cmcguire2

I am currently working on a restoration project for my 64.5 mustang and I am wanting to upgrade the suspension on the car both front and back, I want to do this without cutting up the car and taking away from the classic look of the car.

The car is in drivable shape now but I want to use it as a daily driver and not have to fight with the car to keep it on the road when I hit a little bump or have to brake hard. I don't need a workout just driving the car to work.

I want to keep the cost within a limited budget but I also want to do this the best way for a daily driven car that will see both heavy traffic and highway speeds on a daily basis. The car is an original V8 car with manual steering, no a/c and stock 4 wheel drum brakes ( with a single reservoir master cylinder )

I plan on adding front disk brakes with a dual reservoir master cylinder, adding a factory style a/c unit in the car, subframe connectors, and new rear leaf springs ( like GT or Shelby style ) to improve the handling as well.

I have seen lots of upgrade kits everything from just upgraded bushings to full tubular upper and lower control arms, I am not sure where to go with this, and what advantage is the upgraded kits will do for the car at more then double the cost of the standard kit with better bushings.

Any advice on where to go would be great.

rmodel65

www.discbrakeswap.com

id do a rebuild and add the shelby drop in the mix, get some stock upper and lower control arms, some stiffer coils(either gt coils or some 620 lower coils) and new rear leaf springs, add some kyb shocks and thicker front sway bar and add one to the rear. also roller spring perchs and all new tie rods and an idler arm

laurel mountain has some good prices on the a this type of rebuild


or if you want to go all out check out www.streetortrack.com

kalli

ya.... that's most of it said already
single master is a safety desaster ofr a daily driven vehicle. And the drums are crap anyway. if on budget it has to be the discbrakeswap as mentioned above to give you safer driving. I'm happy out with mine.
My 64.5s suspension was fried when I got it. The Upper control arms have grease nipples on the m,ustangs and I was searching and thought I went mad and then realised the 64.5s don't seem to have them. So the car usually ends up squeaking like mad. I grease it constantly but it doesn't help much.
So for that when I got the car I replaced the front shocks and springs which already helped a lot. I then added monte carlo bar and crossbrace to get it stiffened up.
Now I bought upper and lower control arms that are waiting to go in (whenever I find time for that).
so get under the car and get the grease gun out and start firing. You can either replace the full upper and lower control arms ore you can buy the balljoints, the shaftlink and the spring saddles. You can get those parts in all mayor mustang part stores.

Oh and as well:
tighten up the steering box (they are usually horribly bad).
It's very easy to do but I can't give instructions as I do that by feeling ... might check the shop manual later
Check for caster/caber and toe in. This has to be done anyway when you go for discbrake swap or if you exchange the control arms ...

cmcguire2

Well I have had the car for the last 24-25 years and have done all the work to it from the start, the parts are not worn to the point that they are unsafe I just want to make it handle a bit better and since I now live in a major urban area where traffic is alot heavier then where my parents live I want something that I can count on when one of stupid drivers here in the area decides to whip into my lane or something like that.

As for the brakes I think I will go with front disk off of like a 74 or so maverick and go to power brakes over the manual ones, on the back I plan to use a setup off of a station wagon of the era they are a bolt in option just larger ( Drum Brakes are not bad at all ) it's just the ones that they put on the mustang were not large enough, i guess FORD didn't think about the kids that would be out street racing in their shiny new car back then LOL.
The Steering box I am the same way I adjust it by feel but I am thinking about going to a bolt in rack n pinion set up as my budget allows.

kalli

i'm thinking about R&P myself, budget doesn't allow it though. I guess it will make a huge difference.
Powersteering will clearly improve handling on a daily driver for parking, turning etc.
as mentioned before, the discs in the front have a few good things about them:
a) a dual master, which I believe is neccessary for safe driving
b) better stopping power
c) the car will brake in a straight line.

before i changed half of my workout routine in the mornings was fighting the brakes to pull to a random side. Adjusting it helped only for 1 month and then it was back again

Angliagasser

This is a bolt in for the rear suspension.
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...inkbolt-in.jpg

Gun Jam

might want to look into NPDs Street Bandit Handling kit...Im not sure if its for you but you should check it out.

-Gun

67 evil eleanor

The column is a "BIGGIE" as far as safety. Without three points in a hard frontal impact, its "skish kabob". 620's may be a little stiff and a progressive may be a little easier, and still mantain some cornering. Roller spring perches help. "Norm Peterson" is "The Man" on suspension and maybe he will chime in.