65-66 leaf springs

izzy jr · Jul 19, 2008

Anybody have pics of the front mounting bolt area with their leafsprings rem'd?

The Bolts in mine are stuck and I've tried every combo of things I can think of to beat them out. Now I think I'm goin to try to cut the heads off of them and drive them outboard some and then cut off as much of the bolts as I can and hopefully be able to knock what's left out so I can replace my leaf springs.

tweet66 · Jul 19, 2008

I had to cut mine off with a cutoff wheel and a sawzall. Put the sawzall in between the spring and the frame brackets and went to town. Three blades later the bolts were toast and the springs were out. Next time (which will be soon on the wife's 66 coupe) I'm using a torch

izzy jr · Jul 20, 2008

tweet66,

Are you saying you used a cutoff wheel to take the heads off then used a sawsall to cut the bolt on both sides of the leaf spring? Then I assume you had to drive the piece of bolt shank out of the frame correct?

tweet66 · Jul 21, 2008

I cut the nut off the inner end with a cutoff wheel, then on the head end, cut between the mount and the spring. I pryed the nut side of the mount out a little and pulled down on the spring to get it out. It probably would have been easier to cut between the spring and the mount on both sides, but I started off with the cutoff wheel, so I half-a$$ed it....I wound up destroying 4 blades with the sawzall and the smell of burning rubber just isn't the same without tire spin and the engine screaming....

izzy jr · Jul 26, 2008

tweet66 said:
I cut the nut off the inner end with a cutoff wheel, then on the head end, cut between the mount and the spring. I pryed the nut side of the mount out a little and pulled down on the spring to get it out. It probably would have been easier to cut between the spring and the mount on both sides, but I started off with the cutoff wheel, so I half-a$$ed it....I wound up destroying 4 blades with the sawzall and the smell of burning rubber just isn't the same without tire spin and the engine screaming....

Well I got the bolts cut out and the new leaf springs hung yesterday thanks to my mother/father-in-law buying me a sawsall. I only destroyed one blade and that was because the blade kicked back on me while cutting beside the frame between the leaf spring and broke it. I used some blades that were for thick metal,tile,masonry etc. Found them for only $4 at harbor freight, five minutes later bye-bye old bolts and leaf springs.

tweet66 · Jul 26, 2008

Glad it worked out for you. That sawall kick back can be a b*@#h...I was cutting my strut rod mounts for some an adjustable set and I think I went through 3 more blades. Good thing I buy in bulk.

izzy jr · Jul 28, 2008

tweet66 said:
Glad it worked out for you. That sawall kick back can be a b*@#h...I was cutting my strut rod mounts for some an adjustable set and I think I went through 3 more blades. Good thing I buy in bulk.

Haven't tried removin those yet! Is this something else I have to look forward to later on then? So Far all the suspension parts on this car are still oem installed on car when new.

tweet66 · Jul 28, 2008

izzy jr said:
Haven't tried removin those yet! Is this something else I have to look forward to later on then? So Far all the suspension parts on this car are still oem installed on car when new.

Not unless your going with adjustable strut rods from Delta Bay or making something similar yourself. I'm cheap so that's what I'm doing Most of the adj. strut rod setups sold don't require cutting out the original bushing mount.

izzy jr · Jul 29, 2008

oh my bad I thought you were talking about having to cut the bolts not the bushing mounts.
How does having adj strut rods affect the car? Are they worth the money to put in the car?

tweet66 · Jul 29, 2008

izzy jr said:
oh my bad I thought you were talking about having to cut the bolts not the bushing mounts.
How does having adj strut rods affect the car? Are they worth the money to put in the car?

Surprisingly the bolts came off fairly easy. I decided to go with adj. strut rods to make alignments easier. Actually, to make alignments even possible. Nobody in NJ will touch a pre 1967 Mustang because thay don't want to screw with adding or removing shims on the upper arms to get the caster & camber corect. The one shop I found that said they'd "try" wanted $200 to put it on the rack and maybe get it right, but with not guarantee....

izzy jr · Jul 30, 2008

yeah that sucks. I still get to go thru that adventure once I get mine back on the road.

tweet66 · Jul 31, 2008

here's an idea of what 245/45/17 all around look like. This is my 68 cougar with 95 cobra rims (5.72 b.s.) and 1" spacers. I'm eventually going with 265/45/17's in the rear to fill it out more. I did roll the front fenders to be safe. The 245's will not fit in the front of a 65/66, I tried. 235's might fit but you'll need the Shelby drop, a really good alignment, rolled fenders and that's not guarantee that they won't hit on turns..

izzy jr · Aug 3, 2008

tweet66 said:
here's an idea of what 245/45/17 all around look like. This is my 68 cougar with 95 cobra rims (5.72 b.s.) and 1" spacers. I'm eventually going with 265/45/17's in the rear to fill it out more. I did roll the front fenders to be safe. The 245's will not fit in the front of a 65/66, I tried. 235's might fit but you'll need the Shelby drop, a really good alignment, rolled fenders and that's not guarantee that they won't hit on turns..

That's a mean looking cat you got! As of now I'm not planning to run anything bigger than 15" wheels/tires. Been looking at AR torq thrust d's with center's painted to match final color of car.

65-66 leaf springs

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