kenash

Hi,
When you installed the front components and started torquing them, was the suspension loaded?
Hmmm?

RC65

Agreed, after contemplating and finally doing the drop, it was one of the easier things to do, especially with the other stuff out of the way! Even to take it back apart just takes some time, but IMO is worth it and the 1/2" additional drop (+/-) may be enough to get the look your after as well without changing the rear. When the front goes down the rear will go up as well!

2+2GT

The rear isn't low, the front is high.

a) You need to do the "drop" now, before you spring for wheel alignment. Not just because it will lower the front end about 5/8", that's just a side effect. The "drop" improves handling dramatically, by causing the suspension to resist roll, and by keeping the tires more square with the road, which "radial tunes" the suspension.

b) The inner end of the lower control arm should not be torqued until the weight of the car is on the suspension. Right now your inner bushing is acting as a spring, raising the suspension slightly. The same is true of the eye and shackles in the rear end, to some extent.

Falcopilot

Didn't torque the LCA's before lowering it on the floor. They are both just "snug" at the moment. We'll see how it settles.......my fingers are crossed. The engine and tranny are about to come out, so it will be a bit before it's aligned. Will do the drop when the engine is out.

Thanks everyone!!

Jonk67

Good idea on doing the drop before alignment, be sure to bring the shelby alignment specs with you, if they align to stock it will steer horrible. This is good reading:
http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/suspension101
Jon

65coupei6

Also, what spacer did you use on the front springs? They sell two of them. One is 1/4" and the other is 1".

The easy way to settle the suspension is to roll it up and down your driveway if you have a slope. If it takes more than that to settle it to the correct height them something is wrong. It should not take weeks/months to settle.

Falcopilot

I assume by "spacer" you mean the insulator on top. I did not buy eurathane.......so there was only one choice and the part of the spacer that is above the spring is probably less than a 1/4".

I have a steep driveway that is over 300' long......but the car isn't running at the moment and the engine is coming out so the car isn't moving for awhile. I'll do the drop while the engine is out and see where I am when the engine is in.

Pardon my ignorance on the matter, but what is there to "settle"? I wouldn't think the spring would sag.......bushings? I did the same front suspension rebuild on my '91 GT 5 years aga and it hasn't settled at all since I put it together. Trying to learn here..........my first guess is the issue is the mid-eye leafs....letting the rear sit too low.....and the 289 doesn't weigh enough to compress the 620 springs when static.

Thanks again for all the input!! This forum is awesome! I"ve learned a lot!

racer_dave

A good quality spring should not 'settle' much if at all. In racing its called loosing free height, and it happens when we stress our springs past their intended load rating. On a street car that never coil binds the spring it shouldn't settle enough to notice.

Easiest thing to do is to pull each spring and cut part of a coil off. How much depends on the slope of the spring coils, how much weight is on the spring, and the spring rate. Start small and work up. Cut off 1/4 coil, then another 1/4 and test ride height each time. Don't get all eager and cut a full coil, it will probably be too much, biggesst I'd go in the first cut is 1/2 coil.

Do NOT use a torch to cut the springs, use a cutoff wheel in an air/electric grinder. As a note, cutting off some of a coil will raise the spring rate a little, but probably not enough to notice if you're not running it on the track. There's a formula to figure it, but didn't feel like it was worth getting into...

Didn't see this mentioned, but all the bushings were greased/lubed before installing, right?

Good luck, nice coupe!

Falcopilot

Thanks Dave. Yep, everything lubed and greased up front!!

I don't see myself cutting a spring.........never been a fan of that. Other than doing the drop I'll not worry anymore about the suspension until I have it running again.

Starfury

My Grab-a-Trak .620" (they're 560lb, not 620lb, despite common belief) 1" drop springs did settle a little bit after install. Not a lot, maybe 1/2" at most. Still, you don't want to go cutting until you know exactly where the car sits after driving it around for a while. You will need to cut them, though, if you want the front to level out with the back. There's nothing wrong with cutting the springs down, as long as you don't use a torch to do it.

The mid-eye leafs are sitting exactly as they should. They're designed to drop the ride height, and they appear to be sitting at about the same level as mine, which are the exact same springs.