Im about to order "The Big Kit" from americanpony.com .Anyone got any suggestions on what to do while Im messing with the suspension.The only thing besides replacing all of the parts is doing the Shelby drop.Which I will be doing.
but, no real tips, its all straight forward just like anything else:
-take your time; do it right
-take it easy; don't get stressed out
-have fun; there no point in doing anything thats not for you.
I've got one basic tip: do it safely. Also, rent or buy the correct internal type spring compressor. Do not attempt to remove the springs without a spring compressor. Oh, and give yourself plenty of time to get to the alignment shop and pick one close to home. You may get lucky and the car may track ok-ish, but it could also be so out of whack that it'll be scary. Mine was scary, and even at only 20mph, I couldn't but barely keep it in my own lane.
I bought the same kit. Be very careful with the spring compressor and be sure the spring is fully seated on the spring perch before you take all the tension off the spring ( grab the spring and turm it clockwise). With the suspension out I also was able to clean up the years of grease and mud that was below the lower control arm.
Yea, take the time to figure that spring compressor out, I never understood it. The bottom of the big screw would just sit on the perch and slipped and shot out when there was too much pressure on it.
Check, recheck, and check again the template for the shelby drop. Everyone has their own technique to make sure they're drilling the holes in the right place. I made copies of my template, cut out all the holes with an exacto-knife, lined up the old holes with the template using bolts to keep the paper in place, then spray painted over the template, leaving two perfect size orange dots where I needed to drill. I used a nail and a hammer to hit a little dent in the middle of the circle so the bit wouldn't dance all over the place and it was easy from there out.
The bolts on the rear leaf springs could be stuck, you'll need to use a sawz-all to cut em out. Don't be cheap I went through about 3 cheap blades before I finally bought a good one...those bolts are tougghhh. All I can think of at the moment..it's not too tough.