69 Fastback: First car in 1985 - Bought it back in 2011

[Flash69 10]

Ed,

 

Great work and very cool. I am also from Austin. We should meet up at some point when mine is in better shape.

[TexasEd 188]

I'm always looking for an extra pair of hands to help me with some of the two-person jobs or the ones where having towo people is easier than one. I have a stocked beer fridge 4 feet from my car.

[RPM 1,190]

It's nice to see you back on here Ed. Next time I go back to visit my brother in Round Rock I'll get ahold of you.

 

Bob

[TexasEd 188]

Thanks.

 

First shipment arrived with the UCA, LCA, steering, camber kit and spring perches.

 

[michael2938 24]

I just read through this thread -- great story! It's always good to see a mustang stay in the family like that!

[TexasEd 188]

Suspension update 1

 

This is what I am starting with and I've never done this before.

 

Blurry picture of the new parts

 

 

 

[indianfiremach 170]

Good luck on the install. Degreaser, pb blaster, and gloves are your friend here.

[Zipppo 11]

Ed,

Awesome build thread. I like the mild mods. Keeping the car more in its original form in my view is cool. Keep after it and have fun along the way.

 

I can relate to life as a military brat. My father was a Navy Salvage Diver and we moved around a lot too. I have been all over the world. Pros: meet interesting people and see some neat things along the way plus a few others. Cons: One does not have a sense of belonging anywhere. I still suffer from wanderlust love to travel. When I visit my folks and we go on base and I see the current generation of military brats then ha I feel like I am at home.

 

The car is nice Red is a winner. Any interior shots by chance?

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

[1969vert 55]

Interesting choice of daddy cool down liquid in that photo....(Damn that Texas heat)... How is the suspension coming along????

[TexasEd 188]

I had a good update typed up but my browser crashed. I'll type it up again. I'll take some interior shots soon.

[TexasEd 188]

I gotta keep track of how many beers to rate this job in case anyone asks.

 

My wife went to her parents a little early for the Independence Day weekend so I got two nights after work to work on the car. The first night I got the spindle disconnected from the UCA and tie rod but could not get it off the LCA. after about an hour of hammering on the spindle I gave up and figured there had to be a better way.

 

I did some research and posted this thread: LCA Ball joint stuck on spindle

 

I ended up going to HFT to get a $19.99 ball joint tool with a 20% off coupon and it came off in less than 15 minutes. The anti sway bar bolt that connects to the LCA is bent on the threads/below the LCA and it will have to be cut off so I had to leave them connected until I get the other side off.

 

Next step was to get the spring compressed and this made me a little nervous because of all the warnings I'd read. A guy in my car club loaned me some compressors but I think they are for McPherson strut springs. I picked up a loaner tool for coil springs from Auto Zone. My first attempt had to be aborted because I did not have the two ends far enough apart. Second attempt worked. It was a little tricky getting it off the spring perch. I'm hoping the new spring goes in easier with it's shorter length.

 

I figured out a trick to getting the tool off the spring. I laid it on the grass and put a bag of mulch over the spring so only the bolt head was visible. If anything slipped off the soft ground and bag of mulch should have helped and I did not have the spring trying to roll on me as I loosened the compressor.

 

Driver side is empty. The LCA is out but stuck to the sway bar. I'll probably upgrade to CSRP discs after I get this suspension in. The guy who sells them lives about 10 miles from my house.

 

Here is the difference between the old and new upper control arms and springs. The new springs are much tighter and shorter. The old spring bushing was completely rotted/brittle and missing in places.

 

Edited July 6, 2014 by TexasEd

[TexasEd 188]

Looking at that picture of the inside of the shock tower I thought the frame rail was flush there. It's not, mine was just filled in with about an inch of mud and grease.

 

 

I got the bottom of that cleared out and then ground off as much of the gunk as I could get inside the shock tower without damaging the brake line.

 

 

Painted and ready for the Arning drop.

 

 

 

 

Someone requested an interior shot. It's all faded but the headliner is original with only one stretched seam, the dash is NOS and been in it for about 20 years and still looks great. I'll eventually recover the seats and put in new foam and replace the carpet.

 

I like that it's the Dark Red color instead of black. You can see a part of the dealer installed AC vents sticking out below the glove box.

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by TexasEd

[RPM 1,190]

Hey Ed, I can't tell in your pics but my lower inner shock towers have two drainage holes. If yours are clogged you may want to open them up.

 

 

 

Bob

[TexasEd 188]

Thanks for the tip. I figured there were supposed to be holes but I didn't poke around it enough last night.

[TexasEd 188]

So The holes were there just filled in with caked grease. The front hole on that side is actually more of a gap than a hole.

 

I was able to get the spindle, spring and UCA off the passenger side last night. Ready to drill the new UCA holes but I don't have a 17/32 bit. Weighing the option of just going with 1/2" or ordering one.

[TexasEd 188]

Some more pictures of the wonderful state of the old suspension.

 

Both of the anti-sway bar bolts were rusted and whittled down to nothing. Trying to loosen the nut with a wrench I just snapped the bolt in half. (Ignore the washer and bushing placement, I just threw them back on there)

 

 

Also, the rubber bushings on the bar were soft as a sponge.

 

Everything is off the suspension except the passenger LCA that I sprayed with penetrating oil to get loosened up. Picture of the current passenger side shim, it looks like there was a weld/repair to the bracket. I'll put these bolts back on with the new LCAs and take the LCA camber kit to the alignment shop for them to install.

 

 

I left the inside bolts on the strut rods so that I can put them back to about the same spot as before. I assume that the new bushings might make a little difference though.

 

Picture before I pulled off the passenger strut rod.

 

 

I still have a few steering components to remove like the center link, idler arm, etc and that stubborn LCA. A local modern Mustang guy gave me a 17/31" drill bit yesterday and I have another one on order.

 

Thanks to this site I was able to collect the torque specs I need for the new parts even though my home computer is down and I can't get to the electronic shop manual. Link to thread

 

Pitman Arm to Control Valve 35-47

Outer tie rod to spindle 35-47

Center Link to Idler Arm 50-70

Pitman Arm to Center Link 35-47

Inner tie rod to center link 35-47

Pitman Arm to Sector Shaft 150-225

Idler Arm Bracket to Frame 30-40

Tie rod connecting sleeve bolts 9-15

Ball joint to spindle 60-90

Lower control arm 60-90

Upper control arm 100-140

Spring Seat for Upper Arm 25-40 lbs.

 

 

Edited to add my beer count only went up to 7 total with the recent progress.

Edited July 17, 2014 by TexasEd

[TexasEd 188]

Here's all the old suspension stuff that won't be going back on. I'll be re-using my strut rods with new bushings.

 

 

I also have almost all new steering components. I'll be using the original center link and steering box but I have new:

- tie rods, end to end

- idler arm

- control valve

- power ram

- pwr steering pump

- new hoses

 

 

It's been a little discouraging going through this because of trial and error it probably took about 4 times as long to get all this stuff off as it should have. If I ever have to tell someone how to do it I'll know a lot more about it. I might have set myself up for it by watching a video of the disassembly on a car that had been broken down and put back together to stage the video.

 

You'd think that the cotter pins on my car were put there by the devil. All of them were under a thick layer of grease you had to dig through to find them and half of them broke off in the bolt. Then the bolts connecting the LCA and anti-sway bar were too rusted and bent to get off. One of the bolts snapped with enough torque on the nut and the other had to be cut with a hacksaw.

Edited July 23, 2014 by TexasEd

[ardenq 14]

Any update on this? I'm curious if you sorted out the brakes yet?

 

Arden

[ardenq 14]

Any update on this? I'm curious if you sorted out the brakes yet?

 

Arden

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I got my old 69 back after about 25 years by accident ,as i didn't know it was my old car untill i got it home and started looking it over .Wish i had before pics .

Glad you were able to get yours back .Looks good .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I got my old 69 back after about 25 years by accident ,as i didn't know it was my old car untill i got it home and started looking it over .Wish i had before pics .

Glad you were able to get yours back .Looks good .

[TexasEd 188]

Any update on this? I'm curious if you sorted out the brakes yet?

 

Arden

No, hoping to get some work done over Christmas break.

[TexasEd 188]

Update for Christmas/New Year's break

 

Got the new holes drilled and UCAs installed on both sides. fit the LCA and spring on the Driver's side. May have to redo this to get the spindle in there.

 

 

 

 

 

While fitting the LCA on the driver's side I removed my old and bent PS hose support bracket.

 

 

Here is one that was sent to me by a forum member to replace it

 

[TexasEd 188]

Finally bolted in the suspension on both sides. Now for the steering.

[TexasEd 188]

So I didn't need the spring compressor putting in these shorter springs after the UCA drop. Does that match everyone else?