Need help from suspension gurus

[Stang1081]

I've got a '68 Fastback that I'm starting to work on (been working on the trucks for a couple of years) and I need some help finding vendors for what I want to do.

I've got a Ford Motorsports 514ci (600hp) motor sitting in this little babe and I need to make some changes to the suspension so I can turn up the wick a bit.

I think what I need to do is move the motor down a couple of inches and back at least two inches because its just too front heavy right now. Go figure with that hunk of metal sitting up there. Problem is, its still got the oe steering box, actually the entire oe front suspension, and the strut towers are not cut out wide enough to make this happen. Looks like I need to put a rack in it and change the linkage to front steer instead of rear.

Anybody know who might make a kit for this? I'll probably go with coil overs too, if I can find a good setup.

I'm also going to have to cut the headers out to do this. I really hate to do that because it has a custom set of crossover headers that wind thru the existing suspension, really old time trick, but hey, a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.

Ideas?

 

[HistoricMustang]

Yours is going to be a tough one. You may want to just consider doing the 1/4 mile events.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

 

[Hack]

Wow, sounds like a LOT of work and $$. If that's what you want, more power to you. Should be a fun project.

http://www.hotrodssuperstore.com/fatman.html
http://www.griggsracing.com/suspension.html

There are a couple links to aftermarket suspension vendors for classic Mustangs.

You might consider optimizing what you have and see if you're happy with that first. There's more thinking involved, or you could just start throwing parts at it and see what happens.

Do a Shelby drop - or the bigger drop with a wedge from Pro-Motorsports (link below). Buy some mid- or reverse-eye rear leaf springs. Drop the whole car, rather than just the engine.. 3,000 pounds an inch or two lower will make a significant difference!

http://www.pro-motorsports.com/art-loweringlowdown.asp

There are other things you can do to reduce oversteer and balance the car. I'm sure you're correct that a couple inches of engine movement will change the car's weight distribution. However, I don't think the change will be dramatic.

Also, move the battery to the trunk. Another option might be a fiberglass front end. If the appearance is acceptable, that would reduce the weight in the front.

I'd recommend "How to Make Your Car Handle" by Fred Puhn. Also, search old posts here by Opentracker.

I hope that was helpful.

 

[Stang1081]

I checked out those links and there is some good info there. I'll be contacting them and see what I can work out. The car is basically a bracket drag car, but it is so unbalanced that if I up the power, weight transfer is going to be tough and all I'll get is alot of wheel spin, which is why I'm doing this. 10s is just not fast enough anymore.

Thanks, guys, for the feedback.

 

[xafalcongs]

I've got a Ford Motorsports 514ci (600hp) motor sitting in this little babe and I need to make some changes to the suspension so I can turn up the wick a bit.

I think what I need to do is move the motor down a couple of inches and back at least two inches because its just too front heavy right now. Go figure with that hunk of metal sitting up there. Problem is, its still got the oe steering box, actually the entire oe front suspension, and the strut towers are not cut out wide enough to make this happen. Looks like I need to put a rack in it and change the linkage to front steer instead of rear.

Anybody know who might make a kit for this? I'll probably go with coil overs too, if I can find a good setup.
Ideas?

RRS (http://www.rrs-online.com) sell a complete coil-over front suspension with power or manual rack & pinion steering set up. They also sell a set of cut-down shock towers that allow you to mount big blocks and modular motors into early Mustangs, Falcons, etc.,.... You can contact their US agent at (863) 409 2654.

--J

 

[Hack]

I checked out those links and there is some good info there. I'll be contacting them and see what I can work out. The car is basically a bracket drag car, but it is so unbalanced that if I up the power, weight transfer is going to be tough and all I'll get is alot of wheel spin, which is why I'm doing this. 10s is just not fast enough anymore.

Thanks, guys, for the feedback.

Oh, wow that's an entirely different question than what I tried to answer. For some reason I thought you wanted to turn corners. You might try starting another thread with a subject that includes drag or quarter mile in it. There's a lot of people here who drag race - some of them will help you.

Ignore my last answer.

I don't know much about drag suspensions, but a Mustang II front suspension would probably fit your needs. There are a bunch of kits out there.