I made a post a while ago about rebuilding my front suspension and after being distracted and fixing a bunch of other crap, I'm finally back on track.

I'm thinking of buying
http://www.mustang-unl.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=FEKD3+01
to rebuild the entire front end, and a rear sway bar
http://www.mustang-unl.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=914+01


Of course, I can't find my original thread [:@] but I remember that someone kindly laid out 5 mild upgrades to my suspension system. The ones I remember were the UCA drop (i think) which I can't do unless I get properly sized wheels, rear sway bar (which I plan to do) and adjustable camber/caster/toe (or something, I can't remember, but plan on doing)
However, the previous owner had a custom exhaust system installed along with lifting the rear end (i think) and I'm worried that a rear sway bar wouldn't fit. Can anyone help me figure out if the sway bar would properly attach? Pictures of the suspension setup of a car with a rear sway bar would probably be helpful, and here are some pictures of mine.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0232.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0235.jpg

Thanks men, and I must confess, I copped out of the newbie introduction I should have done with pictures of my car, but my good pictures were on my mom's camera, and my dad and I got carried away in a hurry, but here's some making up.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0204.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0206.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0205.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0123.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0244.jpg

Edit: I nearly forgot, I thought I read somewhere that the reproduction lower control arms were goofy, and that the polyeurathane bushings were too stiff for some of the metal and sometimes caused pieces to bend, can anyone elaborate on this? Or I might have had a nightmare that this happened, anyway

 

The MustangsUnlimited kit is fine, but they are generic kits and you may be able to shop around and find a better deal.

As for the rear sway, I'd skip that and rather buy a new larger front sway bar. The rear shows exhausts dumping right out over the axle. That's ok, but not the most desireable. Plan on extending the pipes out the back. As for lifting the rear, those air lift shocks have got to go! They will do more harm than good. The are lifting the car by pushing up on a very small, very thin piece of sheet metal. This area was never designed to carry the load of the car. Using air shocks has caused many people to damage their cars by poking the shock up through the hole.

Looks like a great project. Good luck!

 

What is your budget? Like said above, you can get a "kit" from many vendors, but they are just generic parts. It'll work for the most part, but nothing special. If you have a bit more dough, go with a full kit from grab-a-track and even better, a kit from www.opentrackerracingproducts.com. Wish I would have forked out a few more dollars and gone that way.

As for the 5 upgrades, here's 3 of the ones your thinking of...

1.UCA (Shelby) Drop
2. Roller spring perches
3. Adjustable strut rods

And yes, dont get poly type bushings for the strut rods or they might snap.

 

https://mustangforums.com/m_3730827/...tm.htm#3730827

I saw this today after searching for some suspension information. Hopefully this makes up for asking for help in your thread.

I'm still researching different kits as I've got awhile to get the prep work on the body done. My favorite driving is the twisty's around Los Alamos, and Taos to Angel Fire in New Mexico. In other words, I like good grip.

I'm considering the Opentracker arms with the shockwaves replacing the front springs and am debating the Fat Man w\Shockwaves vs the IRS in the rear.

Car will be a 68 Coupe with 400 HP 347 Stroker. I invite all opinion's as well.

 

Thanks for letting me know what those shocks are actually supposed to do. My dad and I looked at them and just couldn't figure out what they were or how much pressure was supposed to be in them, so we just filled them to 15 psi which is the pressure they were at when we bought the car. If what you say is true, then I've lucked out because I didn't see any sort of bending or warping around the mounting holes.

Where do I find grab-a-track kits? I can find references to them on google, but I can't seem to find a website? Man, stuff at opentrackracingproducts is high end, and I have to email them for a quote on a complete kit? sounds expensive, heh. Anyway, how far would a budget of 600 or 800 dollars get me suspension wise? Or is that sort of budget just stupid and unreasonable? I was liking the price tag at the mustangsunlimited kit, but I plan to drive this car for a long time and I'm sick of cars that handle like turds.

Is it really better to get a bigger front sway bar than add another to where one is missing? What is stock for the car? a 3/4 inch one? A 1 inch bar seems like madness.
Thanks for the imput, lets keep it coming so I can finally get the car into a mobile state again.

Edit
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...t=DSCF0206.jpg
Are the holes in back for exhaust or backup lights? I think the guy said he replaced that panel anyway, and I would agree. It fits so poorly the bolt holes don't even line up.

 

I may be wrong but those look like the exhaust holes. I believe the back up lights were closer to the corners.

 

If there are no little holes around them, then someone cut them for exhaust. Those are too big for back up lights.

Mustangs Plus has the Grab A Trak kits.

 

You only have 4 posts at this time, so if you click on your own profile you should find that thread listed in the "Most Recent Posts" panel.

Sway bars (aka sta-bars) are best chosen to tune the handling or add roll stiffness without penalizing the overall ride as much as stiffer springs would. You're looking for balance in the handling rather than thebar specs as ends in themselves. And it's always a compromise of some sort between springs and bars, of matching the front and rear to work together, and of not going overboard with rear roll stiffness to the point that acceleration out of a turn is compromised. Swapping in a stiffer front bar is generally a stronger reason to add a rear bar, not less. And adding a rear bar where none was present suggests either a stiffer front bar, stiffer front springs, a little of both, or even a rear suspension geometry change of some kind.

On the wider scale of things, a 1" bar is kind of on the puny end for a typical domestic car that weighs about 3000#. Not that a 1" bar is bad/inadequate in and ofitself, but the mfrs are not likely to choose to meet current roll rate targets (degrees of roll per lateral g) that are higher than the mid-60's criteria with just spring stiffness increases. Most people would find the ride somewhat less than fully acceptable. Point being if you want current levels of ride comfort and roll rate, you'll almost certainly need to do at least some of it with the bar(s).

Having said that, for a competition-only car or if you're truly hard-core cornering/handling performance oriented with a high tolerance for a stiffish ride, you might be able to arrive at a solution that mostly involves spring rate increases. But that's a more complex analysis and requires a more accurate idea as to what the individual ride tolerance and preferences are.

Norm

 

A big front sway bar does not replace a rear sway bar. While it's always a good idea to replace the dinky factory front sway bar, using too large of a front bar without a rear bar will tighten up the front suspension too much and cause lots of understeer. 7/8" to 1" is good for a front bar if you're not using a rear bar. More than that IMO is too much. Adding a rear bar will cut down on rear body roll, which will decreasestress on the front tires and allow you to run a sway bar bigger than 1". You will, however, get some oversteer in this situation, so keep that in mind if it's a daily driver.

I've talked to someone who had the Grab-A-Trak kit and liked it for the most part, but found the shocks a little spongy. KYB Gas-A-Just shocks are stiffer and will provide better handling (at the loss of some ride quality); I've got them on my 67 and I love them.

Be warned though, poly squeaks. Look for a kit with polygraphite or midolyne bushings. These are 'squeak free' poly bushings. You still can't use them on strut rods though.

 

Yeah, thats an after-market lower rear GT valance without the backup light feature. These holes are for the exhaust pipes. Lotta places have them, looking at getting one for our '65, but with the backup light holes cut.