Crown Vic IFS Spacer/Tube - New or Used?

[Aerocoupe]

For those that have completed or are in the middle of or contemplating a Crown Vic IFS swap what did you do or are you going to do for the spacers/tubes on your project? The spacers/tubes I am talking about are P/N 3W1Z-5D096-AA and look like this:

Sleeve.jpg

When in stalled in the F100 frame they look like this (screen shot from TexasKnowhow's YouTube channel):

CV Swap Sleeves in F100 Frame.jpg

I have seen some use tubing which does work so if you have info on that feel free to post but my question is more geared towards the use of the factory spacer (description on Ford packaging and again from TexasKnowhow's channel).

Ford CV IFS Frame Sleeve.jpg

Are most folks just ordering new ones or are you salvaging them out of the CV frame? I priced the spacers and for all four it is over $100 plus shipping. For that price I think I am going to see if I can salvage the ones I got with my CV IFS. The salvage yard I got mine from cut the frame and left the sections bolted into the IFS.

[Aerocoupe]

So I cut mine out with a 1-3/4" hole saw, cordless drill, and some cutting fluid. I removed the pilot bit so not to damage the threads in the spacer which was no issue as the hole saw just fits over the spacer. Here are some pics of the work and it took about 30 minutes. The "jig" I built out of scrap wood I had laying around the garage. This held the CV frame rail so I could use both hands to cut the spacers out with the hole saw and cordless drill. I just put a bit of cutting fluid on the frame rail and after it had cut a groove in the frame rail I just used that to hold the cutting fluid from there on out. It took four more rounds of cutting fluid after the initial one to get them out. I went slow and let the hole saw work.

CV Frame Rail in "Jig" with One Spacer Already Removed (was alot easier than I thought)


Cordless and Hole Saw


Cutting Spacer from CV Frame Rail


Spacer Removed from CV Frame Rail


CV Frame Rail with Both Spacers Removed


All Four Spacers after Removal


So all that is left to do is remove the remaining frame rail material from the spacer. It was welded to the frame rail with two 1/2" long welds on oppsote sides of the spacer so I am going to concentrate on grinding off the welds first to see of the rest just falls off after that.

[rhyne]

Screenshot_20180901-011010_eBay.jpg

i used these to box in my frame rails. ..ebay

[cep62]

That looks like an easy way to save a $100.

[Aerocoupe]

So the link to the kit on ebay is here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F100-Crow ... 3150181316 if anyone wants to check them out.

Interesting but just not what I want it to look like when I am done. I am going to pattern the frame rail with cardboard so I can lay it out on some metal plate. Cut that out and then mig it up. I have seen some pretty nice looking ones like on Hackster's truck so that is kind of what I am shooting for. I want the ends open so that when I get the frame powder coated there is a better chance of getting all of it cleaned up and the powder coating adhering well.