67 evil eleanor

OK, I was back on the car (65 Fastback) today for a couple of hours and was thinking, how much do I want, or need to spend on the front suspension. It seems that their is too many different ways to go. I could replace the original stuff and do the Shelby drop, add a 1 1/8" stabilizer and a good set of shocks and be on the skinnie. It was good enough for Shelby to win races. Or, I could go withTCP upper and lower control arms and adjustable struts, and use some of the old stuff and spend about 1500. A power rack and pinion is an option also andcan be had for a couple of thousand and I still will have to use some of the old stuff. Or, I guess I could pull out the Plasma and wack the towers out, and weld in a Mustang 2 fornt with coilovers, and disc, new stuff all around,also fora couple ofthousand. And lets not forget the coilover kits that sell fornearly three thousand. I thought I had my mind made up untill today, when I ask myself, do I really want to spend that on this. I am at a state of confusion. The car is being converted fron a I6 to a 302 V8. Whats your ideas?

racin66coupe

hows the car going to be drivin? if its just a street car with some track time im sure that the shelby drop etc would be just fine. i heard the mustang 2 front coversionsuck btw

andrewmp6

Id rebuild the control arms rolling spring perchs shelby drop.Besides the normal spindles hubs and springs.Have you seen these http://www.ronmorrisperformance.com/...ode=Susp_Parts there cheap and replace your spring and shock only.

Aussie66Fastback

its for your wife somaybe you should consider the power R&P.

I have been looking at some of opentrackers suspension stuff... my idea is not the full coilover setup but rather use original design but modernised a bit.

roller upper and lower control arm pivot points
roller idler arm
roller spring perches
shelby drop
baer tracker for the bump steer (if the car is a little low)
good shocks, reasonably firm springs on the front
good shocks, reasonably soft springs on the rear
front and rear sway bars
decent disc brake setup on the front.

This is what I am hoping to do but if you go the whole hog withopentracker or global westthen your not far off the modern version. if i had the $ it would be fully modernised steering, suspension, biiiiiiiiiiig brakes, subframe connectors, torque boxes and and and

67 evil eleanor

Thats what I was thinking. I have a power steering setup and can use it. Also a set of Wilwood disc that will bolt to either drum or disc spindles for a 5 or 6. Aussie, thats almost the setup I have on my track car except the roller stuff. Just follower the 67 Trans Am recipe and the car drives great. I'm sot sure the over rides were a help or a hurt. No power steering though and I will have to add that for her since she weights in at about 115. Its funny that all the companys that are into the aftermarket steering stuff always throw a slur on their competition. For cost control, this seems to be the best solution. I will add the roller stuff though. andrew, Icould'nt pull that site up, I will try later on today. Now to find some spindles. I have aset of C6's off a 68 I think, does anyoneknow howclose these are to the 5's and 6's. I can't find any crossover info andam thinking they are different.

Aussie66Fastback

do you mean you have an R&P power steer setup or the original?

If its the original, there was a post a while back about giving it a bit more "feel" by revalving the pump to slow it down some. personally i hate the old ram type p/s. too light and vague for me.

how big are the wilwoods and do you have the calipers? Will you have to go to 16" wheels to fit them?

67 evil eleanor

I havea couple of original setups, pumps, rams, one is like new. I'm like you about not liking the old ram setup. The Wilwood kit is for a 65-6 drum or disc with v8 spindles (that I don't have)and has the Dynalite calipers. I have a set of spindles off a 68 car with a "C6" part number but am not sure they will work on a 65.Other than the tie rod ends being a little larger, the only other difference is the arm that the tie rod goes into, itseems to be about 1/2 inch shorter than the 65's. This shorter radius would turn the wheel quicker. Even though I know I will be on the body work for a week or two, I still would like to get everything lined up. We plan to go with 16 inchers and NOT GOODYEAR rubber. Aussie, I think thats pretty much what I've settled on but am still crunching some numbers and thoughts. Power steering will have to almost certainly have to be on the car.

Scott H.

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