67 Convertible suspension complete replacement, Advice?

I'm in the same position as WildOne. I need to redo almost everything on my 69 coupe, I was searching Stangnet for advice on the best basic street parts. So if anyone could answer this thread it would help both of us. Thanks

Take a look at this posting I did a few months ago... I tried to detail my experience with a suspension swap (minus the UCA's and LCA's).

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=633393

HTH's

Scott

Subframe connectors first

I'm sure others will advise on good suspension upgrades, but I have to say that first you should make sure the suspension is doing its' job and not the frame. Our convertibles have a TON of flex, and you could easily go around a turn and have a bump unsettle the whole arrangement, or have one end slow to react to what is going on at the other end - general unpredictability results. Here's what I did:

http://web.mac.com/jbauder/iWeb/6970clutchpedals/tinmansubframes.html

I like it because it ties in the underseat reinforcements and loses very little, if any ground clearance.

Get a solid foundation, THEN do the roller spring perches, Shelby drop, bushing, sway bars, etc. My $.02.

I don't know why a person would recommend a co. and have all the problems he does, in regards to not sitting right and so forth. a KIT is just that, a kit, where it all works together. not lower in the rear and not in the front! who needs headaches like that. Both Mustangs Plus and NPD sell complete kts. MP races their stuff. NPD has another high end, TPC? Global West? that they carry. I use the MP kit. have had it for over 10 years. Check my garage for my specs, if you like the way my ride sits
If anything, get everything you want to do for the front at once! they are easy tear downs, but why do it twice.

These suspension packages from Maier Racing look killer. I would get all three. For a vert I would stick with the lowest spring rates:

Spring, Leaf, & Shock Package (500, 600,or 700 Front Springs, 160 Lows or Highs, Bilstien Shocks, 165 or 200 Race Leafs add $50.00, Koni shocks instead of Bilstien's add $150.00) Kit Price without upgrades $749.95

Rear Suspension Package (Leafs your choice add for race, Panhard Rod Kit, Sway Bar your choice, U-Bolts specify size, Urethane Front Eyelet Bushings, Rubber Rear Shackle kit) Kit Price $899.95

Chassis Stiffening Package (Shock Tower Brace and Subframe Connectors) Kit Price $459.95

hhead said:

I don't know why a person would recommend a co. and have all the problems he does, in regards to not sitting right and so forth. a KIT is just that, a kit, where it all works together. not lower in the rear and not in the front! who needs headaches like that. Both Mustangs Plus and NPD sell complete kts. MP races their stuff. NPD has another high end, TPC? Global West? that they carry. I use the MP kit. have had it for over 10 years. Check my garage for my specs, if you like the way my ride sits
If anything, get everything you want to do for the front at once! they are easy tear downs, but why do it twice.

Click to expand...

I definetly had issue with the front riding higher than the rear without a doubt. Could be a couple of things that got me in that position... everything from you get what you pay for (significantly less than anything I could have done with TCP) to my lack of experience when picking and choosing what went into the kit (it's not a generic kit in the sense that one size fits all). I made choices as to what was included in the kit... one of which where the Maier leaf springs which did in fact lower my rear end more than I thought it would. But that is the beauty of these forums... my experience, good - bad or indifferent can be passed on to others. :SNSign:

I certainly am no automotive expert which I would attribute all (at least most) of my problems to. But to me that is half the fun; if it always went together perfectly the first time, anybody and everybody would do it.

With all that... I would order the same kit from Mustang Depot once again. I might pick and choose different options... but I feel that the parts I received were of good quality. Also, keep in mind; for all practical purposes... I just replaced shocks - springs all around and the sway bars. I didn't get into anything radical.

Take it all with a grain of salt.

Here's how my kids' '65 looked with Maier 4.5 leaf springs, with some Pro-Motorsports 350-480 coils trimmed slightly to match:



Look familiar? The funny thing is, I sold these springs to a neighbor, who put them on his '66 289 coupe, and they rode about two inches too high.

for a do it your selfer, who needs to cut to match springs. that will shoot down a saturday install in your garage, when you thought it would sit this way. I believe MP even has pictures of each combo on a car so you can see how it sits. why put guess work into a one day install?
Mine's was done while on jacks waiting for my engine and tranny to be done. couldn't check ride height if I wanted. Got engine and tranny in, and w/ the change to Edelbrock IAS shocks, what you see is what I got when my buddy and I installed it!

hhead said:

for a do it your selfer, who needs to cut to match springs. that will shoot down a saturday install in your garage, when you thought it would sit this way. I believe MP even has pictures of each combo on a car so you can see how it sits. why put guess work into a one day install?
Mine's was done while on jacks waiting for my engine and tranny to be done. couldn't check ride height if I wanted. Got engine and tranny in, and w/ the change to Edelbrock IAS shocks, what you see is what I got when my buddy and I installed it!

Click to expand...

You got lucky. As I posted already, the same Maier 4.5 leaf springs gave my kids' car the ride height you see in the pic I posted, and gave my neighbor's '66 coupe the 4 x 4 look. I replaced the Maiers with a pair of Mustangs Plus 4-leaf "mid-eye" "one-inch lowering" springs and got the 4 x 4 look. I replaced the M+ springs with some Eaton 153# 4-leaf "one-inch lowering" springs, same deal, the 4 x 4 look. You can't know what the ride height will be from one car to the next. Buying a "kit" doesn't change that.

Not sure of the problem on that coupe but on mine they sit nice and low. The ride height should be pretty common between these cars with the same set of springs. The only difference being additional weight in the rear of the car that could change it.

The front should again be the same with the only differences being again the weight. The fronts with some 1" lowering springs and uca lowering should match the mid eyes nicely after settling. If more lowering is desired, it's pretty easy to cut the front springs a little bit as mentioned.

One of the things over looked in the front is the insulators. The stock rubber ones would provide the most lowering but the least durability. The 1/4 poly ones raise it a little bit from there and the 1" poly ones would bring it up to the orig factory location or even a tiny bit more.

Well, not all manufacturers use same spec materials for their product. Again, why i.e., Maier leafs w/ cut pro motorsport springs? Why wouldn't a person use the springs from the same place as the leafs????? I believe this what leads to problems. mix-n-match. knda defeats the purpose of the thread. "complete"