65fastback2+2
New Member
that or a blown strut rod bushing, i dont see how the upper control arm could cause it to drift like that.mustangdave said:
Pay Me Now or Pay me Later - Front Suspension ???
- Thread starter Pbum5
- Start date
mustangdave said:
I took it into get it aligned and the said the couldnt because
The holes where A arm meets the shaft have oblonged from wear.
They are also almost 40 years old. A little freshen up couldnt hurt.
HistoricMustang
Active Member
Pbum5, sorry for delay in responding.
I have never had an issue with the ball joints - another one of those rumors put out by the big boys to get you to buy stuff to correct things on the other stuff you bought. It is kind of a "Catch 22" situation. Only they are "catching" your money.
HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com
I have never had an issue with the ball joints - another one of those rumors put out by the big boys to get you to buy stuff to correct things on the other stuff you bought. It is kind of a "Catch 22" situation. Only they are "catching" your money.
HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com
65fastback2+2
New Member
Pbum5 said:
i think they are just saying that, take it to an old known shop that knows how to do old cars
65fastback2+2 said:
If they can align it or not is one thing. But the holes have oblonged. I have looked at it myself..
65fastback2+2
New Member
CochinoFilipino
Founding Member
Pbum5 said:
If your talking about the mounting holes for the UCA. That sounds like a damn good reason to do the shelby drop to me.
65fastback2+2 said:
the holes where the UCA meets the Upper Shafts. Not the hole where you would do the Shelby drop.
Does that make sense?
You need new control arms if the holes where the shaft nuts screw in are oblong and worn out in yours.....there really is no way around it. Check American Pony because they have factory new arms for $69 and you need to specify the 4 rivet ball joint ones also. This is cheap enough to get you back on the road and you can get fancy parts later on when you do a full restore of the car.
65fastback2+2 said:i dont see how you could do it and NOT have to do that fix. Mine has like 3/4" of shims, theres no getting around that, and my frame was checked against being bent too....
So are you saying that EVERY 67/68 that has the Shelby drop done MUST have shims put in to align the front end after the drop?
I am confused because I did the drop and 620 coils and I did not need shims.
I am not trying to start a fight I just want to make sure my car is safe.
67GTA-FB429 said:
Your car is perfectly safe, if it aligned properly then all is well. He also used 1 inch drop springs so maybe that contributed to the need for shims. He is young and assumes that just because his car needed them that all will need them but I do not believe that to be the case because I have never heard others with 67/67 vehicles talk about the need for shims after the Shelby drop. It is almost like his lower control arms are too long. I really do not know what is going on but it was IMPOSSIBLE to align HIS car without the shims.
Jester67 said:
He still has the stock drums so that can't be the problem. I always wondered if there were different length lower control arms for different years and if it was possible to get them mixed up.....but I have never confirmed it, there seems to be different part numers so who knows.
Ronstang said:
Maybe I will take that route for now. Why does it mater if they are 3 or 4 rivets if they are being replaced? Is one better than the other?
Pbum5 said:
I'm just picky and it seems that almost all early cars are the 4 rivet and I just don't like the look of the 3 rivet ones...plus the 4 rivet ones allow you to use negative wedge kits and can even be modified themselves whereas I would not consider it safe with a 3 rivet model so it would give you more options down the road. There is no difference in price so it seems like the logical choice to go with the 4 rivet ones to me.
HistoricMustang said:
What If I do go with the stock type and do a Shelby drop for now. If I later decide to "upgrade" to a modern suspension part (I know many here arent fans of them) will the holes from the Shelby Drop be the same place?
DarkBuddha
Founding Member
Wow, this thread went all wacky quick... Back to the original question:
If you plan to do the a full custom TCP, Maier, or GW suspension, then I'd say do a basic rebuild now with urethane bushings, new control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. Don't do the Shelby drop yet. You can only drill your shocktowers once and depending on the kit you choose it may be more than the usual Shelby 1" drop. If you want a lower stance and better handling, spend an extra $60 for higher rate lowering springs.
Now, if you plan on doing some combination of stock type components augmented by stuff from TCP, Maier, or GW, then do your research, decide which components you think you'd like to use and then build a good basic suspension from there. If this is your approach, you might like looking at a bit of my ideas about building a suspension, which you can find here: DB's suspension pages .
Hope this helps...
Ok, IMHO, you should try to make a decision about the use of your car for the future. You need a plan. You say you're gonna eventually do a "full restoration" but what does that mean? Do you intend to do a full custom suspension from TCP, Maier, or GW, or just selectively use certain components in combination with some original type components? This will make a huge difference in whether you should do the Shelby drop now or wait. It can also help you save serious money over time.Pbum5 said:
If you plan to do the a full custom TCP, Maier, or GW suspension, then I'd say do a basic rebuild now with urethane bushings, new control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. Don't do the Shelby drop yet. You can only drill your shocktowers once and depending on the kit you choose it may be more than the usual Shelby 1" drop. If you want a lower stance and better handling, spend an extra $60 for higher rate lowering springs.
Now, if you plan on doing some combination of stock type components augmented by stuff from TCP, Maier, or GW, then do your research, decide which components you think you'd like to use and then build a good basic suspension from there. If this is your approach, you might like looking at a bit of my ideas about building a suspension, which you can find here: DB's suspension pages .
Hope this helps...
65fastback2+2
New Member
Hack
15 Year Member
It's nice to see someone bring this up. I have the same situation on my '70, but I shimmed the ball joints and did a 2" drop. I've been considering fabbing a slightly shorter and adjustable length lower arm to avoid requiring shimming the upper arm. That way I could also do the Boss 302 mod, eliminating the lower arm adjustment point that can move under hard use.Ronstang said:
DarkBuddha said:Wow, this thread went all wacky quick... Back to the original question:
Ok, IMHO, you should try to make a decision about the use of your car for the future. You need a plan. You say you're gonna eventually do a "full restoration" but what does that mean? Do you intend to do a full custom suspension from TCP, Maier, or GW, or just selectively use certain components in combination with some original type components? This will make a huge difference in whether you should do the Shelby drop now or wait. It can also help you save serious money over time.
Hope this helps...
Thanks for the advice. Yeah I do need to make a decision. The problem is that since I haven’t had my car in so long it has been out of sight out of mind. Now that I have it back in my possession after about 12 years in storage I am reading up on things and there are so many options for stuff that was not around 12 years ago. To many choices can make things a bit confusing for someone like me just getting back in the game.
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