Hello!

Looking to take my S197 to the track so figured I'd purchase some coilovers to replace the very worn out suspension on this car and hope to see some track pavement soon! I'll give my thoughts on how they handle at the end!

I know there's a plethora of options out there, especially for Mustangs, but I was drawn towards Function and Form's Type 3 coilovers kit for the S197. I've had Function and Form coilovers on my previous cars so it was a no-brainer for me to at least try them out on my newest project car.

Anyway, figured I'd share an install guide in case anyone else is looking to modify their car with these as well. Enjoy the read!

• Wrenches - 19mm, 18mm (x2), 14mm (x2)
  
• Impact Wrench
  
• Tape Measure
  
• Socket wrench
  
• Sockets - 10mm, 13mm DEEP socket, 14mm, 15mm, 18mm DEEP socket, 19mm, and a 21mm
  
• Shock absorber socket
  
• Allen wrenches - 2mm, 5mm
  
• Torx socket - T40
  
• Rubber mallet
  
• Zip ties
  
• Spanner wrenches
  
• Jack (and jackstands) or a lift
  
• Flashlight (optional, though it does get really dark working in the rear)

Before install, determine what your current ride height is looking like by measuring from fender to center cap, and write down the numbers, front and rear. Determine what you would like the gap to be at and also write those numbers down.




Take your front coilover strut from the kit and measure the front coilover from the bottom of the spring to the center of the lower mount hole.




Adjust the height of both of your front coilovers to the desired height from when you first measured the car from fender to center cap. Adjust first by loosening the lower mount perch by rotating it clockwise and then spinning the lower mount to the desired height.




Properly jack up the car via its jacking points.




Remove your lug nuts with a 19mm socket and remove the wheel.




Take the 18mm deep socket and wrench to remove the sway bar end link from the (OEM) strut.




Use the 10mm socket to remove the brake line bracket and a 15mm socket to remove the brake calipers. Use zip ties to hold the brake caliper up and protect the line from getting damaged.




Remove your brake rotor.




Use the 19mm wrench and a 21mm socket to remove the lower mount bolts.




Use the two 18mm wrenches you grabbed to remove the sway bar end link from the sway bar.




Remove the four 13mm top hat bolts and support the strut, be prepared for it to come down. It helps if you have a buddy obviously to hold it but it shouldn't be too hard to hold the strut and use the impact to loosen the bolts at the same time.




On the top mount of your new coilover strut, adjust the camber and tighten down the 5mm allen bolts.




Insert the new coilover strut into place by first positioning the top and hand tighten the 13mm top hat bolts.




Move the wheel spindle into the strut mounting location and torque down with a 19mm wrench and a 21mm socket.
Torque Spec: 85 lb-ft (115 Nm)




Torque down the 13mm top hat bolts.
Torque Spec: 26 lb-ft (35 Nm)




Place the rotor back into place and hand tighten one lug nut to hold the rotor from falling off when reinstalling your brake caliper.




Place the brake caliper back into place and torque down with a 15mm socket.
Torque Spec: 25 lb-ft (33 Nm)




Loosen the end links with two 14mm wrenches.

Adjust the end links length by rotating and placing them into positions. You want to adjust the length so that you create a 90-degree angle on both ends of the end link.





Use a 40 torx socket and an 18mm wrench to tighten the end links.
Torque Spec: 72.3 lb-ft (98 Nm)



(I screwed up and forgot to take a photo for this next caption below but if you keep reading to see how the spring perches for the rear springs, it's essentially the same concept)
Use the spanner wrenches that came with your coilovers kit to tighten the lower spring perch and the lower mount perch. Function and Form recommended to strike with a mallet once the desired height is achieved.




Torque your lug nuts in a crisscross star pattern.
Torque Specs: 100 lb-ft (135 Nm)

And now you're done with the front of the car! Now onto the rear...(which was arguably much harder)




Remove the 19mm lug nuts and remove the rear wheel.




Support the lower mount with jack and remove the 15mm end link bolts.




Remove the lower mount bolt with a 15mm socket. Use a jack to put some load on the suspension so it's easier to come out.




Open the trunk and move the carpet to the side and remove the top hat bolt with a 15mm wrench and a shock absorber socket. Be prepared for the strut to come down. Again, preferably done with a helping buddy.




Remove the rear spring.




(If you skipped to here to see how to adjust the spring perches for the fronts, stop here!)
The rear height of your vehicle will mainly be determined by your rear spring height. Adjust the spring perch to get the desired height and make sure to lock the perches into place by spinning them in opposite directions with the spanner wrenches. Use a mallet to strike the end of the wrenches to lock the perches in place.




Place the spring into place with the OEM insolator on the bottom and spring perch on top.




Remove the damper **** with a 2mm allen wrench and remove the top nut and only the top side of the top mount bushing. Place the strut into place and with the top bushing, tighten down with a 14mm socket and wrench.
Torque Spec: 30 lb-ft (40 Nm)

Reinstall the damper **** with the 2mm allen wrench.




Use a jack to lift the mounting point to place the lower mount bolt in and torque down with a 15mm socket.
Torque Spec: 85 lb-ft (115 Nm)




Tighten down the 15mm end link bolts.




Spin the red perch clockwise until you create a 5mm gap between the top mount. Then spin shock in the threaded section counter-clockwise by 5mm to achieve the proper spring preload. Lock the perch into place with spanner wrenches (rotating clockwise).




Reinstall wheel and tighten down the 19mm wheel lug nuts in star pattern.




Complete! Done! Finish!

Now go get an alignment and show off your car on the streets once that's all done!

Just off the bat, without even getting an alignment, the handling response is incredible for what the car is. Unfortunately, never got to drive a S197 convertible off the showroom floor but the most notable thing with the lowered ride height and lower center of gravity is it made the steering response more direct. It also drastically reduced my brake/stopping distance even at basic city driving speeds (~35-40 mph). I'd highly recommend these coilovers for someone looking to not only make their Mustang look good lowered but also do some spirited driving with them.

Hopefully look to do a track day soon with these coilovers now, but most track day organizers require convertibles to have some form of roll bar/cage in order to pass tech, so looks like that might be my next experience. Thanks for reading!