Classic Mustangs (Tech) Technical discussions about the Mustangs of yester-year.

suspension?

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Old Feb 19, 2010 | 02:32 PM
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MSTG-Jake's Avatar
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Default suspension?

lookin to upgrade my 65' coupes suspension, whats some upgrades i can do to make this thing like a sports car! heard this forum is pretty damn knowledgeable with info :]
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 02:39 PM
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The very first thing you need to do is lower the upper control arms 1", as described here. The single most cost-effective thing you can do. If you need other front suspension work, do it all at the same time, as the only cost involved is a wheel alignment, which you want to do once.

http://site.cobranda.com/tech/aarms.pdf

Front and rear GT springs, and a 1" front sway bar will, combined with the above suspension mod, make it feel like a completely different car. Shocks are a presonal choice, I use the KYB Gas-A-Just, some find them a bit too firm, and prefer the KYB G2.

You really don't need to get too crazy with the tires, other than for looks. I use 205/70R14, and with the above suspension setup it will corner well enough to, well just don't show off to your wife.

How about engine power? You can do a pretty good upgrade for less than a grand.

Last edited by 2+2GT; Feb 19, 2010 at 02:42 PM.
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:08 PM
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i got a 302 im gonna stroke to a 347 and throw on some headers and forged internals, thats where imma throw my money, but imma need a good setup to handle it so i dont have good power and crap steering and suspension :P ty for the info ^^
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:09 PM
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that 1'' drop of the a arm is that also called the "shelby drop" for the front?
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:40 PM
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Yes, the "Shelby drop".

Before you get carried away with the engine, what kind of brakes do you have? If they are not disk up front, definitely upgrade the brakes before throwing your stroker in there. The stock drums are pretty lame IMHO.

Also, if the suspension is OEM, I would get that up to par before the engine. See 2+2GT's post.
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:59 PM
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In addition, a set of roller perches will make a differ. Well worth the money.
http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/test
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 05:01 PM
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Ya i got the grenada disks up front, but stock everything else, and i dont plan to touch my motor work untill i get that suspension goin
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 05:04 PM
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what about the rear? im runnin leafsprings but is there a better setup i can get to give it a more modern day suspension?
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 05:14 PM
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What do you want to do with the car? Drag racing or road racing? Or just a street car sports car type setup? That will determine how far you want to go with suspension.

Leaf springs can be made to handle very well, they just won't ride as smooth as a more modern suspension design. There are conversions, but then you're talking about thousands just into the rear.
Old Feb 19, 2010 | 06:29 PM
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street car sports car setup, its a DD, but i like to race against random people here and there, but i love love love tracks :] so that thousands might be a good consideration for my setup



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