So we have the suspension apart on my sons’s 69 convertible. We’re planning on doing the Shelby/ Arning drop, new upper ball joints, new upper control arm bushings, roller spring perches, new tie rod ends and a rebuild of the power ram and control valve, and new rubber bushings for the strut bars and lower control arms.
Anybody use urethane bushings on the lower control arms?
I’ve heard they’re not a good idea on the strut bars. Any advise on shocks? We think these mods will give us a good start to making the car really handle.
Sounds like you have a good handle on what needs to be done.
I have had urethane strut rod bushings on my 69 XR 7 for many years with no ill effects. I have KYB gas shocks all the way around and they work fine.
I put urethane bushings in the rear springs and added a 3/4’-inch rear anti-roll bar along with a factory big-block front (15/16") anti-roll bar. Ride and handling are pretty good as far as I am concerned. I have original front springs and replaced the leaf springs about 15 years ago.
A Borgeson “remanufactured” original-style steering gearbox made a big difference in the steering. I have a urethane rag joint installed in the steering shaft as well.
Did you use urethane in the lower control arm? I’ve read a lot of posts on Mustang boards that urethane could actually break the strut rods. We’re planning on reusing the original springs for now. Are you using roller spring perches?
Roller Perches are definitely an improvement, although I wouldn’t say it’s ‘night and day’. For the investment though, especially if you build them from a kit instead of buying, they are certainly worth it. From my experience, they made the car ride a little smoother over small bumps and imperfections in the road.
Going to urethane bits will decrease deflection and help with handling, but the tradeoff is that they typically make more noise, and you tend to feel every little pit and pebble in the road.
For a track car, urethane or duralumin bushings make sense because handling trumps ride quality. For street cars, original rubber or higher durometer bushings tends to work a lot better.
A better front swaybar, KYB, or Bilstein shocks, the Shelby drop, and some roller spring perches will make a tremendous difference. Putting new grease in your steering box, and ensuring that all the bits of your steering linkage are in good shape will also greatly improve the way things feel.
Rear swaybars can decrease understeer, but you might want to hold off 'till you try it out with the Shelby drop and stiffer front swaybar first. If you already have neutral handling, or are getting into oversteer with the first two mods, adding a rear swaybar would just aggravate the situation.
Don’t neglect chassis stiffening. Decreasing body flex will help your car stay together despite spirited driving, and it helps handling too.
Lastly, something that is often overlooked - make sure you go with alignment settings that work well with modern tires. Factory specs tend to feel vague, without much return-to-center.
Yes my friend Doug in our LSCC club installed a set of those polyurethane sway bar bushings and a couple thousand miles later broke a strut on his '69. This was around the dawn of the internet so we didn’t have the luxury of Google, but after it happened, over time, we learned that many of the other local folks who had done this had the same experience.
and when i saw this vid, i ordered for my cougar hotchkis struts. I know it’s not concours correctly, not original and expensive but i prefer the security when i go fast.
Maybe it makes the difference if the complete suspension is firmer then stock!?
Those don’t look like Moog strut rods bushings, but they do call for a #K8122.I have never seen this one. The improved design has a steel center ring fitting in the hole of the housing & will not move around. Also the washer(s) is backwards. This is most likely the main reason for failure.
