Hey everybody

valley82 said:

xxbulletsxx, that is a very nice ride!!!!!
The way your car sits is the look I WANT!!!
If I may...what size/brand tires are you able to run?
And by the way THANK YOU! ALL!!!

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Thanks for the ego booster! LOL My wife would say I don't need it but I always like to hear it.
You bet you can ask about anything on my car. The tires are Falken's (not the best) which I bought because of the modern tread pattern and clean sidewalls. The size is 225/40/17. About 3 hours after I bought my tires I found out that 245/40's would have fit. But I think that the smaller width saved me from having to roll my fenders. So I guess it all worked out.
The clearence issue is with the upper control arm where the spindle mounts to it. Mine has about .125-.25 inch clearance and hasn't given me a single problem. Clearing is clearing. If you like I can get a picture of it and post it if you're still unclear.
Oh and the brand of tire thing for me is a tread and sidewall pattern is what I look for. I like a clean sidewall with none of that ribbing, or whatever you call it, and for the tread I like a modern tread pattern on an old car for the look I was going for.

thanks for the complement on the car, as to the "kid" comment try doing it when 19 in college and little or no money... it sucks but its fun

SSBC, Baer, those are some options as far as brakes. Good luck with this thing, wish I had 20 K to throw at a car, better yet I wish I had the car to throw 20 K at.

Either Baer or Wilwood on the brakes, I'm not a big fan of SSBC other than their factory style kits.

On the issue of power eqipment...a manual rack will be fine if you keep the stock size steering wheel, if you go to a small aftermarket one you may regret it while parking. Same with manual brakes, if you have the strength manual brakes will be fine, they have plenty of stopping power, and if you build a radical engine you may not have enough vacuum anyhow.

I'd take the TCP SFCs over GW, but for the control arms I think they are even. TCP went bankrupt not too long ago and their lack of customer service during that time left a bad taste in many folk's minds. They are under new ownership now so only time will tell, but GW has been around for a long time.

valley82 said:

O.k. so manual brakes...what size rotors??? 13 up front and 11 in the rear?
Going with 17" wheels.

and...one more question, will a 8" rear end handle 350 h.p.? or should I bite the bullet and go 9" seems as there is some controversy on the site about it.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

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With 17" wheels -- Go with the Baers - 13" up front. You can get he complete Baer disc kit for $2,000 to $2,400

The 8" will work fine if you are not always hard on it or running slicks and launching hard.
If you have to rebuid the rear and want to change gears and add a posi go with a 9" in the long run it will not cost anymore. Maybe even less.

I say get the 9 and rest your worries. 350 is the limit for a street driven 8 in my opinion, Ford used the 9 with a 271 hp small block, as did Shelby with a 306hp 289. 9s were standard in all big blocks and they started around 335hp.

But like PB said, if you are not racing it and build your 8 with quality parts you'll PROBABLY be fine.

Coming from somebody who did the coilovers

the only thing I can say that is a definite advantage is easy ride height adjustability and ease of installation - it comes all assembled, of course. I'm wating for mine to settle in so I can finish setting the ride height. Everyone here will tell you that you can do the basic mods to the stock system and a negative wedge kit, tubular arms, etc., and you're there. If you want to be able to dial in your ride height go coilovers, otherwise, go GW.

I did the medium-high-buckage front suspension and steering with Unique Performance (TCP copy) coilovers and a Steeroids (not recommended, go with TCP) R&P. Take it from me, the extra money you spend on TCP will save you money at your shop or time on your own making it work.

So, I guess I'm voting GW with the TCP rack and pinion, that seems like it fits your goals and budget. Unless you want to splurge on the front and skimp elsewhere, then go with the TCP or UP coilovers, they're basically the same design but UP is a little more expensive.

As far as how the UP/TCP coilovers ride, they are fantastic, but I have a schizophrenic ride - coilovers & R&P up front, a rusty, patched, and non-subframed convertible floorpan, and then the stock unrestored rear.

Bottom line, for me at this point the front goes where I want it to go, (as much as my 15 year old Eagle ST 205s will give me traction to do) then all hell breaks loose. Case in point, I was trying out the cornering and then hit a bump that my front end ate up just find and my rear axle felt like it was on bungees - the car went to the outside of the turn then it felt like it pulled the axle along with it, a little too late. The back of the car literally felt like it jumped over. Very non-confidence-inspiring.

Follow the advice of the guys here, I just wanted to give you an idea of what happens if you do one without the other. I'll eventually get it all done, but the car's out of balance right now.

Joe

Hey Joe, please do the floors and SFCs next. I don't know how bad your rust is but the verts don't need much of it to become seriously compromised. Particularly true with hard driving, I don't want to hear that you or the car got hurt.

valley82,

Welcome to StangNet!!

Here's my design for your car:

Chassis Stiffening:
- Sub Frame Connectors (any, or upgrade to TCP 2 stage kit)
- Monte Carlo Bar (generic)
- Export Brace (generic)

Front Suspension:
- Global West Upper Control Arms (or TCP)
- Global West Lower Control Arms (or TCP)
- Global West Strut Rods (or TCP)
- 620 springs (or Pro-Motorsports Engineering progressive rate springs for softer ride)
- Roller Spring Perch (from OpenTracker)
- Polyurethane spring isolator
- Edelbrock IAS shocks
- 1-1/4” front sway bar w/ Polyurethane bushings (Cobra Automotive)

Rear Suspension:
- Performance 4 leaf mid-eye Leaf Springs (use blocks to lower more if desired)
- Slider Spring Mounts for rear leafs (Cobra Automotive)
- Edelbrock IAS shocks
- Maier Panhard Bar (optional for street use, great on the track)
- Traction Masters (optional for street use, great on the track) (or upgrade to Spring Rods - Cobra Automotive)
- No Rear Sway Bar

Wheels / Tires:
- American Racing Torq-Thrust Classics 16” X 8”, 4.5” backspacing – front
- American Racing Torq-Thrust Classics 16” X 8”, 5” backspacing – rear
- B.F. Goodrich g-Force KD’s 225/45/16 front
- B.F. Goodrich g-Force KD’s 245/40/16 rear

Braking System:
- Global West Pro-Vintage disc brake kit (12” rotor w/ 16” wheels) - front
- Wilwood 2 piston rear disc brake kit – rear
- ’67 or better Dual Master Cylinder

Steering System:
- Flaming River 16:1 steering box
- Shelby Idler Arm with pressed bearing (from Cobra Automotive)
- Baer Tracker Bump Steer Adjustable Tie-Rods

Transmission:
- Borg Warner World Class, Heavy Duty T-5 with 0.80 overdrive gear

Rear End:
- Traction Lock
- 3.55 gears
- I would have Currie Enterprises build a custom 8.8” rear. It would be much lighter then a 9” and just as strong.

Just my opinion, good luck and welcome to a very addictive hobby!

Tim