Just ordered!

88stang88

5 Year Member
Apr 28, 2005
309
7
39
St. Louis,MO
Just got off the phone with a rep from Late Model Restoration and ordered my FR500 wheel and tire combo and a set of Steeda Sport lowering springs.

They had three rims in stock and have to order the forth and have to order the springs so my package will be here by the end of next week!

17x9 fronts with 275/40

17x10.5 rear with 315/35

Can't wait!!!
 
Ya I would be irate with the nose-up look. If anything it should be nose down. But ideal is a evened out look. nice and smooth like the car in your picture.

thanks:nice: . ironically, the car in the pic (my 95) has the same spring/suspension setup as my 2000. it sat level while my current car sits slightly up in the front :shrug: (stupid eibach)

good choice with the anthracite
 
The guy was cool but he said they weren't allowed to mention any names when it came down to the manufacturer however they said nationwide they have been put on hold of production. Also the cobra center caps are being taken on the shelf unless you purchase direct thru ford or frpp.
 
I installed H&R Super Sports on the Cobra before I took it to the body shop. Took me about four hours with a floor jack, two jack stands, a ratchet set and breaker bar. Then again, that was the fourth time I've installed lowering springs on a Mustang. It gets easier after a while.

I don't understand why you would get a nose up stance with Sportlines. I have Sportlines on my '02 and it sits slightly nose down. They've been on there for a little over two years, so maybe something's changed.

I'll give you some advice on your spring install...

The rears are the easiest to install. Just jack the rear of the car and put the stands under the frame rails. Unbolting the shocks and quad shocks will allow the rear end to fall low enough to remove the rear springs. They may come right out, or as was the case with my Cobra (not my GT, though), they required a bit of coaxing in the form of a long crow bar to come out. No big deal, though. The H&R's required a little coaxing to go in, but it wasn't too hard. Just use your brain and you'll be able to put the puzzle together no problem. Jack the rear back up, bolt up the shocks and quads, reinstall your wheels/tires, and you're done with the rear.

The front can be a bit more complicated. The Hayne's manual talks about and pictures a spring compressor that's supposed to work on a Mustang, but even Ford dealerships didn't know what I was talking about. But that's ok. You don't need a spring compressor. That's what the crow bar is for. You'll need it for the front springs as well.

Same drill for the front: jack the car and place the stands under the frame rails. Remove wheels/tires. Remove the brake calipers and tuck them behind the strut. There's a little shelf of sorts on top of the frame rail where you can set the calipers in such a way that they won't fall on you. That hurts. A lot. You'll need to remove the ABS sensor as well. A quarter inch socket will do the trick. Use an extension as well so you can work around the front strut. Once the sensor is removed you can unbolt the bracket for the ABS sensor from the strut and tuck the sensor and bracket behind the strut with the caliper. Now you can unbolt the strut from the spindle. You'll need a 13/16" and 15/16" socket. This is one place where the breaker bar comes in handy. These two nuts/bolts are usually pretty tight. Get the jack under the control arm in order to relieve tension on the strut to spindle bolts. Before you remove the bolts, however, go ahead and remove the nut on top of the sway bar. Once this is removed, go ahead and remove the strut to spindle bolts. Removing the tie rod is a pain and is not necessary; the control arm will be able to fall low enough to remove the spring with it attached. After all the above is completed you'll be able to lower the floor jack (slowly) to relieve almost all pressure on the stock spring. It'll require a bit of coaxing to be removed as well. Use some WD40 to remove the rubber isolator from the bottom coil of the stock spring. You'll be reusing this on your new springs. Don't forget the isolator at the top as well. That may be stuck to the K-member mount when you remove the stock spring. You're ready to install your new spring once you've installed the bottom isolator on the new spring. Take this opportunity to clean out the spring perch as it will be filled with debris.

You'll again need to use the crowbar to coax the new spring into place. Be sure you have a long one so you have plenty of leverage (that's what she said). You'll notice that the rubber isolator will resist going into the spring perch. If you force it into place it will likely roll over onto itself. This probably wouldn't be a problem, but you want to do this right. This little problem can be solved by dousing the perch (and the isolator for good measure) with some more WD40 so it will slide into place without rolling over onto itself. You'll see what I mean when you're at this point. Once the spring is in place you can go ahead and jack the control arm back up. Jack it with one hand while using the other to guide the control arm-to-sway bar rod into the hole in the sway bar. You can go ahead and install all nuts and bolts once you have the control arm where it needs to be. Repeat for the other side. Reinstall your calipers/ABS sensors, wheels/tires, get the car back on the ground, and admire your handywork.

It sounds like this is your first spring install, so I hope that helps.
 
Oh, and you'll need at least a 6" C-clamp to remove the brake calipers. I can't remember if GT brakes calipers are secured the same way as Cobra calipers. On the Cobra they're held in by a pin and a small c-clip. The C-clamp is required to compress the pistons to remove the caliper. It's a good idea to remove the cap from the master cylinder in case any fluid backs up out of the reservoir; this way you don't end up blowing the cap off due to pressure or something.

It will take a few pumps of the brake pedal once you start the car again before full pressure is restored to the pistons. So don't be alarmed when you start the car up and the brake pedal goes to the floor. You didn't break anything. :)
 
lol first spring install on my car.

I've assisted doing a few several years ago,just couldn't remember what all was entailed in the work I suppose.

Doesn't sound like a terrible job and I do remember the caliber falling and taking out my knuckles once.

While im installing these springs I think im going to just do brakes as well.

Thanks for all the handy info you supplied.

How is your cobra coming along at the Body Shop?
 
I actually have no idea how it's coming along. They haven't even called me yet to give me the specific cost of everything. People were right about them being slow.