I had been fighting with carb problems before I got a rebuilt 4300 from Pony Carbs. I had to take her out and see how she ran. I got a bit carried away with how fast I was going and hit a swail on a country road. The fornt ends on the 71/73 stangs are really heavy especially with a Clev engine. When the car got down into the swail it was ok but when it came up, it felt like it was gonna go into orbit. Everything turned out ok after my little reminder of the quirks of the car. This was my first real run with the car in many years. It had been in the resto shop waiting for $$$ to continue working on it. So I had forgotton about how to drive & not drive it. I'm sure the heavier shocks will help.

 

Stiffer shocks would help alot! Thats pretty funny though. 351s are pretty dang heavy, like 800lbs right? Like jrrhd73must said KYBs are nice, and I like QA1s both are really good brands when it comes to shocks.

 

I dont know for sure how much the Clev weighs but it sure is heavy. It's lits more than the 302. Shocks will be next then see how much I think sway bars will help. I really dont want to get into welding supports here & there but if it will make it ride lots better, I might. The biggest trick was getting used to it again. It actually handles pretty decent once you are familiar with it. I really love the car. I've had it since 1977.

 

I guess you guys don't go round corners very much. Here in the UK we have bendy roads, and vehicle handling is more important. I say this because changing (or adding) the sway bars will have an effect on the front/rear roll rate, and therefore the yaw rate of the vehicle.

Basically, the stiffer the roll rate (ie the stiffer the sway bar, or shox/springs) at either end of the car, the greater the tendancy for that end of the car to slip. For instance, if you increase the stiffness of the front sway bar, the car will tend to understeer more (in fast corners). Conversly, if you add a rear sway bar where there wasn't one before, the car might tend to oversteer more.

It's a matter of balancing front and rear roll rates, and then maximising the grip by setting up the geometry, adding good tyres etc.

Small changes in roll rate might be ok, but try them out somewhere where you won't bend the car if you get it wrong! Alternatively, talk to a good chassis setup shop, and purchase a complete set of springs, shox and sway bars in one go.

Having said all that, I have a rear sway bar from a 70 Boss 302 that I might try on the back of my '67 GT350



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Yeah, I put new leaf springs, 3/4 sway bar and KYB gas adjust shocks on the front and rear of my 65 last summer, and man it made a huge difference in how it handled. I also installed a Monte Carlo bar and one piece export brace which stiffened up the front as well.

 

The Montecarlo bar also made a noticeable difference.

On the cleveland it makes it a royal pain to get to the distributor.

 

I was reading a year or two ago about a detatchable Monte Carlo Bar. A quick release mechanism as such. Maybe that would be the way to go with a Cleveland. Global West also one that bends over the dizzy. Part #TS-7. http://www.globalwest.net/Mustang%20...20packages.htm

 

thanks for all the quick replies.
I think i will stll go ahead and replace it with a larger dia.
i don't really run the car hard or race so i don't expect the holes to become elongated, but i'll keep my eyes on them.

thanks again