Front Suspension options?

[Pakrat 1,043]

We have covered lots of topics on rack and pinion systems and other goodies up front but we have never talked much about the entire suspension system so I'd like to hear about some setup options and improvements that can be made and rate them on a 1 to 10 scale as far as cost goes vs. practicality for the street and of course how they function.

 

For example if your current set up is in decent shape is the most basic thing you could do and bang for your buck to simply add the roller perches and lower your upper A arm 1 inch? What and where if any should you think of adding grease zerks while you are servicing this area? Or other low budget improvements?

 

If your upper and lower arms need replacing is it better to go with a whole Grab-A-Trak type system or some type of coil over front suspension set up?

 

And what about a MacPherson RSS type strut setup? That's what really got me to thinking about this when I saw them installing one on the recent DYI show. I was all set to just lower my upper A arms and maybe go with a roller perch for now since I had some minor stress cracks in the upper A arm that I just had welded up for now but it would seem that if I wanted to go this route eventually then both of those points seem to make no sense to do now since they wouldn't be needed later.

 

Let's here about what you have or what you dream of having one day, if it's more practical for strip or street and how you rate it as far as cost, practicality and function are concerned.

[Cupid 10]

Great topic.

 

I went with a modified version Mustangs Plus' kit and have been impressed beyond belief. My kit included 620 rate 1" lowered front springs from the 65-66 stang. This gave me an extra 1/2" drop from the 1" drop recieved from the 67-73 620 rate 1" lowered springs. I have a 1 -1/8" front sway bar.(Probably overkill - 1" should do fine) I also did the Shelby Drop. With the 17 x 8 454's tucking in the front fenders, she looks absolutely amazing.

 

For the rear I have full reverse 4 leaf springs (1-1/2" drop) with a 3/4" sway bar. I need to still lower it another inch.

 

The shocks are ther gas-a-just from the Grab-a-Trak guys.

Bushings are mostly Poly. I went with Rubber on the Strut rods.(Not as stressful)

 

I want:

Monte Carlo and Export set-up

Subframe Connectors

Possibly roller perches(Don't know if I need them)

 

Driving experience:

Virtually No body roll

Virtually no squeaks

I've even tried to break traction, to no avail. The thing is glued to the road. You turn, she listens....

A little bit of a bumpy ride, but if you're on a smooth road, your fine. Hitting potholes are no fun so if you want a smooth ride under all conditions, this isn't the way to go.

[bnickel 10,004]

i have pretty much the exact same setup as Cupid ready to go in the stang except i pieced mine together from different sources so i didn't spend a lot of money. i have a 1" Quickor Engineering front sway bar, 3/4" Grab A Track rear bar, 5 leaf mid-eyes from American Pony, front springs are 1" drop 750's from PST (bought in like 1989) UCA's and LCA's came as a kit with stock spring perches from Ebay and i also have a set of OpenTracker roller perches, shocks are KYB gas adjust's up from and KYB GR-2's out back. all bushings are rubber except for the sway bar bushings and end links. Steering parts are all stock replacement Moog, TRW or Sealed Power and the power stering rebuild kits are all from Gates. i have a set of Grab A Track sfc's and a TCP power rack but those aren't going into the stang, i'm saving them for the cougar and some of the other bits and pieces are likely to be saved for it as well, like the roller perches and possibly the sway bars.

 

i'm kind of torn right now on exactly what i want to do the cougar when i get it. ideally, i'd like to run the Evolution Motorsports rear 3-link and Watt's link kit and the TCP rack with a Global West front coilover setup but the budget may not hold up that and the other stuff i'm wanting to do as well, that's the main reason i'm holding onto a bunch of the parts i have already.

[Cupid 10]

Wow b, for a minute there, I would think you're setting the Cougar up to go road racing!:yes: It would definitely be cool to see a Cougar set up for pro-touring.

[bnickel 10,004]

Wow b, for a minute there, I would think you're setting the Cougar up to go road racing!:yes: It would definitely be cool to see a Cougar set up for pro-touring.

 

 

yeah, that's kind of the plan i have in my head, a PT cougar. it will be all bolt on stuff though since it's a 70K mile car. the only exception would be the SFC's i'll probably weld those on, but they are the bolt on style so we'll see. it's going to look stock on the outside other than my 15" Riken wheels which are a mesh style like the old BBS wheels. the wheels will also kinda keep with the them of a luxury touring car. i'm still undecided on color though. it's either going to be winter blue with a white top or acapulco blue with a black top.

[70-DropTop 12]

This is a topic I've discussed with many recently. With the 2000 Mustang GT I used to have, I went with a stiff suspension package. That was fine and dandy, but probably not necessary.

 

Anyway, regarding my plans for my '70 vert, I've spent some time talking with John Dinkel (Opentracker). My goal is to make my '70 handle at least as good as my old slightly modified '00 GT. Power plant in the '70 will be 350-400 hp and it needs to stick through the twisty roads near my house. I drive very aggressively, but I don't take it to the track. So spending extra $$ on racing items didn't make sense.

 

Given my goals, some debates with friends, and a lot of research, I'm going with his suggestion of soft springs and shocks with big roll bars. The softer springs will give a good ride and allow the tires to move with the road. The bigger roll bars will keep me flat through the turns. So, here's my shopping list.

 

Front:

ORP roller spring perches

ORP street upper control arms

ORP street lower control arms

ORP adj strut rod

1" Shelby drop

1" drop springs (560 lbs), trimmed to final height

KYB gas adjust shocks

1 1/8" front sway bar

 

Rear:

4.5 reverse-eye leaf springs

Grab-A-Track shocks

probably a rear sway bar, depending on how the car drives after the rest of this is done.

 

I'll probably run polyurethane bushings all over.

 

As for steering, my car currently has the stock power steering setup, which I'm not a big fan of. I'm leaning towards converting it to a manual box setup or power Randall's Rack...I'm not sure yet.

 

As of right now, this is the plan. I need to get the brakes done first. Suspension is second on my list. I'll probably do both at the same time since I'll have it torn appart for the brakes.

[bnickel 10,004]

This is a topic I've discussed with many recently. With the 2000 Mustang GT I used to have, I went with a stiff suspension package. That was fine and dandy, but probably not necessary.

 

Anyway, regarding my plans for my '70 vert, I've spent some time talking with John Dinkel (Opentracker). My goal is to make my '70 handle at least as good as my old slightly modified '00 GT. Power plant in the '70 will be 350-400 hp and it needs to stick through the twisty roads near my house. I drive very aggressively, but I don't take it to the track. So spending extra $$ on racing items didn't make sense.

 

Given my goals, some debates with friends, and a lot of research, I'm going with his suggestion of soft springs and shocks with big roll bars. The softer springs will give a good ride and allow the tires to move with the road. The bigger roll bars will keep me flat through the turns. So, here's my shopping list.

 

Front:

ORP roller spring perches

ORP street upper control arms

ORP street lower control arms

ORP adj strut rod

1" Shelby drop

1" drop springs (560 lbs), trimmed to final height

KYB gas adjust shocks

1 1/8" front sway bar

 

Rear:

4.5 reverse-eye leaf springs

Grab-A-Track shocks

probably a rear sway bar, depending on how the car drives after the rest of this is done.

 

I'll probably run polyurethane bushings all over.

 

As for steering, my car currently has the stock power steering setup, which I'm not a big fan of. I'm leaning towards converting it to a manual box setup or power Randall's Rack...I'm not sure yet.

 

As of right now, this is the plan. I need to get the brakes done first. Suspension is second on my list. I'll probably do both at the same time since I'll have it torn appart for the brakes.

 

 

i'm a big fan fan of the Randall's Rack in fact i had been planning on using Randy's rack ever since i first learned of it, however i came across a VERY good deal on a TCP power rack on ebay, it was not a complete kit only the rack itself so i will have to buy all the installation pieces from TCP but even after paying 500 bucks for the necessary parts from tcp i'll still only have about 800 bucks in the rack so there was just no way i could pass that deal up. i actually feel kind of bad because i've been hyping Randall's rack to everyone and anyone on the net and i've been telling Randy i'm going to buy one of his as soon as i was bale to afford it and got to that point with the car but as i said this deal was too good to pass up.