Sparagna

hello all my 66 289 coupe is having quite an issue with the front suspension and alignment. i have done the upper control arm relocation and have slightly taller springs than stock to accomodate the larger wheels. what happens is the suspension is fine when the nose is down and just cruising a bit but if i accelerate too fast the nose comes up because i am accelerating and the toe angles further inward which causes the wheels to plow and makes the nose go up then stick while driving. after a few seconds of this the steering is loose and wobbly and the wheels get hot and start to make a whining sound. before i just pumped up the air shocks a little more to keep the nose down but it doesn't seem to help anymore and i know thats not exactly good for the car. so my question is what can i do to keep the nose down when accelerating if that is the issue, or did i maybe just get a bad alignment job. i dont claim to know everything about the car these are just the things that i observed so if anyone knows something that i dont please feel free to say so, thanks! also the car is a daily driver so i cant completely redo the suspension

racer_dave

Who aligned the car and what were the numbers? If they used stock mustang specs after doing the Shelby drop it won't drive right. Also, if its a newer shop that isn't used to dealing with classic cars then they probably did the toe and nothing else. What shape are the bushings, shocks, tie rods and ball joints in? old, new? If they are worn then that's part of the issue as well. When you did the a-arm drop when did you tighten down the bolts? If you tightened them while the car was in the air then that could also be part of the problem. Last, what does the rag joint on the steering column look like(worn/torn) and is the steering box tight?

Sparagna

well all of the bushings and ball joints are in good shape the shocks are a few months old as well as the tie rods the shop typically dealt in classic cars or so they told me, it was called old church automotive in mechanicsville VA. the steering has a little play in it but only maybe an inch at the wheel and we did tighten the bolts when it was in the air...also a friend brought to my attention that it has stock front shocks in it but taller coils could it be that the shocks are reaching their max and sticking?

Sparagna

i also told them to align it to 66 shelby specs but i dont remember what i did with the numbers paper ill see if i can find it

TexasAxMan

No rag joint on a '66.

Something's wrong though, when the front end rises the wheels should toe out since the tie rods attach to the rear of the spindle.

racer_dave

Find the specs, or verify what they were. IIRC- the Shelby drop was for the race prepped cars, not the street cars so 66 Shelby numbers are probably really close if not the same than the normal mustang specs. If the control arms and bushings were tightened with the car in the air it will cause some funny feel to it and could cause the front to ride higher than expected. Loosen them up(Not that ball joints, just bushings) while its on the ground and then re-tighten.

Worn shocks or not they should never 'stick', check if that's the issue by removing them and then cycling the suspension travel, see if it improves. If it does, then you probably have a bent shock, which could stick.

Sparagna

well i checked under the car again to see the bushings and as it turns out the sway bar bushings were worn so i replaced them and lo and behold the issue went away, i guess it just goes to show how the littlest issue can cause the biggest problems. also i did what you reccomended and lowered it then retightened and it seems to track much straighter now. thank you guys for all your help and good luck in your own endeavors!