94/95 parts for 66 coupe

[94Blue302GT]

Hi guys!
My username is what car I USED to have.... Now i have a 66 coupe sitting in the driveway.. currently on the trailer yet. Straight, no rust, but in need of some resto.

I was going to start with a chassis overhaul. The 94 I have was in great condition, except for the frame, which totalled the car (unibody construction made it tweak the firewall - not worth saving) so I was going to try and utilize most of the parts I had on the car.

What suspension could I utilize off of the 94 for a benefit to the 66? I've heard that the front suspension and A arms can all be swapped, and then I get the benefit of disk brakes as well, which would be GREAT since the guy had all the brakes taken out and dissasembled anyways. As for the Rear, it's got a 8" with leaf, and I am not prepared to swap out for 4 link, but I wonder if putting in my locker 8.8 axle would be worth the swap? If so, I may not do that right away. I have a 302 with a turbo and a TKO 600 sitting in the garage ready for the swap, so the axle would have to handle some serious torque, and I don't know if the 8" will take it. I have a set of subframes for the 94, don't know if those will swap out.

I also plan on swapping out as many bushings as possible, and getting new leaf springs as well. While i'm under there, I"ll probably also be grinding away any rust etc. and painting the underside to eliminate any horrible chicagoland salt that might be left over from winter.

Any other chassis ideas? This will be a weekend cruiser, not a resto to number kinda deal, so i want it to be fun to drive, and reliable.
Thanks guys!
Blu3

 

[Rusty67]

Swaping the SN95 suspension in can be done but isn't worth it IMO. The rear end can be swaped in and since it sounds like you have some work into your 8.8 then I'd say to go for it. As far as the rear end suspension goes, I wouldn't mess with a 4 link anyways, I think a watts with the leaf springs would do you just fine. If you want to go IRS you can always swap in a jag rear but it sounds like a solid axle is the way to go for you.

The 600 is no small trans and may well require some trans tunnel work. The motor should drop right in with out issue but you will have to re-plumb all of your turbo stuff unless you are super lucky.

Did you have the stock brakes or did you upgrade to the Cobras ? I would put in the CPP front suspension kit and swap in the SN95 Corbra front brakes. Put the Cobra upgrade on your 8.8 while you are at it and you will have a lot of power and enough brakes to handle it.

Do you have the clutch linakge that came with the classic ? Either way, I'd recomend swaping in a cable or hydrolic clutch setup. Since you have a turbo you provably need all the room in the engine bay you can get. I never recomend hydrolics because I hate them but it might be the way to go in your case.

What kind of driving do you want to do with it ?

 

[94Blue302GT]

Ok, no 4 link, from what I read, way too much hassle.
The front suspension - if not the sn95 parts, then any recommendation as to who's to use?
Rear Axle will probably get swapped out when I put new leaf springs on.
The Brakes were all stock yet on the 94, and i'd like disks on the 66, so my front suspension will have to be swapped, and the rear shouldn't be a problem if i'm swapping in the axle - but will the axle be the correct width? And is it the same bolt pattern? I guess I always assumed they were, but I would rather ask than order some expensive rims and not be able to return.

As far as the type of driving, mostly fun night cruise type of things, NOT the full out drag strip, but I'd still like to blow the doors off of most of the chevy's, AND my buddies 351C which he stole my fuel injection harness for and he's now around 550hp (crank) so traction is a key ingredient, but of course so will be road manners. Not so much autocross type of stuff though, not my thing.

 

[Rusty67]

You are in luck, the 95-98 rear end is the perfect fit for the classics and the 5 lug bolt patern is the same.

I definately recomend the CCP front setup:
http://www.classicperform.com/NewProducts/2006/NewFiles/NovaSubFrame.htm

I've got it on my car and it drives GREAT. Scroll to the bottem of the page for the Mustang stuff.

As far as front brakes, there are a lot of options. I you are going to be making serious HP then I definately suguest power brakes and I'd also think about a larger brake setup then stock. The Granada setup works and is very affordable. You can check out Degins stuff at:
http://www.discbrakeswap.com/

He can sell you an all new Granada setup or an original style 4-piston setup which is what I've got on my car now (only mine are actually original). If you want to step up to something larger then I'd say the SN95 Cobra style front brakes are the ticket, the only hold back is the expense on the adaptor bracket. Upgrade your rear to the Cobra setup, its cheap.

That should give you a good front suspension and a well ballanced brake setup which can stop the car.

As for the rear, I'd go for a watts link personally but maybe its just because I have taken a liking to the technology. A panhard bar setup would provably do you almost as good. If you have big $$ to spend then you can check out the Griggs stuff.

 

[94Blue302GT]

Wow, thanks! I love that cpp stuff, I think i'll be getting the deluxe kit - the more i replace the better!

Now I just gotta search out for this watts link.
Thanks again guys!

 

[12sec67]

The CPP kit has upper control arms so if you want to put in your turbo headers for 302 from the 94 then you need to go with something that you can notch the towers.

 

[Rusty67]

He could still use the upper arms and notch the towers if I'm not mistaken. RRS sells a kit to notch the towers that works with the sock arms don't they ?

I was thinking he was going to redo all the plumbing for the turbo.

 

[94Blue302GT]

I don't want to redo anything with the turbo if i don't HAVE to, but I can if necessary. I'm exploring other options though - it seems the mustang version doesn't come as a deluxe kit?!?!

What about Mustang II suspension?

 

[10secgoal]

He could still use the upper arms and notch the towers if I'm not mistaken. RRS sells a kit to notch the towers that works with the sock arms don't they ?

I was thinking he was going to redo all the plumbing for the turbo.

ah, that kit is for the coil over stuff. The most important part to make room would be right where the upper is bolted in.
I'm sure a 95 turbo kit would fit even with no shock towers like the MII. Biggest problem being where the turbo is actually places in the engine bay. I'd make as many measurements to make sure the it will fit under your hood. Would suck to buy and fab all that just to find out you have to buy headers that fit anyways.

 

[01ragtop]

The Mustang II front end is fine for a driver, but it isn't really a performance suspension.

If money is not a concern you could go Griggs GR-350, but it breaks the bank. Trust me I know. I am currently trying to save for one myself. Check with them first, but IIRC, the rack, and spindles in the kit are from a SN-95.
Pictures of the Grigss

There are a ton of really good options that don't hurt the wallet as much though. Search for
TCP
Global West
AJE
Mustang II

I am missing some, but that will get you started. Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

[Rusty67]

You can stick with a stock or stock type suspension and get an RRS tower notch kit and you should pick up quite a bit of room going that route. I don't like the MII setup and especially not for high powered cars that are going to see track time.

 

[94Blue302GT]

Sadly, the CPP stuff doesn't come in a deluxe for the mustang, so no springs, perches, or shocks available with it. Or, maybe i'm mistaken and reading the website wrong?
I'd just have to order new shocks and spring seperate, so I don't think that's such a bad deal for 600 bucks.

I"ll let you know when i purchase... this month's funds have ended.