge deal but more safety so I'm planning on something along the lines of the p71 front end, rear end, and motor and tranny but I can get an 03 mustang gt for a reasonable price right now. My question is, does the mustang front end fit under the truck the same way the p71 does, and is the engine, tranny and rear end swap has doable as the CV or would I be better off just waiting for a P71 to come along, either way I am planning on buying the entire car and using it as a donor so I can take everything I need (engine, tranny, ecu, wiring harness, and rear end) Also with either swap is it possible, and how difficult is it to swap everything including ABS

[Canonman67]

Everything I've read says that the CV conversion is the easiest to do. The Mustang front end is an integral part of the structure while the CV is a free standing self contained bolt on unit.

[ultraranger]

The Mustang is a unibody car (no actual frame). The CV has an actual frame that the body mounts to.

The CV front suspension doesn't have to come from a PI model. It could come from a 2003-up civilian model CV, a Mercury Grand Marquis, Mercury Marauder or Lincoln Town Car --all the same suspensions. The only difference is with the coil springs. PI is rated for 700#. Civilian is rated for 400#.

A PI CV suspension will also (most likely) have had a much harder service life that a suspension from a civilian model.