drill new holes, shorter springs, or both?

I installed 1" drop springs on my car, and I am happy with its stance and handling. My control arms are mounted per stock specs. I guess it depends on how much you want your car to drop. It also may depend on your plans for larger wheels and tires, too. Clearance may become a factor if you drop too much.

sa_andy said:

Hi,

I'm getting ready to do the Granada swap...in doing some research, I see that some suggest doing the Shelby 1" drop at the same time. I've even seen the templates showing where to drill the new holes for the control arms. I've also seen in the catalogues the ads for the 1 inch shorter "Shelby" springs.

So, is the 1" drop comprised of the shorter springs, the lower holes, or a combination of both? If i drill the holes, will I need to purchase the original sized springs, or should I purchase the shorter springs?

Thanks for your wisdom

Click to expand...

The shelby drop is just the control arm move...it is not intentially designed to lower the car...it is designed to improve the steering geometry making the car handle better...it just so happens that the car will sit 1/4 to a 1/2 lower than stock height when complete.

Stock springs are specifically designed to lower the car.

I run the shelby drop and 1 inch drop springs on my car and it looks great, handles great, and fits my 235 45 17 with no problems at all.

dodgestang said:

The shelby drop is just the control arm move...it is not intentially designed to lower the car...it is designed to improve the steering geometry making the car handle better...it just so happens that the car will sit 1/4 to a 1/2 lower than stock height when complete.

Stock springs are specifically designed to lower the car.

I run the shelby drop and 1 inch drop springs on my car and it looks great, handles great, and fits my 235 45 17 with no problems at all.

Click to expand...

Yeah, total drop will only be around 1.25-1.50 inches. BUT realize, your springs, if 35 years old probably have sagged some. I did the 1 inch drop springs and uppercontrol arm relocation at the same time and did not get a 1.25 inch drop. Closer to a 1 inch total. But what did happen is that the car did not have as much travel and handled much better with the stiffer springs and the relocation. As dodgestang said, the relocation of the uppercontrol arm is designed to change the way the suspention works together, not drop the cars ride height. It does a wonderful job too! Basically as the car leans into a corner the outer wheel will lean in at the top more keeping the tire more square on the ground. They "DIG IN" going around corners instead of pushing through them.

If you do the drop, consider adding the Shelby quick steer kit. Its a new pitman arm and idler arm. It will reduce the stop to stop turns of the steering wheel from 3 3/4 turns to about 1 1/2 turns. Only applicable if you have manual steering.

Not to hijack the thread, but...

If you do the 1" Shelby Drop, add drop coils and it is not enough lowering...what next? Negative Wedge Kit?

I am trying to avoid cutting the coils.

67GTA-FB429 said:

Not to hijack the thread, but...

If you do the 1" Shelby Drop, add drop coils and it is not enough lowering...what next? Negative Wedge Kit?

I am trying to avoid cutting the coils.

Click to expand...

Again the Neg Wedge kit is designed for use in dropping the upper A arm for improved steering geometry. The shelby drop is 1 inch down and sloght to the rear which is as far as you can go before ball joint binding becomes a concern. You use a neg wedge kit when you lower the upper arm 1 3/4 inch to the optimal location, however at this spot the stock arm ball joint is at a harsh angle and tends to bind so you install a neg wedge under it to adjust the angle. Similair to the shelby drop this is not intended as a car lowering mod but a handling improvment mod that has an added result of a slightly lower stance.

As mentioned prior, old springs already give the car a lowered look, so 9 times out of 10 when you take out the old springs and add drop springs the car sits virtually the same. When people have found this is not enough drop, they tend to use a cut off wheel and remove 1/4 coil at a time till they reach the stance they are looking for. You have to remember though that this will increase the spring rate resulting in stiffer springs. So.....if you bought 1 inch drop 620s and you think you are still too high, I would first return the 620s and get a softer spring that is a drop spring and see how it sits. If still too high, then I would take both springs out, mark them both at the same time to make sure you cut them even and then carefully use a cut off wheel to remove the 1/4 coil (do not use a torch). Then reinstall, drive the car around the block, and then come back and look at the ride height.