Hi All,

I have a 65 Mustang Coupe that I recently purchased. I was hoping to not get in as deep as I have on repairs and restoration, but still .... the more I check and fix ..... the more there IS to check and fix. I’m sure you have all learned this already, I’m just learning myself. I absolutely love this car and it’s been great fun fixing it up.

Now to my question.... I am ordering some subframe connectors right now... I want to order them from Mustangs Unlimited but im not dead set on it. I also want to go bolt on, and then I will weld them on once I work an OK install hopefully. There are some that cost $99 and some that cost $215, big price diff, so what am I looking for, I imagine I want a thick steel, good square metal, So tell me which one do I want?

Sorry if this is an annoying topic, but I don’t know much about this at all. I love learning from your messages, this place has proved to be golden. Thanks to all in advance for reading.

 

For bolt-ons, folks seem to like the Competition Engineering. Those are what came with my car, and I installed them when I upgraded my rear suspension. They're a very easy install, and only require drilling the front frame for 2 bolts on each side (along with a little shaving of the flange off of the frame for fitment), as the rear slips over your front eye bolt of the leaf springs (they come with an extra-long eye-bolt to replace the existing one, since they cover up the recess that the normal eyebolt goes through).

Since you have to take the front of the leaf spring off, if you're planning on doing a rear suspension upgrade, it might be best for you to do them both at the same time...I'm sure you've heard the horror stories of getting leaf spring eye bolts off!

Some of the others out there require modifications to the floorpan or relocation of some rear suspension, but the CE bolt-ons are truly a bolt-on application. They do reduce some ground clearance, but on my car, they're still not any lower than my exhaust. In addition, there's lots of nice edges that are prime for welding them on. I haven't done so yet, but plan to when I can free up the funds and time to get to my welding shop.

I'm tickled pink with them. Granted, I also upgraded my rear suspension at the same time, so I'm not sure how much of the improvement was from my CE Subs and how much from my suspension upgrade, but the difference in handling is night-and-day.

 

what part of handling do these sub frame connectors actually improve??? like what differences will u be able to tell?

 

they stiffen the chassis quite a bit and help during acceleration and braking. definatly a good investment for any car, 'specially our classics.

you could turn around and get a bolt on and after bolting it up you could just turn around and weld it for a little extra security. my personal suggestion is, before you do that, spend a few bux to have your frame checked. it's a little pricey, but it's the skeleton of your car and very important it stays true and strong.

 

You get what you pay for, so for another 100 bux or so, you get quality. The sub frame connectors improve handling, traction, better weight transfer and they help to maintain ground clearance. Do it right the first time. Get the expensive ones and have them welded on. Don't drill any holes in your already weak rails.

 

I understand the appeal of the point about drilling holes in theory, but if they're welded both front and back of the aforementioned holes, I have a hard time believing that the overall strength of either part or whole of the frame is diminished. If they remain only bolted in, I'd buy it...but bolted and welded, there's no way it's not a net gain.

 

That is true. My point was not to just bolt them on and not weld them. However, any hole that is punched into these classics will eventually get rust in them. I would shy away from any unnecessary drilling, if welding is the ultimate goal . Again, do it right the first time and weld them in from the get-go.