suspensions / fairlanes

[viperx6x9x]

ok, i know this is a mustang site, but i was hoping some of you classic guys knew about fairlanes as well. Anyhow, i've had this car for a good 10 years now, it's 35 years old on top of that, and it's high time i put some suspension components on this thing. Okay first off its a 69 fairlane 500 4-door sedan. unibody construction. The front end passenger side seems to sag a bit lower than the rest of the car. So i know it's time to upgrade and get new shocks and struts. and probably a decent sway bar as well.

now for the tricky part, i don't want the mushy suspension those classics always had. and i don't want a rock hard circuit track suspension here either. but i do want it closer to the hard suspension. anybody know what brands to look at and what types of ocmponents to look for. i dont want to put subframe connectors in it. but if theres other important parts im missing please let me know. so far all i got is sway bar, shocks, and struts. Well anything yall can help with, please let me know.

james.

oh btw, i dont know suspensions so i dont know what effect this info will have if any, but in case its important, the drivetrain is, 302 - AOD tranny - 2.72 rear end (non posi single wheel spinner type)

 

[DarkBuddha]

All the usual stuff that works for Mustangs will work for your car. If you want my opinion, check the link in my sig titled "My Budget Tips & Tricks
".

Hope this helps...

 

[viperx6x9x]

thanx, this is gonna cost me more than i thought, but what parts absolutely have to be done first so i dont have to keep takin stuff apart to upgrade the rest? i cant do it all at once, but im plannin on doin it all, short of the subframes. its not gonna be an all out drag car, more of a half restomod cruiser / half drag car kinda thing. im nuts, anyhow, thanx.

james

oh yeah cant lower it really cuz it already sits low on my 14"s and i plan on upgrading to the ford version torq thrust wheels. 02-04 gt, bullit, etc. not the american racing ones. and i tried a set one day and they fit like a glove.

 

[DarkBuddha]

Safety first! At an absolute minimum, do a complete rebuild of the front suspension and use polyurethane (or similar) bushings. This will make a signficant difference in the front end right of the bat. You might be able to cheap out and simply get a bushing kit and re-use your original control arms, but be sure to check the arms very very very carefully since they often have stress cracks or other damage. Definitely replace the inner and outer tie rod ends and the idler arm. Use good quality parts... Moog is good stuff. You can use your original springs and sway bar for the time being.

If you want to improve the front handling a bit, you may be able to do the Shelby drop (drilling the upper control arm mounting points 1" lower). This will improve the camber curve and it won't significantly lower the front suspension much (maybe 1/2" max). It's cheap to do... whatever it costs to buy the drill bits, and you can download a template online.

If you want to upgrade springs, spend the extra money now. I know it's extra money, but if you replace them later you'll have to get the car re-aligned, which is typically $40-$60 these days. So do 'em now and you won't have to pay for a second alignment.

Probably the next basic upgrade would be a bigger sway bar, but that is only if you want to minimize body roll. It will stiffen the front end a bit but it will also improve handling quite a bit. No re-alingment needed after a sway bar swap.

For the rear, you'll want to replace the leaf springs if they are still original. Leaf springs will sag over time causing the rear end to sit lower and not handle correctly. Depending on cost, buying new is often as cheap (or cheaper) than rebuilding/re-arching the old ones. You'll need to decide how many leafs you want in the spring... more leafs means a stiffer spring, so keep that in mind. Also, get new shackles since they're pretty cheap.

Finally, buy a decent set of gas shocks... KYB, Monroe, parts store brand, whatever. They'll all be an improvement over old worn out shocks (or goodness help you, air shocks).

You should be able to do this stuff (assuming you do it cheaply) for under $700 including the alignment.

 

[viperx6x9x]

whats up with the air ride stuff? I heard about em on one of those tnn shows where they upgrade random stuff, Lift trucks, performance mods, etc... anywho they said the setup was pretty nice but i dont know much about em.

 

[DarkBuddha]

AirRide suspension stuff is very cool. It's all airbags in place of springs. This is different than air shocks, just as gas shocks are different from conventional or hydralics. AirRide offers some very cool stuff for everything from 4x4s to musclecars. Check 'em at www.ridetech.com .

 

[65up2d8]

If you don't mind me asking, what is your aversion to subframe connectors? More than likely, you'd never even know they were there from outward appearances, but subframe connectors offer more bang for the buck than almost any other mod I can think of. If you don't have a fairly rigid platform to begin with, its quite likely you'll never really get the benefits of all the other mods you're considering. Just my $.02.

A couple of other mods I would suggest would be an export brace and monte carlo bar, which provide rigidity to your shock towers. I'm not sure where you would get them for your car, however. Good luck!

 

[viperx6x9x]

sub frame connectors just scare me, im not sure how much il have to cut and weld, if theyl interfere with my exaust cause thats custom and i dont wanna spend that money again. i have brand new seats and upholstry in there too and i don't know where the connectors will come through at. my whole thing is to do most of this stuff without lowereing it any at all as well. it already sits remarkably low as i can barely squeeze under it to do maintenance without ramps or jacks and im a pretty skinny guy.

 

[DarkBuddha]

There are plenty of subframe connectors for Mustangs that don't intrude into the passenger compartment at all, so it would be reasonable to expect you could do/buy something similar for your Fairlane. I purchased Global West connectors for my '70 Mach which are tubular. They simply welded to the front and rear subframes, and they don't hang particularly low. In fact, they are no lower than my exhaust and actually help to protect the tranny, exhaust, etc. from stuff like speed bumps. Check my site for pics of the install.

I do have to say, the subframe connectors were the single most impressive chassis improvement I've made. Less chassis flex over bumps, better ride, less noise from the car in general. Well worth every penny of the $200 it cost me to buy them and pay to have them welded in. Think about it if you really want a solid chassis and better chassis feel.

 

[MitchGT]

If you want an idea of how badly you need subframe connecters, watch how much your car flexes as you jack up the front end. there's no way you can expect your suspension to react consistantly if the center of your car is spaghetti. Plus you end up with stress cracks if everything ends up flexing repeatedly. You would definately have to take apart your interior to fix all those cracks.

 

[viperx6x9x]

cool, well they do sound like theyl be an important upgrade, i'l definitely look into those. but its been a long week of late flights and i gotta get some sleep so il get back with you guys on this later. thanks for the advice though.

 

[viperx6x9x]

sorry guys, its been a whlie, ive had a busy last couple of weeks. anyways thanks for all the help. It turns out i have a good chance of getting stationed back in texas (where my car is) in a few months. So i'l have much more time to play with some of this stuff. So it'l be a few months but il get some of this stuff going and let yall know how it turns out. i'l deal with the engine later.