Suspension upgrades, yes, no, maybe?

Another vote for dropping the upper A arms. No reason not to do it.

Well, unless you think your wife can't drive, will slide out of control and sue you.
Just kidding, but this was Fords reason for not doing it back in the 60's. They knew where to put the control arms, but wanted to hamper the front suspension so if "the average driver" got into trouble they would continue to turn into the corner rather than have to counter steer (They purposely made the car understeer).

If you can swing it, I think Bilstien street valved shocks are about the best riding shocks out there. Don't underestimate the imortance shocks play on the suspesion.

Well, considering she's not using skinny, no-belt bias tires, and of course modern car suspensions are designed with a higher opinion of the driver, you can't lose with this upgrade.

Here's an example of a 64 Mustang with the exact skinny, no-belt bias tires it came with when new:

That sort depends on what coast is closer to you. You should update your sig.

M+ is ok.
NPD is ok as well
Street or Track and Maier Racing both have excellent parts (again factor in shipping) even for a stock rebuild.
Open Tracker has some good stuff as well, and I believe is a dealer for M+.
Laurel Mountain has great pricing, but the parts are junk
Glazer Nolan is great and very helpful, but shipping coast to coast killed me.

My vote is for the Arning drop as well! However I would consider a set of Rollerized Spring Perches, and Konis, or other Adjustable Shocks on the corners. Improving the front sway bar is great, but I'm not too sure if I'd mess with a rear bar when going to 5 Leaf?

Just my .02 sense....

zookeeper said:

Ok, if your wife is driving, I suspect ride quality and predictable handling are positives and tire rubbing and harsh ride as well as ground-scraping stance would be negatives. If so, I would go with this combo: front suspension- Stock springs with dropped A-arms and KYB GR-2 shocks and new stock bushings all around with a 1" sway bar. Rear- 5-leaf mid-eye springs, KYB GR-2 shocks with a 3/4" sway bar. As long as your stock power steering is working well and leak-free, leave it alone. Make sure to have the alignment shop set the front end at 1/2 degree negative camber, 3 degrees positive caster, 1/8 toe in for great manners and no odd tire wear. My car is set up very similar to this, but lower and is the best riding car I've ever owned, and is very capable in the twisties with NO tire rubbing whatsoever. Check Dodgestang's list for wheel offsets that work and your wife will love it. I promise.

Click to expand...

cant go wrong with this set up.

Based on my limited experience with '65-'66s (2 suspension jobs), that setup seems a bit too soft in front compared to the rear. Possibility of oversteer in emergency avoidance maneuvers?

In regards to the CPP kits mentioned above: I do not own one YET, but several members, here and at other sites have gotten them and been very pleased. In my case, I already have new, good quality upper control arms with roller spring perches, so I plan to just get the "standard kit" (great price at $399) that does the just the lower control arms. If I still had to do the uppers, I would get the "New Kit" with the new uppers. The whole concept seems well thought out and should help provide added rigidity and stiffness to the lower frame area. It will also make accurate alignment much easier and precise, especially on the 65-66 cars that originally require shims for alignment. That being said, even the original setup can be installed to reduce the number of shims by removing the mounting bolts from the shaft on the upper arms and turning the shaft 1/2-1 full turn to put in a little bit of positive caster before any shimming. Also/alternatively, when some folks do the Shelby drop, instead of positioning the new mounting holes for the upper arms straight down from OEM, they orient them 1/8" rear ward to get that positive caster. Using either or a combination of both of these methods will still likely require some shims to achieve your camber specs, but you will reduce the difference in the amount of shimming from the front to rear bolt, which is safer/preferrable IMHO. Of course, this caster issue is a somewhat moot point if you use the CPP kit. Whatever way you go, roller spring perches are a definite plus and the Shelby drop is a no brainer. As far as steering is concerned, if your car has OEM power steering and is leaking/needing repair, I would look into the Borgeson or other integral steering box upgrade and avoid the hassle, expense and aggravation of trying to refurbish the outdated/inferior OEM stuff. While the OEM setup can work "OK" when in proper order, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to get them into shape due to a lack of quality replacement parts. If steering is manual and you and the wife are comfortable with it, simply check/replace as needed, inner and outer tie rod ends, idler arm and the center link where it connects to the pitman arm. In all cases, it is important to find an alignment shop that actually understands how these cars are setup (most don't and can make a real mess of the alignment) and how to properly achieve your desired specifications. Her is a very informative read for you:

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/drop

and this:

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/bump

and this:

http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/suspension101

Even if you don't do the work yourself, it is good to be armed with knowledge and info on how alignment works, if for no other reason than knowing if a shop is giving you BULLSHIRT! Many shops will tell you, while handing you a bill, that they "couldn't quite get it your specs, ya know, it's a 45 year old car, blah, blah, etc" and they are totally full of crap. If they are any good at all, they should be able to get the OEM setup within 1/10 degree and if you go with the CPP stuff it should be "Dead Nuts ON".
Lots to think about and research before you spend your $$$.
Just My $.02,
Gene

Amen to the alignment issues! Unless you can find a really experienced old hand who has done a bunch of 60s Fords and has a feel for them, expect to either get the "close enough" job or pay quite a bit more than for the typical late model alignment. Even with dealership equipment, it's a lot of trial and error work to get the caster/camber right. They're gonna charge you for the actual time they spend fooling with it...usually way more than the book says...or just give up and just tell you it is when it ain't.

My local dealership overcharged and *still* screwed it up. A couple of independent shops flat turned me down when I insisted that it be spot on my specs. I ended up doing it myself with some guidance from an old-timer, but it did take a while to get right. BTW, it's worth all the trouble!

Get yourself one of these (or similar) and tell the alignment shops to "Nibble Your Richard" forever!

Rebco 320-8920 - Rebco Caster/Camber Gauges - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Yes, you'll spend a few hours messing with it and maybe do it a couple/few times, trying minor changes, but when you're done it will be wher YOU WANT IT! Key point is understanding alignment geometry (easy if you pay attention) and having a good level surface to work on.
My $.02,
Gene

If it were me I would do the arm drop and add the Gt springs front and rear. The 5 leaf are to stiff and will give a ride most women don't like. A lot of the ride quality comes from the rear. You can stiffen the whole ride by which shock you use. I rebuilt my 65GT like this but used KYB originals and the ride is just where I like it. Go with the KYB 2 shocks for a little softer ride. Much easier to go soft on the spring and adjust ride with the shock. If you go to stiff on the spring and don't like it, you're just screwed. Also the 1" sway bar would be recommended.

Trust me, 5 leaf rear and Gr-2 shocks is far from stiff. My fastback with that shock/spring combo rides better than my stock '04 F250, my wifes '97 Suburban and our '88 GT Mustang. It's quite comfy and not even close to being too stiff. If anything I wish it was just a touch stiffer sometimes, but for 90% of the uses I think it's ideal. BUT (you knew there was a "but", didn't you?) like I said before, toss on some KYB Gas-a just shocks and all bets are off. I don't know of anyone personally who likes them regardless of spring choice. When I push down on the rear quarter panel of my Mustang, it moves an inch or so. When I push down on the rear quarter of my wife's all-stock '69 Corvette, nothing happens! It's totally rigid! And that's how that car came stock from the factory, yet it's a liveable ride. But I was in the same boat as you before I ordered my 5 leafs, and here's my thinking: let's suppose you get them and they are logging-truck stiff and you and your wife hate them. Pull out the shortest leaf and guess what? They are now the same as every other 4 leaf spring out there! Try it, you will like it.

It's really about having the right shock to match the spring rate. My front springs are 700#. Most people would think "that's got to knock your fillings out". Not at all. It's smooth, but firm. It takes potholes well and it rides softer than a friends stock Nissan Z (and it's a lot softer than my Ram 2500). Yet these same shocks would knock your teeth loose if you used them with a 400# spring.
My last shocks were too soft for 700# springs and it was like driving a 69 Caddy. A dip in the freeway and my headlights would point to the stars after bottoming out the front end LOL.