69 drop kit vs weird factory effect question

69shocktower · Aug 20, 2008

Ive got a 69 coupe. Ive been thinking seriously about doing a drop kit to finish off the look of the car.

I hope everyone knows what Im talking about when I say that on these cars , they appear to be higher in the front then in the back, because of fender flare or wheel well size or whatever. Would a drop kit eliminate that at the same time as giving the cooler look of a dropped car or do the front springs have to be custom cut to eliminate that.

Dont know if 1 or 2 inch kit would be better.

Maybe I am over thinking this? Are there any sites with pics of 69s with drop kits to check out?

Thanks,

Sicarius428 · Aug 20, 2008

A lot of the time it's the old leaf springs that are sagging that make the front seem high. On my 70 I did the shelby drop and put some eibach progressive springs on the front which lowered the front about 3 inches. On the rear I used 1 inch lowering leafs and a 1 inch block. The rear is about 2 inches lower in the back and the car has a nice but subtle raked look. My tires rub the fender at full lock though.
Kevin

69gmachine · Aug 20, 2008

69shocktower said:
Maybe I am over thinking this? Are there any sites with pics of 69s with drop kits to check out?

Thanks,

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I also think your rear springs are probably sagging, exaggerating the already high stance of the front. The cheapest way to lower the front is to add lowering springs, but you might as well do the Shelby drop while you're at it.

bnickel · Aug 20, 2008

mustangs did come with a tail down stance from the factory but it does get exaggerated over the years as the springs sag.

it's kind of funny looking at old original ads or dealer brochures for mustangs and cougars and thinking how weird it is that the tail dragging stance was the way these cars looked when new. if you think mustangs are bad though you should really check out some original pictures of 69/70 cougars....they're even worse

69shocktower · Aug 21, 2008

more

Didnt think to mention that I put performance suspention technology leaf springs on a few years ago. So those should be good. The high front effect is probly not worse than it was from the factory, just wanna drop it.

The shelby drop sounds like a good ideal.

ron67fb · Aug 22, 2008

bnickel said:
mustangs did come with a tail down stance from the factory but it does get exaggerated over the years as the springs sag.

it's kind of funny looking at old original ads or dealer brochures for mustangs and cougars and thinking how weird it is that the tail dragging stance was the way these cars looked when new. if you think mustangs are bad though you should really check out some original pictures of 69/70 cougars....they're even worse

I read this all the time and still fail to see any proof of it. I really doubt a car would be designed tail down from the factory. Cougars I don't know as I can't seem to find any ads.

The larger front wheel wells relative to the rear and the character line that slopes down as it goes to the back makes the rear seem lower from some angles. It was just a common design of the time; now you see mostly character and shoulder lines that slope down towards the front to make the car appear more sleek and/or wedge-shaped. The boat-like character line is one of the main flaws that I personally find with many 1950s and 1960s cars.
http://www.mphs1966.com/Mustang ad.jpg
http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/images/mustang_ad2.jpg

Notice how the 2005+ retro-stangs have abandoned the upper character line, and for good reason.
http://theabneys.com/mikestoys/images/2005_mustang/2005mustang10.JPG

More examples of boat-inspired character lines, or at least it looks like they're inspired by boats:
Impala, I imagine this looks like a tail-dragger from some angles.
58 Ford
69 Cougar

bnickel · Aug 23, 2008

cougars

Encata: Aderverising Gallery

Encata: Aderverising Gallery

Encata: Aderverising Gallery

ron67fb · Aug 23, 2008

Nice, thanks. Those are definitely saggy! Having plucked a '67 apart before I didn't see much difference from a Mustang other than the leaf spring insulators. I suppose they came with softer rates than a Mustang as well.

bnickel · Aug 24, 2008

ron67fb said:
Nice, thanks. Those are definitely saggy! Having plucked a '67 apart before I didn't see much difference from a Mustang other than the leaf spring insulators. I suppose they came with softer rates than a Mustang as well.

cougars got their softer ride from a combination of the rubber insulators, special front spring eye bushings, XR7's even had hollow front spring eye bushings, and the leaf spring was longer by about 4" as well, i don't think there was much difference in actual spring rate for similarly equipped mustangs and cougars, just the other differences.

69 drop kit vs weird factory effect question

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