What Shocks?

jikelly

20+ Year Stangneter :roc</strong><span class=
Jul 9, 2003
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Lubbock Tx
I need to get new shocks for my 73 convertible mustang. What do you suggest for my setup with...

Front Coil Springs 620lb
Front Sway Bar 7/8"
Rear Leaf Springs 4½-leaf Standard Eye
Rear Sway Bar 3/4"

I guess I'm going for a firm but not punisher level of suspension dampening. Is that even possible given my spring rates?

I plan on running some autocross, but no real racing in the stang, maybe some track day events if I'm lucky.
 
I've got Edelbrock IAS and so far I've found them to be very stiff. Ebelbrock says they soften up with use but I won't be able to verify until after the car is painted. So far I've got less than 300 mile on them.
 
I figure it is time I figured out what's going on with the suspension. Especially if I wish to go autocrossing or what have you in my behemoth. I know very little about suspensions. Is there a book anyone can recommend?

I put larger 17 inch rims on the old girl years back. They required 1" wheel spacers to make them fit and resulted in some strangeness in the steering at times. She drives very smooth on smooth roads like interstates and such, but the bumpy roads that are the reality in our little conservative paradise have the stang dancing around a bit.

Some of that might be due to the lower profile tires. I know the old ones on my 14 inch rims created and took up a lot of slop. I once blew a tire when I rolled it off one of those little rims in a corner. I'm not sure what the offset difference is between the old and the new rims, I mean I don't know if the actual distance of the tire center changed from before.

My stang has upper and lower front control arms with strut rod arm thingys holding the lower control arms in place. I assume they did that for adjustment, but I don't know if the alignment shop ever touches those.

I don't think anything in the front end is binding, but I do get a bit of bumpsteer on uneven surfaces. Not extreme, but is there a way I can eliminate it totally? Is that even possible? I've seen people drop their upper control arms for better steering geometry, but I always wondered if it would really help that much.

Then the other thing I need to figure out is why my car likes to do like Joe Jackson and step out when I go over large bumps. Basically the rear end hops, generally to the passengers side, when I go over a large bump. I understand that part of that has to be due to the solid rear axle setup on my car, but there was a time when she didn't react in that fashion.
 
GR-2's?

Are the KYB's not adjustable enough?

Thanks for the replies!!

There are no external adjustments on either of them. The Gas-A-Justs are the sportier version of the two. I think the fronts are OK, but IMO the rears suck.

I'm just telling you what I think in my real life experence with this product. If I had to run KYB again, I'd use the GR-2 in the rear.

I'm replacing mine and going to Bilsten.
 
Only two shocks I've liked on old mustangs are Bilstiens (my current) from Miaer Racing or the old Gabriel Stryders which are discontinued.

Bilstiens are $$$ but worth every cent. PM me if you want to buy some slightly used Edlebrocks.
 
jikelly if you want an adjustable shock, try a set of koni's. they are fully adjustable, and they are also rebuildable as well. that will get you the best of both worlds. set them full soft for a nice ride, and when you hit the track set the adjustments for the course you are running. keep a note book so you can get the initial race setup the first time, and then tune form there.
 
Front's in Koni for 71+ not avail, rears are and look to be the same as the early Mustangs.

I run them (Classic Adjustable Koni's) and they are fine, I have never been a fan of KYB's, but I think the only reason is that I had them on a car that drove odd with them after install.

Spax used to make some for the early Mustang, never tried them but would be worth doing some web searching.

You can also get some Penske's made up but they are crazy money.


Sandy
 
There are no external adjustments on either of them. The Gas-A-Justs are the sportier version of the two. I think the fronts are OK, but IMO the rears suck.

I'm just telling you what I think in my real life experence with this product. If I had to run KYB again, I'd use the GR-2 in the rear.

I'm replacing mine and going to Bilsten.


I agree with Craig, if your on a budget I like the KYB Gas-A-Just up front and the KYB GR-2's in the rear.

But if you can afford it upgrade to the Edelbrock IAS or even better the Bilstein's.

Tim
 
anybody here running the qa1 adjustables?? they keep adjusting the prices down to where there are about the same price as the koni's. i also like the external adjustment vs. the konis. just curious how they perform. thanks!