Lowering my 69

Smash It Up · Nov 5, 2007

DK832 said:
There are 2 oval rubber grommets in the trunk about 1' behing the back of the seat. The top of the shocks are underneath.

OK,and this is the fastback we're talking about , right ?

mustang6tee8 · Nov 5, 2007

You will have to take the back seat out to get to the shock nuts.

A 302 8.2" deck block weighs about 160# and a 351 9.2" deck block weighs about 200#. 620# coils might be ok, but if it's too low just get a pair of 1/4" lift coil spacers that go on top of the coil.

On my 68 I have 1" lowering 620# coils (that somehow lowered it a lot more than 1"- they might have given my 6cyl springs by mistake), and 5 leafs in back with 1" drop blocks. If you want to lower it 2" then this might be the ride height you're looking for. I had to roll my front fenders and will need to roll the rears when I get wider tires. I've got 18x9 wheels though. I'm eventually going to shave 1/4" the drop blocks to make more room for the wider tires and to give it a slight rake.

And yes, I'm proud to be a pic whore

DK832 · Nov 6, 2007

Smash It Up said:
OK,and this is the fastback we're talking about , right ?

Ooops, no mine's a HT of course. Sorry!

Smash It Up · Nov 6, 2007

DK832 said:
Ooops, no mine's a HT of course. Sorry!

LOL,thats ok. Well hopefully on mine its just under the actual base of the rear seat, thats quick and easy,apart from that I hate pulling out interior parts,agh !

Smash It Up · Nov 9, 2007

Alright,shocks are done all round. The ride is a LOT smoother and soaks up the road surface better,but it still bottoms out on the rear. My leafs are on back order,so I wont get them til next week,but they definitely need doing.
I can rent a coil spring compression tool for free from my local Checker store,so I'm going to have those babys out and get hacking with my grinder !!

bnickel · Nov 9, 2007

wait until you get you rear springs installed before you hacking the front ones up, you might go too low in the front and end with a stink bug rake

Smash It Up · Nov 9, 2007

LOL,yeah I'll be doing the rears first !

CochinoFilipino · Nov 9, 2007

Which springs did you order? Stock, mid-eye or reverse-eye?

I'm thinking that if the new springs put you too high, you can always lower to your likeing with blocks. But if they're too low, you'll have to get another set.

Smash It Up · Nov 9, 2007

CochinoFilipino said:
Which springs did you order? Stock, mid-eye or reverse-eye?

I'm thinking that if the new springs put you too high, you can always lower to your likeing with blocks. But if they're too low, you'll have to get another set.

I ordered standard eye,don't want to go lower at the back. the new springs will prob raise it up a bit,just because the current ones are old and saggy. but I don't mind that.

gsxrken · Nov 10, 2007

My 69 mach 1 is 25-3/8" to the top of the front wheel arch, and 25-3/4" in the rear.
It could definitely go lower visually, but I already rub somewhere in the rear fender wells over highway dips. I have mid-eye lowering Maier 160 leafs and Bilsteins back there.

How does that compare to other 69 ride-heights, and has anyone hear of a shock lowering axle bracket for these? I'd like to center my shock in its travel.

Smash It Up · Nov 10, 2007

gsxrken said:
My 69 mach 1 is 25-3/8" to the top of the front wheel arch, and 25-3/4" in the rear.
It could definitely go lower visually, but I already rub somewhere in the rear fender wells over highway dips. I have mid-eye lowering Maier 160 leafs and Bilsteins back there.

How does that compare to other 69 ride-heights, and has anyone hear of a shock lowering axle bracket for these? I'd like to center my shock in its travel.

Strangely enough,mine is 26-3/4 in the rear,and 26-7/8 in the front. Almost identical,then I measured the tires,the rear tires are 1.5" bigger in diameter.The rears are 225 ,and 205 on the front,and the aspect ratio would cause that difference.. I guess that explains the bigger looking gap around the front wheel as opposed to the back. It still looks odd,so its either put bigger tires,or lower the springs. Now I'm leaning towards the bigger tires on the front,and just do the leafs on the rear to stiffen/possibly raise slightly. AGH,choices choices !

bnickel · Nov 10, 2007

gsxrken said:
My 69 mach 1 is 25-3/8" to the top of the front wheel arch, and 25-3/4" in the rear.
It could definitely go lower visually, but I already rub somewhere in the rear fender wells over highway dips. I have mid-eye lowering Maier 160 leafs and Bilsteins back there.

How does that compare to other 69 ride-heights, and has anyone hear of a shock lowering axle bracket for these? I'd like to center my shock in its travel.

haven't heard of anything for the rear but Opentracker has a front upper shock mount that will center the shock. the rear shock is a lot more common than the front so maybe you could find a similar shock from another vehicle that has a shorter travel.

bdepedro · Nov 12, 2007

DK832 said:
Get some "620" front springs with lowering like these:
http://www.mustangsplus.com/xcart/product.php?productid=1038&cat=2128&page=1
They will only give you 1" drop so a Shelby mod is also in order.

Rear without much give at all means a 5-leaf setup like:
http://www.mustangsplus.com/xcart/product.php?productid=1018&cat=2124&page=1
5-leafs should go with stiffer fronts than 620 though IMHO...

I've been following this tread as I've got a similar car with a similar situation. I have a '70 fastback w/ the 620 springs in front and new 4 leafs in the rear. My rear height is fine but I'd like the front an inch lower. I don't think the Shelby drop actually lowered the car, I thought it just changed the suspension geometry. Is this right, the drop will lower the car or would cutting the springs be the way to go? And how much spring do I remove to get an inch, 1/2 or a whole coil.

CochinoFilipino · Nov 13, 2007

bdepedro said:
,,,,, And how much spring do I remove to get an inch, 1/2 or a whole coil.

I think '1/2 coil = 1' inch is the rule of thumb.

bdepedro · Nov 14, 2007

CochinoFilipino said:
I think '1/2 coil = 1' inch is the rule of thumb.

Thanks, I'll cut a 1/2 coil and that should do it. Worst case I can cut an additional 1/2 if needed but 1" should be perfect. If I use an angle grinder to cut the spring will that create too much heat? I wan't to be careful not to negatively affect the spring rate.

Smash It Up · Nov 18, 2007

Are Mustangs Plus always this dumb?

So I ordered my 5 leaf standard eye springs,and what do they send me? 4.5 leaf reverse eye springs. DUUUUHHHHHH. Now I have to send them back and wait for them to send me the correct ones. Why the hell would I order reverse eye if I want to keep my ride height up instead of lowered? Slightly annoying to say the least.
Also,there are only bushings at one end,do they all come like that? I thought they were meant to have them at both ends. WTF?

Of course,I wasn't home when they were delivered,they just chucked them on the porch. If I was there I would have refused them.

bdepedro · Nov 18, 2007

Smash It Up said:
So I ordered my 5 leaf standard eye springs,and what do they send me? 4.5 leaf reverse eye springs. DUUUUHHHHHH. Now I have to send them back and wait for them to send me the correct ones. Why the hell would I order reverse eye if I want to keep my ride height up instead of lowered? Slightly annoying to say the least.
Also,there are only bushings at one end,do they all come like that? I thought they were meant to have them at both ends. WTF?

Of course,I wasn't home when they were delivered,they just chucked them on the porch. If I was there I would have refused them.

I've ordered a lot of stuff from Must+ including my entire suspension. They got most of it right but sent me 2 rear sway bars, the wrong radiator and water pump. That being said, a lot of places have sent me the wrong items including Must Unlimited, Jegs and Summit. All in all Must+ is a good vender and in my case paid for return shipping as well as refunding any difference. Just sucks when you're ready to install the parts now!

Smash It Up · Nov 18, 2007

bdepedro said:
Just sucks when you're ready to install the parts now!

True,but I wouldn't have got very far without the bushings at one end ! The old ones are rotting away nicely,so I would have to order new ones anyway. !! Might as well order the whole new shackle set while I'm at it.

Rusty67 · Nov 18, 2007

I suguest buying a spring compressor like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/65-7...016QQitemZ260182021207QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

If you are going to be pulling the coils in and out a few times this will work WAY better then anything you can rent from a local parts house.

I've had some order issues with Mustangs Plus too and I don't deal with them anymore because of the customer service issues I've had with them. Other people don't have any problems with them. I've just got that kind of luck. I havn't had any problems with NPD as of yet.

bnickel · Nov 18, 2007

Smash It Up said:
So I ordered my 5 leaf standard eye springs,and what do they send me? 4.5 leaf reverse eye springs. DUUUUHHHHHH. Now I have to send them back and wait for them to send me the correct ones. Why the hell would I order reverse eye if I want to keep my ride height up instead of lowered? Slightly annoying to say the least.
Also,there are only bushings at one end,do they all come like that? I thought they were meant to have them at both ends. WTF?

Of course,I wasn't home when they were delivered,they just chucked them on the porch. If I was there I would have refused them.

no leaf spring is going to come with the shackle bushings, only the front eye bushings because they have to be pressed in. you need to order a rear shackle kit or just the rear bushings. i think they do this so you can have a choice between your original bushings or new rubber, poly, del-alum or whatever. or just so they can charge you more money.

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