Have a new to me 67 Cougar w/289 and P/S. Leaks P/S fluid like mad and it wonders a bit. My neighbor runs a Hot Rod shop and suggest a MII front end. He rebuilt an early Mustang suspension back to stock and regretted it. I don’t like the idea of raising the engine. I want to keep the stock hood and run a 408 down the road. So that makes me think the Borgeson box or a Unisteer rack swap. Love to hear ideas/reviews/thoughts etc. I am all ears!
Don’t mind spending a grand or two but not too much more. Thanks in advance!
I’ve got a ‘69 with a complete Street or Track front suspension, coil over Bilstein shock/spring system with tubular upper and lower control arms, new spindles, adjustable strut rods, Unisteer R&P steering and big Wilwood disc brakes. Just wanted to let you know where I’m coming from. I installed all the components myself and am very pleased with the quality, the support Shaun offers, and the performance.
The MII suspension suffered from compromised geometry out of the gate. While it did offer better engine access due to removal of the shock towers these swaps have fallen out of favor. The Borgeson steering system box is larger than the Ford OEM box. It does get rid of the Ram and control valves which is a good thing but may make header clearance an issue. I haven’t priced components from a while but I’m not sure what all you can source within your budget. I’d suggest the Shelby/Arning drop as a low cost easy improvement for the camber curve along with new OEM style components along with good shocks to keep cost down. Talk to Shaun at Street or Track or John and Open Tracker Racing for their input. Both are good to talk to and can offer you a variety of options.
Ditch the '67 lower control arms and strut rods. Replace with the '68 and up lowers and strut rods. Your suspension is probably just tired and worn out. Keep it stock but replace with new arms, 1 inch drop front coils, roller bearing spring perches, new shocks and replace sway bar. The Shelby drop as mentioned and you’ll have a fun to drive car.
2nd corndog’s reply.
Rebuild stock suspension
With a few.mods.
First Shelby drop the upper control arms. There are $30 templates on ebay. This is basically dropping the upper control arms lower can really improve your alignment specs.
2nd Roller bearing spring perches. Corndog also said this.
This is an upgrade from the stock rubber or using urethane. They are available from opentracker. Run about $200. They last a lifetime and they replace the rubber with bearings. That area is a pivot point. Rubber doesn’t move it binds, yet the bearings flex. Another option is progressive rate springs that are lower.
Then an alignment. This makes the car handle really great, it is very close to stock and keeps cost down.
Also Ron Morris offers adjustable motor mounts to help woth headers/transmission swaps. The big bonus is there is an option to drop your engine a 1/2 " too.
Thanks everyone for the input! It will help my decision!
A few thoughts:
Shocks: I’ve been using Bilstein RCD (Race Car Dynamics) shocks for a few years. On my '71 Ranchero, '70 Torino Cobra, and a few others. They’re expensive but perform beyond belief.
Roller Perches: Adding my thumbs up too. They make a difference that you can really feel. OpenTracker are high quality pieces and affordable too.
Alignment: I add a lot more positive caster than the factory spec. Really enhances straight-line stability, and increases steering self-centering. Slightly increases steering effort. Has little to no effect on tire wear.
Rear Sway Bar: Dollar for dollar the best mod going. Addco makes a decent kit, but factory parts (if available) are by far the best. Avoid kits that require you to drill additional holes in your frame rails.
Springs: Try to avoid super high rate springs. A car with slightly softer springs, but good sway bars/shocks/tires will be nicer to drive.
Hope this helps,
Tom
Having several 67-70 Cougars and having almost 10 different wheel tir8e combo’s opened my eyes to how I l view ANY suspension system, mods,upgrades etc etc… Here is my experience trying to get my 69 survivor XR-7 M code Cat to drive,handle,steer as good as it looks.
Ist wheel tire combo was a totally goofy set of Torque Thrust II’s 17’ in the rear 15’ s up front. The rims had Uniroyal Tiger Paw II tires. The car rode real nice…tracked real good…but the 17’s were almost 29" tall and looked WRONG.
OK OK …OFF goes that combo …and on go a set of custom Style Steel Wheels …15×10 with 275 60 15 in the back and 225 70 15 Cooper Cobra tires in the rear. Looked AWESOME…the car was flat out a fkn nightmare to drive…any rough road and the car would just dart around like an overcaffienated squirrel…total Junk ! You would never think it was the same suspension! Next a set of original 10 hole GT steel rims with 225 70 14 BFG’s on all four corners. The car was now controllable …handled nice and did not get spastic over bumps. My point here is one set up, …if thats the only set of wheels I had…I would have cut the suspension out with a torch…BUT…that same JUNK suspension was ok with a different tire rim combo. Last but not least…I was able to get a pair of 15" TTII’s and get 235 60 15 Uniroyal Tires for the rear …OMG …these Uniroyals made the car glorious to drive ! Smooth as glass on the highway…tracked great…handled awesome…I was shocked at how much difference it made…they are NOT raised white letters and did not give…that look …but were just AMAZING at how well they worked. So…listening to other peoples opinions on what is going to be a good suspension set up on YOUR car…sounds …crazy. Now…let me tie this all together…if I was to give anyone advice on what to spend money on…I would use one key word…" ADJUSTABILITY" …If you dont spend the extra coin to buy into that upfront…then…you get what you get…and dont be upset…but you have a choice…Coil overs with 2 way adjustable shocks…you can try a 600 lb spring and compression/ rebound adjustments …OR …like on my buds 68 cougar with dbl adj. 500 Ib springs 1 inch sway bar …RH shock set a little lighter on compression …we welded boxing plates to factory control arms and he spent the coin on high end adjustable strut rods. He took off the Cooper Cobra classic muscle car tires for Hankook ( I think) sticky directional tires…and we had to go thru several changes…cuz his new racer boy road course tires…made no difference…until we put enough load on them to make them work. When we preloaded the coil several turns…it turned the car into a corner carver…BUT we lost a little travel height…an ez spring swap and shock tuning gave him what he was looking for. I suggest. INVEST in being able to tune the suspension you install…cuz guy “A” sez use what works for me…but you aint driving his car ! Right ? I have the Borgeson box mod in my 69 and I love it. I have a GOOD hydraulic shock , 580 lb Eibach progressive front springs 7/8 sway bar and I will hang with BMW 's on the Taconic up against the rail at 80 mph and not scared ! Good Luck !
I had my neighbor order me the Borgeson box. From what I can see most the suspension is okay. That can change when it is inspected up on a lift. Thanks for all the input!