Drove for first Time

[YellowMach69]

Ok yesterday i put my car on road and drove it, (1969 Mustang,Mach1).
The part that bothers me is that it sucked ..yes it looked nice and people galked and waved ..But damm it rode like a friggin 1 ton truck, Is this normal to ride so stiff and harsh??? How can i get it to ride better? Or am i spoiled from all the new cars i drive?(Basically new car every 2 years).Its built up with cam and intake and Hooker headers.It was too rough for me,The 3:89 gears were ok in town but on highway at 55 i was @3200 rpm .Maybe i should bring it back to original.This is the way i bought car,,Any ideas or solutions??

 

[12sec67]

Ok yesterday i put my car on road and drove it, (1969 Mustang,Mach1).
The part that bothers me is that it sucked ..yes it looked nice and people galked and waved ..But damm it rode like a friggin 1 ton truck, Is this normal to ride so stiff and harsh??? How can i get it to ride better? Or am i spoiled from all the new cars i drive?(Basically new car every 2 years).Its built up with cam and intake and Hooker headers.It was too rough for me,The 3:89 gears were ok in town but on highway at 55 i was @3200 rpm .Maybe i should bring it back to original.This is the way i bought car,,Any ideas or solutions??

let some air out of the tires...

check the shocks- they might be some new kyb's in there which will make it really stiff.

see if the coil springs are stock...

also change the gear to 3.25 or less to get good freeway speeds out of it.

 

[mustangdave]

Do you know the mods to the suspension? Sounds like somebody put springs that are too stiff on there.

 

[YellowMach69]

Does most early mustangs all ride like this or could i expect it to ride smooth??
I have another center section but there 3:70 and then i have a traction loc 3:25, Would the 3:25 really hamper performance?

 

[12sec67]

Does most early mustangs all ride like this or could i expect it to ride smooth??
I have another center section but there 3:70 and then i have a traction loc 3:25, Would the 3:25 really hamper performance?

so your saying you want both... performance and freeway speeds above 65 at a comfortable RPM


get a 5 speed, or AOD

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

I agree get yourself a 5 speed. It's not that bad of a swap, the sucker part is changing the pedals on our cars, and setting up the cable clutch system since options are limited on our model i have begun building my own.

 

[zookeeper]

Expecting a 35 year old car to ride and drive like a brand new anything is a pipe dream. My wife has a nice, original, low mileage 1969, 427/4 spd Corvette and I swear, it drives more like a logging truck than a sports car! The steering is so loose it's a challenge to keep it one lane and it's by no means worn out. The close-ratio Muncie with the stock shifter has throws about twice what the T5 in our '88 GT has and the ride is very harsh until the Koni shocks warm up. Due to NO sound proofing, it's very loud inside and the shifter gets so hot in the summer (the only time we drive it) you don't want to lolly-gag in between gears! The clutch is horrendously stiff, the non-power disc brakes take a man-size stomp to work and since it has no power steering, you better eat some wheaties if you plan to parallel park. Do I hate it? Heck, no! That's just the way cars were then and I think it gives the cars charachter. It also keeps the posers out of them! My '68 fastback will hopefully be a bit more civilized when it's done, but I'm not so delusional I think it will ride like or run with an '05 GT. Either accept that fact or sell it to someone who does...

 

[YellowMach69]

Expecting a 35 year old car to ride and drive like a brand new anything is a pipe dream. My wife has a nice, original, low mileage 1969, 427/4 spd Corvette and I swear, it drives more like a logging truck than a sports car! The steering is so loose it's a challenge to keep it one lane and it's by no means worn out. The close-ratio Muncie with the stock shifter has throws about twice what the T5 in our '88 GT has and the ride is very harsh until the Koni shocks warm up. Due to NO sound proofing, it's very loud inside and the shifter gets so hot in the summer (the only time we drive it) you don't want to lolly-gag in between gears! The clutch is horrendously stiff, the non-power disc brakes take a man-size stomp to work and since it has no power steering, you better eat some wheaties if you plan to parallel park. Do I hate it? Heck, no! That's just the way cars were then and I think it gives the cars charachter. It also keeps the posers out of them! My '68 fastback will hopefully be a bit more civilized when it's done, but I'm not so delusional I think it will ride like or run with an '05 GT. Either accept that fact or sell it to someone who does...

HEHEH Sounds like your describing my car. .So i take it no matter what i do with suspension it wont ride soft>

 

[zookeeper]

That's not true, either. You can make the car ride great with the right spring/shock combo. But somehow modern cars simply have a better balance of handling and comfort. For instance, my Suburban would flat blow the doors off of my slightly modified '68 fastback. I have dropped A-arms, cut the stock springs in front, dropped the rear with lowering blocks and have a 1 inch bar in the front and a 3/4 bar in the rear. I have 15x7 wheels with 225/50's up front and 245/50's out back. By comparison it's not even in the same league as my Suburban! The 'burb is a tank, but has great brakes, enough power and is super-stable (regardless of what the news reports) in the twisties and would flat embarrass my '68! But that will change, I plan on adding discs, subframe connectors and new springs/shocks in the future, but it will never be the equal of any modern sports car and I accept that. I didn't buy it to be a race car. I also ride dirt bikes and I can tell you this much, my '68 Mustang is a heck of a lot closer to today's cars than a '68 dirt bike is to my CRF450! But the comparison my help you see we're always going to be comparing old tech with new tech and you can't fool the calender!

 

[DarkBuddha]

It sounds like your '69 is about right... these old Mustangs are very truck like in general. There are things you can do to improve them, but you'll sacrafice ride quality and low interior noise levels for better handling and hotter performance. I've ridden in dead stock completely restored '70 428CJ automatic Mach 1. That car was comfortable enough and didn't seem as truck like as my Mach, but it also didn't handle at all well, was full of insulation, every nut and bolt was brand new and tight. It was kinda fast, but mainly because of the torque.

So, take another drive and decide what really hampers your experience. Is the car too loud? Is the interior noise level too loud? Is the car full of rattles and squeaks? Does it shake too much at idle? Is there too much wind noise? Are you comfortable at the wheel? Is the car difficult to drive? Do the brakes work confidently?

You've already mentioned the highway rpm issue... either go with the 3.25s or get overdrive (5 speed, AOD, Gear Vendors, etc). The harsh ride can be improved with proper matching of shocks and springs. If the springs are new "performance" springs, try a really soft shock. If the car is too loud, review the exhaust. Add insulation (including inside the door shells and quarter panels) and check the adjustments on the windows and weatherstripping to get rid of interior and wind noise. Tighten up nuts and screws to get rid of rattles. Grease parts that squeak. Get better seats or a new steering wheel. You'll have to compromise handling for comfort, and performance for drivability.

It'll never drive like newer cars, but you can make it a decent driver to enjoy... it'll just take a bit of work. I think you bought a complete car, right? Well, sounds like you've got some fun project work to do to make it "yours" is all.

Hope this helps... good luck!

 

[bnickel]

i'd go with that 3.25 trac lok. i've got 3.25's in mine and it works really good, not too high rpm on the highway and just enough oomph around town. i also have a 3.70 pumpkin that i'll use when i get my aod conversion done. my car has some pretty stiff springs and it rides pretty good, a lot better than my DD 93 cheokee. sounds to me like you just have some garage time due with this car to make it exactly what you want. you've already said you don't like the engine combo before so i'd start there and bring the engine down to more stock like levels of performance, do some suspension upgrades to it and get those shock towers fixed before you drive it any more.

 

[2nd Mustang]

I've had two Camaros, V8 and V6. The V6 rode okay, but the V8 was stiff as heck. My 67 Stang coupe rides so much better than the Camaros. I attribute this to the PO who installed Koni shocks. It handles well and bumps are no problem.