Update to a classic....

andyjd · Oct 11, 2004

Forgive me if the questions are dumb.....(am english, and moving to AL shortly)

I want a classic mustang but with modern brakes, suspension etc....having a quick search of the www this seems possible and slightly practical....any views ??

and if you surgest buying a modern Mustang take yourself outside and run over your own foot

DukeGnarley · Oct 11, 2004

absolutly possible.

you can get disc brakes from Wilwood, Baer, Stainless Steel, and some others.

as far as suspension goes, you have a few options: TCP, global west, fatman fab. and a couple others.

Other modifications some people have done include EFI and a 5 or 6 speed transmission.

As far as i know, the only things that haven't been done are air bags and antilock brakes.

reenmachine · Oct 11, 2004

An Englishman moving to AL -- boy are you in for a surprise...

What you speak of is becoming more and more common these days. Many, many members of this board have made these upgrades to their Mustangs, so you'll find a lot of information on the subject here.

It really depends on how modern you want to get. Fuel-injected 5.0 pushrod engines are pretty commonplace and the entire conversion is available over the counter, plug and play. The state-of-the-art modular engines are finding their way into early Mustangs, but it's still pretty uncommon.

Suspension is a similar story. You can get really high-end replacement parts for the factory suspension, but then they're still high-end parts for a 40+ year old design. Mustang II-type front end conversions are easy to do these days and make an incredible difference in the ride and handling of an early Mustang. Not so many truly modern upgrades are available for the rear suspension. I'll probably get jumped all over for this, but I don't consider a solid axle on leaf springs to be a great riding or handling system no matter how good the parts bolted to it are.

I'll get flamed if I plug my business too much, but check out my site at www.reenmachine.com for more info on this specific type of car.

Have fun!

-Pete

andyjd · Oct 11, 2004

reenmachine said:
I'll probably get jumped all over for this, but I don't consider a solid axle on leaf springs to be a great riding or handling system no matter how good the parts bolted to it are.
-Pete

Pete...I agree, can you give me some options and costs involved with the rear end ?

Andy

reenmachine · Oct 11, 2004

Andy-

I've developed an independent rear suspension system for the early Mustang, but I'm not selling it as a kit quite yet. I need to complete testing and prove it out on at least two of my own cars on both street and track before I do so. I refuse to be one of those companies that saturates the media with promises and then takes a year to come through.

You can see pics of the progress in the '67 convertible "projects" section of my site.

Email me directly at reen@reenmachine.com if you want to learn more.

allcarfan · Oct 11, 2004

anything is possible with the right amount of money.

And, I will stick with my solid axle, leaf spring car...thanks. Funny how a lot of 03 cobra guys swap out their IRS for a sold axles so they can get better traction at the track.

reenmachine · Oct 11, 2004

allcarfan said:
And, I will stick with my solid axle, leaf spring car...thanks. Funny how a lot of 03 cobra guys swap out their IRS for a sold axles so they can get better traction at the track.

That is exactly right. There is one thing that a well set up solid rear axle is superior for -- drag strip launches (I assume that is what you meant by track).

We have been discussing ride and handling specifically, which is the realm of the independent rear.

I'm not slamming solid rear axles by any means. I drive one every day, and have one in my SCCA road racing car (mandated by my class).

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