MustangGT

Well, CJ is out of stock on the right U-Bolts. Won't be available until next week (fingers and toes crossed). They will ship me out a new set no charge and told me to just keep the wrong ones. So, I guess now I need to try and convince the wife we need to buy a '65-'66 since I have a free set of U-Bolts. Lastly, still looking for Pro's/Con's to sticking with the Cougar "wraps". Also, anyone know if the shock mounting plates are the same for Cougar/Mustang? Need to know if I need to order new shock mounting plates before the new U-Bolts get here if I decide to ditch the "wraps".

The pain continues... As I have been jumping back and forth in my mind on whether to use the Cougar setup or not I have been stopped by the fact that the '68-'73 "Concours" correct bolts from Scott Drake are way to narrow. Tonight I double checked to make sure I didn't click on the wrong item -- well I didn't I got it right. The write-up on CJ's site: "Mustang Scott Drake Leaf Spring U Bolt Concours Correct 1968-1973 Part Number: LSUB5 Scott Drake Part Number: C8ZZ-5705-A Scott Drake Concours Correct Leaf Spring U Bolt for 1968-1973 Mustangs. Replace your old original u bolts with this concours correct u bolt from Scott Drake. The u bolt measures 3-3/8†from center to center and includes two color correct nuts. A total of 4 u bolts are required per car. " Well the key phrase is 3-3/8" from center to center -- all four of the ones I have in the original packaging are 2-3/4". I doubled checked the sticker from Scott Drake and CJ's - they say they are for '68-'73. They have been mislabeled by Drake -- they are actually for a '65-'66. As it turns out they don't have any in stock and I need to call back in the morning to get a manager to authorize the return since I bought them in early Nov. '12. As least if I want to skip the Cougar 'wraps' I will be able to once I get the correct U-Bolts. Unless you call convince me that I don't really need to skip the Cougar stuff.

I was afraid the answer was going to be the "C" word. Grrr Cougar parts. Well, I just measured my rear end and there is no way I am going to get the correct U-Bolts to fit (even if I bought the Mustang lower shock mounts). The axle arm is 2.75" inches wide and the stock U-Bolts are only 2.25" wide. I got a new set of Grab-A-Track rear shocks and they are the same for Mustangs and Cougars so the shocks themselves shouldn't be a problem. Without buying more parts I am not sure I have much of a choice except to go back the way it came with the new leaf springs and shocks. Anyone have any other ideas on another course of action? Besides the shock plates sitting a little lower and the fact that they are Cougar parts (except for 65E cars like DennyB found) are there any other serious Cons to using the Cougar setup.

Not a Versailles rear end - it is an old fashion drum setup. I think the parts were from a Cougar - although I don't understand the why someone would have done it. The Marti report shows the car having a 9" with 3.00 gears in it -- which is what the rear end tag shows as well. So very odd. Plus the parts were so in there (read rusted all to Hell) that it seemed like they had been in there for 40+ years. Now I need to decide if I scrap all of it and go back to the real setup or put those parts back on. I have a new set of Scott Drake 1" Drop 4.5 leaf Mid-Eye springs that I want to use. Every corner on this rebuild brings new surprises. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I think I know the answer but wanted to check with the masses to be sure. I am pulling back to together the parts for the car and started cleaning up the rear leaf spring mounting stuff. I thought about just replacing the parts since they were fairly rusty and the years weren't kind in spots -- but haven't had much luck finding the parts. So, it got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, somewhere in the car's past life a bit of creative engineering/parts swapping occurred. In the pics of the U-bolts are the ones that I took off the car and the brand new ones that are supposed to be for the 68-73. Well you can see there is a huge difference in size both in length and width. I have also attached pics of the rubber pads that were inside of the stacked mounting hardware. I found a site that list new replacement pads for a '69 Mustang but at +$50 I may just clean these. The stacked and spread out pics are the parts I pulled off the car. The leaf springs were sandwiched between the rubber pads inside of the stack with the lower piece being the shock mount. Anyone seen this setup before? Are parts available? [ATTACH]13428[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]13429[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]13430[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]13431[/ATTACH]

jwscarab - you nailed it! I was looking at the pics and saw the running pony on the deluxe interior and said to myself humm someone made that into a real "CLUSTER ..." -- well I won't finish the thought.

Sorry -- no luck on the pulley. I think I traded it for some other stuff. I have seen both 3 & 4 hole pulleys on Flea-Bay. Wish I could've helped.

Will dig around -- the PO put one on my car and I am going back to the 3 hole pulley.

Pics???

One word... jealous!

You might want to shoot Dan over at Chockostang an E-mail. He can help with stock replacement stuff to make the car steer as good if not better then it did when new. He only deals with stock parts/pieces no aftermarket stuff like Flaming River. E-mail is chockostang@msn.com his website is www.chockostangclassicmustang.com

Great looking restoration. Color is rich and the stripes look very cool. Where in England? There is another member on here that is in North Yorkshire with a nice car as well.

Impressive bit of detective work. The Internetzzzzz is a wealth of knowledge. Now to convince Scott Drake he needs to make these .... muahahahahhhaha

Ford or not - they still look cool. Interesting how the cog design is similar in style to the '69 GT gas cap. How are they attached to the car? Do they slip onto the post like the Running Horse emblem?

Definitely cool and unique looking. Would be nice to be able to replace them or even better fix the originals.

Like was said above no real specific location -- but for giggles here is a pic of the one on the driver side of my car. The passenger side was in a similar position. Take note of my very precise "Sharpie" measuring device. :-)

Sold!

I have heard the above (about pulling battery cable) on newer cars but I have always pulled them off on "non-computer control" cars to do a driveway check. Never had it cause a problem and never have had a spike [that I knew about] -- but I guess it could happen.

I meant to type his contact for ya -- have his card sitting right next to my computer. Dan Phone 217-882-2083 chockostang@msn.com ChockoStang 1624 Chock Rd. Murrayville, ILL 62668

Sounds like the voltage regulator rather than the alternator. You could try and swap it out or pull the alternator and have it tested at a local auto parts store (i.e. Auto Zone, O'Riellys, Pep Boys, etc). I would do the regulator first since it has the easiest mounting screws.

Ditto what dzahm said. Give Dan at ChockoStang a call -- he will know what type of setup you need and won't oversell you. He knows the brakes and steering components of our cars like the back of his hand and is easy to deal with and very helpful.

I need just the bezel (without cracks and broken tabs). Can't afford to spend an arm and a leg - maybe a thumb and a pinky.

+1 on pulling one of the battery terminals. One of the many great things about these older cars iae that alternator problems are usually fairly easy to diagnose. Without all of the other electrical components (i.e. computer, electric ignition, fuel injection, etc) the charging/electrical system is fairly simple.

I had this very conversation with John at OpenTracker Racing and he said: "The only place you want poly is the sway bars, top of the coil spring and the rear of the leaf springs". He then went on to say: "The rear of the leaf springs and the top of the coil springs is not a must. The sway bar is. Where you don't want poly is the lower arm inside pivot, strut rods or front of the leaf spring." I figured he has been around the block and the track a few more times than most so I went with his advice - poly for the sway bar, rear of the leafs, and the coil. I will go rubber everywhere else. Now, he based the above suggestion on the fact I will not be running down the track but using the car for driving and not necessarily running balls to the wall in a straight line (at least when other cars are on the road :whistling:).

I would shoot an E-mail to Dan at ChockOStang (chockostang@msn.com). He has forgotten more about making Stangs steer and stop than most people will ever know. He will know where to get a decent part at a decent price. This next pun is intentional --- He won't steer you wrong. :001_tongue: