Pssst66

What do you guys think of the suspension packages where you cut out the shock towers, such as the ones from Heidts? Just curious if people who have done it like it.

cmanf

I did the rod and customs setup havent looked back since. Hated those shock towers!
I was looking into upgrades to our 04 and there is the same style upper and lower A arms
Guess the design still works well.
For the cash I couldnt beat it getting front disc brakes in the mix also be aware you will need to go with a wheel with at least 5" or better backspace.
They didnt tell me that one! Im running 17 bullets all the way around with 1/2 spacers on the back fits great.

Pssst66

Thanks Cmanf for the advice.I just found an earlier thread on this topic so I will refer to that for more opinions.

andrewmp6

The mustang 2 kits are a bad idea they put all the weight on the frame rails in stead of the firewall like ford degined the car.Id use http://www.rrs-online.com/ coil overs and shock tower notching kit or http://www.griggsracing.com/index.php.

Angliagasser

I puta Heidt's mustang II suspensionin my daughters 1966 Mustang and it is great. All the room you will ever need for ANY motor you want to run in your car.
Before I did the suspension swap. I drove a mustang that someone had already done it to and the car handled better by far then the stock suspension ever did.
As for the guy a above about that says he thinks that it is a bad idea. Well if Ford had this suspension back then, I guaranteethey would have put it in the Mustang. As for the strain on the frame rails, if you are really concerned about it you can put a roll bar from the frame to the fire wall. But unless you are going to go over jumps with it, I would not worry about it. I have never heard about anyone that has put one of these kits in, having problems with the frames bending. And I know of oneguy that road race's his and no problems at all. Thats one of the reason what lead me to do it. That and I could not get the 2.3 SVO motor in our 66 Mustang with the header and turbo I had. Now a 4.6 DOHC motor or 460 will fit. Those shock towers suck!

Here is a picture of ours.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...CN01700099.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...CN01750104.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/angliagasser/DSCN03350185.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/angliagasser/DSCN03360186.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/angliagasser/DSCN03370187.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/angliagasser/DSCN03380188.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/angliagasser/DSCN03390189.jpg

Daze

There is no arguement that a Mustang II suspension is better than a STOCK original set up. Lets face it if the Mustang II kit was not a good one than it would not have been the front suspension of choice for hot rod builders for years. And there is the obvious improvement in removing the shock towers for better motor clearance. However, if you are running a ford small block and do not need the extra room in the engan bay then there are better options for handling and ride quality than the Mustang II kit. A stock suspension with:

UCA drop
performance shocks
medium rat coil springs
1" sway bar
roller spring perches
adjustable strut rods
rac and pinion steering or upgraded steering box
and most importantly a PERFORMANCE ALIGNMENT

will out handle a Mustang II front suspension fitted classic any day. The ride will be smoother and the suspension will be more responsive to road imperfections creating better tire to rod contact.

The BEST front suspension I have seen for our classics is the coil over set up that Ron Morris, Global West, and TCP puts out. theses use the improved design similar to the Mustang II of attaching the coil over shock to the LCA and the benifit of using the shock towers to correctly transfer suspension load to the body. This is a vast improvement over the stock design. Improving control of wheel movement over bumps without sacrificing ride quality is dificult with the stock suspension. The stock spring perch position is roughly centered along the length of the control arm and transfers much of the road vibration directly into the chassis. By locating the lower coil-over mount closer to the spindle, the majority of road vibration is transferred directly into the spring and shock where it can be absorbed. Also when the mount is on the LCA the length increase over the UCA mounting location improves leverage. The improved geometry allows use of a lighter, lower rate spring for significantly improved control without degrading ride quality.

So this mans OPINION based on an excellent understanding of Mustang suspension geometry is as that the order of quality is

1. stock suspension
2. Mustang II
3. upgraded stock
4. coil over

andrewmp6

Daze don"t forget about ackerman the extra stree put on the frame rails the hot rodders use the mustang 2 for a ifs because its cheap to buy or take out of a mustang 2/pinto in a junkyard. Removes the straight axle most have and its a show car they ain't gonna autocross it.Most use a vega steering box and gauges also 70s gm van for its tilt steering column the cheapest parts don't always mean there best.

Angliagasser

This is from a post by Ozarks06 on DOHC in 66. It is about the Mustang II Suspensions! Anda must read!!! For you non-believers. Or purists.

Actually the M2 puts the engine weight (the heaviest part on the front of the car) directly on the crossmember, which, unlike in avintage Mustang suspension, puts that directly on the wheels. Thus, there is probably less weight on the frame rails,aprons and firewallthanwith the stock suspension. You still have the aprons which carry some of the weight (though probablysubstantially less) directly to the firewall,though you are missing the heavy-guage metal in the shock towers (but with less weight on the aprons, is that needed?).

As for handling, here's a post onanother forumfrom a guy who has a real Mustang II - the car - and gets great handling out ofa modifiedfactory suspension - .99G lateral. http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sho...ight=heidt%27s

jlp66stang

Angliagasser, thanks for that link. Those guys were talking real suspension numbersthere.I didn't understand it butapparently they did.I think if there are any issues with the MII, someone will keep improving it, just like they are doing with these other systems. I know I like the way the crossmember went in, and it looks solid. The way it wraps the framerail can't help but make it stronger. You can buy disc brakes, rack and pinion, adjustable coilovers, sway barand steering adapter for under $3000. You may not need the room for a sbf, but sure leaves it open for later. It doesn't look like it came out of the junkyard either. These other systems want almost that much just for the rack!

andrewmp6

Like i said on that other one those specs are from a mustang 2 putting the front suspension in a different bigger car doesn't mean you'll get those numbers and youll never get ackerman steering out of the mustang 2 kit little something to read http://www.auto-ware.com/setup/ack_rac.htm .