What front suspension setup???

[50dan 25]

I'm looking to get started working on my 69 Sportsroof and get it on the road this summer  and get it on the road this summer after sitting for 10 years.  

Before I spend a bunch of money putting the front suspension back in stock form, what do you guys recommend for upgrading the front end?   I've seen coil over set up's, McPherson strut set up's etc. 

 I would like to upgrade the ride and handling quality as best I can without spending a fortune.  

Pics would be great too thanks!

[aslanefe 333]

My choice is; roller spring perches, Arming drop and moving the upper ball joint 20 mm back to increase caster. Then align the car to 1/2 camber, 6 caster and 1/16 to 1/8 toe in. You can either buy or make your own spring perches, also either buy +3 upper control arms or move the ball joint mounting points 20mm yourself.

[barnett468 418]

4 hours ago, 50dan said:

 I would like to upgrade the ride and handling quality as best I can without spending a fortune.  

 

exactly what do you mean by "upgrade the ride"?

 

[RPM 1,190]

I upgraded my suspension to a tighter, better riding and enjoyable ride. I don't know what "a fortune" is to you, but the Ron Morris one linked is $2,500. I felt I couldn't justify spending that much, so I fabbed my own. My coil over front suspension is nearly identical to the Ron Morris Street Force package.   Or should I say his is nearly identical to mine :)                https://ronmorrisperformance.com/01hot_new/index.html     

I really like everything about it, and would recommend it. It has a firm but not rough ride, is very precise and predictable. I run 350# front and 180# rear springs.

 

[SM69Mach 68]

I would call Shaun at Street or Track.   He is very knowledgeable and can give you many options from basic upgrades to full coil over set up.  He is also a no pressure type of guy and will give you the info you want to know about and let you make the decision.  Even if you don't end up buying from him, I would recommend at least talking to him. 

After speaking with him many times before buying I chose to go the coil over set up and could not be happier.  It was more than I wanted to spend, but the results have been great and i have no regrets upgrading.  Car rides and handles so much better than it did. 

[sixt9stang 36]

12 hours ago, RPM said:

I upgraded my suspension to a tighter, better riding and enjoyable ride I don't know what "a fortune" is to you, but the Ron Morris one linked is $2,500. I felt I couldn't justify spending that much, so I fabbed my own. My coil over front suspension is nearly identical to the Ron Morris Street Force package.   Or should I say his is nearly identical to mine :)                https://ronmorrisperformance.com/01hot_new/index.html     

I really like everything about it, and would recommend it. It has a firm but not rough ride, is very precise and predictable. I run 350# front and 180# rear springs.

 

Are you volunteering to make more? :-D

It does depend on your budget though.  Your car will handle and ride great with stock parts that are new.  Replacing all of my 40 year old parts with brand new parts years back was a night and day difference. And I didn't even replace the front springs.

[TexasEd 188]

I upgraded to roller bearing spring perches and the Arning/Shelby drop with parts from Jon at  http://opentrackerracing.com/  and steering rebuild components from Dan at http://www.chockostangclassicmustang.com/  

I have not been able to drive it yet but all reports are it should be better than new and it was affordable way to get a good driving car.

 

[Brian Conway 264]

Arning/Shelby 1" drop and KYB's on my stock suspension.  Manual steering on 215/70/14 tires.  Steering and handling is just fine and didn't cost a fortune

[jjstang 51]

I agree with sixt9, don't underestimate just replacing the 40 year old stuff.  Made a huge difference on my car.  Depends what your after.  I've keep investigating new setups but also cringe at the prices.  Ultimately I think roller perches and the arning drop  and I'm good.  I don't really want to completely lose the feel of a classic car, that's what it's all about to me. 

[50dan 25]

Thanks for the replies!  all great stuff.  I guess I'm just trying to see what my options are to choose from.  I don't mind spending up to the $1500 range but I guess it comes down to listening to what others have done and if your happy with your setup.  I'm more use to driving modified fox bodies.

[50dan 25]

48 minutes ago, Brian Conway said:

Arning/Shelby 1" drop and KYB's on my stock suspension.  Manual steering on 215/70/14 tires.  Steering and handling is just fine and didn't cost a fortune

Why do you run manual steering?  Was it factory manual steering?

[Brian Conway 264]

Factory PDB's and Factory manual steering.  I prefer manual steering as it provides a real feel for the road and I have never appreciated FORD's power steering units.

[RPM 1,190]

4 hours ago, Brian Conway said:

Factory PDB's and Factory manual steering.  I prefer manual steering as it provides a real feel for the road and I have never appreciated FORD's power steering units.

Ditto. I replaced my power steering  with manual.

[RPM 1,190]

8 hours ago, SM69Mach said:

I would call Shaun at Street or Track.   He is very knowledgeable and can give you many options from basic upgrades to full coil over set up.  He is also a no pressure type of guy and will give you the info you want to know about and let you make the decision.  Even if you don't end up buying from him, I would recommend at least talking to him.  

I agree 100%. I've bought nothing from Shaun but he's treated me like a loyal customer. I just checked his pricing and I'm surprised with his quality it's the same as the RM stuff.

The guys who've gone the roller route from Opentracker always sing praises for it. So I certainly don't think you can go wrong there. Decisions decisions.

[JayEstes 172]

Best bang for low $'s is 1 in. Sway brace.  Really kills the body sway nicely.  I think this is the biggest single effect on ride I made to a stock rebuild (including safety).  The second biggest was KYB gas-adjust shocks.  They are just right in my opinion.  I did not lower the front, or cut springs, or any of that.  I also did the Shelby (Arning) Drop - I think this one is a no-brainer, and quite a simple way to improve the front end geometry.  I'm very happy with my "stock" front end suspension as a normal driver - it handles well on the road.  I also rebuilt the entire stock power steering system, and found out it is very important to adjust or overhaul your steering box - I did not, and I have too much steering wheel slop, but other than that, I'm very happy with the entire setup.

[barnett468 418]

steering boxes can NOT be completely rebuilt unless you reface the gears. the gears wear which causes a lot of the play and they are not reproduced.

"rebuilding" a steering box is the same as "rebuilding" an engine by just replacing the rings and bearings and reusing the worn put crank, pistons, and cylinder bore. yes, it will make an improvement, but it will not completely fix the problem

 

[JayEstes 172]

9 minutes ago, barnett468 said:

steering boxes can NOT be completely rebuilt unless you reface the gears. the gears wear which causes a lot of the play and they are not reproduced.

"rebuilding" a steering box is the same as "rebuilding" an engine by just replacing the rings and bearings and reusing the worn put crank, pistons, and cylinder bore. yes, it will make an improvement, but it will not completely fix the problem

 

agree.  This is the main reason I didn't go in originally.  But, I also didn't make any adjustments yet, and that may provide some improvement.

[barnett468 418]

8 minutes ago, JayEstes said:

agree.  This is the main reason I didn't go in originally.  But, I also didn't make any adjustments yet, and that may provide some improvement.

yes, i have found that they can often be noticeably improved by adjusting them once over their lifespan. once they are worn enough to need a second adjustment, the gears are toast.

[mwye0627 44]

On 3/17/2018 at 7:36 PM, aslanefe said:

My choice is; roller spring perches, Arming drop and moving the upper ball joint 20 mm back to increase caster. Then align the car to 1/2 camber, 6 caster and 1/16 to 1/8 toe in. You can either buy or make your own spring perches, also either buy +3 upper control arms or move the ball joint mounting points 20mm yourself.

Do you have any photos or diagrams of how the upper ball joint is being moved back 20mm?

I love the idea of more positive caster as I like the steering feel of cars with more caster.   We always ran 8+ degrees of positive caster on our drag cars because it gives a much more stable feel and better tracking at high speeds. So I would certainly like to have 6° on my mustang!

Thanks,

Mike

[aslanefe 333]

16 hours ago, mwye0627 said:

Do you have any photos or diagrams of how the upper ball joint is being moved back 20mm?

I love the idea of more positive caster as I like the steering feel of cars with more caster.   We always ran 8+ degrees of positive caster on our drag cars because it gives a much more stable feel and better tracking at high speeds. So I would certainly like to have 6° on my mustang!

Thanks,

Mike

I modified a pair a few weeks ago, installed them to move the car out of the lift. Need to remove them sometime to grind the edges and paint, will take some pictures then. 

[Mach1 Driver 560]

I've been on the forum long enough to see trends, and suspension is an often repeated topic as new members find their 50 year old cars in need of "improvement". I found this list on another forum and it reportedly shows common upgrades to classic Mustang suspensions. Opentracker is noted, but Street or Track is often mentioned as well, and everyone seems to have and opinion about what brands are best. The most bang for the buck is of course #1, since it doesn't cost you anything- except perhaps for templates. I've heard that the biggest improvements are #3 and #9, but don't forget #13 and 14 to get your shock towers back in position (and your alignment specs). If you've seen videos of the suspension moving around while driving, then you'll understand the desire for #9. Some of these changes aren't cheap. #4 is needed as a result of freeing-up the suspension by getting rid of rubber and going with bearings in #2 and 6. In #5 I've heard arguments that 1.125 is too big a bar and .875 would be better, unless you have a big block. Also, many people don't like poly bushings. #7 ties into the lower arms and helps prevent unwanted movement. Numbers 11 and 12 are for the rear suspension. As I've not done any of this yet, it would be interesting to get comments here.

1. Arning Drop
2. Opentracker blueprinted upper arms
3. Opentracker roller bearing spring perches
4. 620 springs
5. 1.125" sway bar with poly bushings
6. Opentracker roller bearing lower arms
7. Z Ray's- Boss inspired cross member
8. Opentracker camber lock-out kit
9. Street or Track solid strut rods
10. Koni shocks (or Bilsteins or KYB)
11. Eaton rear springs, 1" lower mid eye
12. Global West Del-a-Lum bushings and shackles
13. Scott Drake export brace
14. Monte Carlo bar
And for brakes, Porterfield R4S pads and shoes

[aslanefe 333]

If you move your spring perch 1 inch out, current spring rate will increase about 100 lbs (well, spring rate is constant, but they act as if they are about 100 lbs stiffer). Just drill 2 holes on the upper control arm 1 inch outboard of the original spring perch holes while you are installing the roller perch and mount the perch to new holes.

[JayEstes 172]

That's a nice concise summary Mach1.  Both brief and comprehensive. If one put a cost to each item, they could likely develop a "bang-for-buck priority list".  I'm guessing it would read something like this:

1. Arning Drop
2. Koni/Bilsteins/KYB shocks
3. Sway Bar (I wouldn't go above 1in, and I'd use real rubber)

(all three of the above are about $225 total I think)

Then maybe next (guessing, but each on of these below is in hundreds of $):

1. roller perches
2. roller lower arms
3. upper arms

Some stuff like lockout kits don't improve ride but improve tightness or reliability, so those are harder to rate.  I also would put new strut rod bushing kits in.  Cheap and can remove slop.  Make sure not to use poly bushings in this application, I have seen pics of snapped strut rods with poly bushings here.

Another big factor is whether you are looking for street or track results.  For just driving, I'm super happy with a mostly stock rebuild.

[TexasEd 188]

5 hours ago, Mach1 Driver said:

1. Arning Drop
2. Opentracker blueprinted upper arms
3. Opentracker roller bearing spring perches
4. 620 springs
5. 1.125" sway bar with poly bushings
6. Opentracker roller bearing lower arms
7. Z Ray's- Boss inspired cross member
8. Opentracker camber lock-out kit - bought but not installed
9. Street or Track solid strut rods
10. Koni shocks (or Bilsteins or KYB)
11. Eaton rear springs, 1" lower mid eye
12. Global West Del-a-Lum bushings and shackles
13. Scott Drake export brace
14. Monte Carlo bar
And for brakes, Porterfield R4S pads and shoes

Great list.  The ones I've done are in Bold.  I don't have a big budget so this is what I think will be best for short of road racing.  I'm in the process of a CSRP disc brake upgrade.

[50dan 25]

On 3/19/2018 at 11:03 PM, JayEstes said:

That's a nice concise summary Mach1.  Both brief and comprehensive. If one put a cost to each item, they could likely develop a "bang-for-buck priority list".  I'm guessing it would read something like this:

1. Arning Drop
2. Koni/Bilsteins/KYB shocks
3. Sway Bar (I wouldn't go above 1in, and I'd use real rubber)

(all three of the above are about $225 total I think)

Then maybe next (guessing, but each on of these below is in hundreds of $):

1. roller perches
2. roller lower arms
3. upper arms

Some stuff like lockout kits don't improve ride but improve tightness or reliability, so those are harder to rate.  I also would put new strut rod bushing kits in.  Cheap and can remove slop.  Make sure not to use poly bushings in this application, I have seen pics of snapped strut rods with poly bushings here.

Another big factor is whether you are looking for street or track results.  For just driving, I'm super happy with a mostly stock rebuild.

This is exactly what I have decided to go with except the roller lower arms I've never seen those.  

I did install a negative wedge kit on my upper control arms the other day.  I'll try to post pics here soon.  I have to get the template to lower them on the shock tower still.  Slow, but progress is underway.