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cazsper

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
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Location
Sunnyvale, CA
My Car
1968 Coupe: 393w, TKO-600, Maier Racing springs, Global West suspension, Currie 9in with forged axles, 3.50 gears, Trutrac, Baer brakes front/rear
1973 Mach-1: 351c 4V, C-6, 3.73:1 gears and a long "To Do" list..
Hello everyone. I have just recently purchased a '73 Mach-1 that is in dire need of upgrades. I will post pictures soon. Anyway, In addition to the fron tires/wheels being too skinny and the rear wheels aren't too wide (15x10) but have the wrong offset and stick out from the fendes 3-4 inches. As for the suspension it is shot. It bottoms out in the front and the rear when going over speed bumps.

What I would like, is a car that handles well but too bone-jarring. Following is a list of items I have been looking at and was wondering what everyone thought:

-Upper/Lower control arms from Total Control

-Strut Rods from Total Control

-1 1/8 front sway bar

-3/4 rear sway bar

-600# coil springs from Maier Racing

-165# leaf springs from Maier Racing

-Koni shocks

-17x8 Vintage 45 wheels (front) with 4.5" BS (245/45-17)

-17x9.5 Vintage 45 wheels (front) with 5.5" BS (275/40-17)

Of course this will not be cheap, but I would like to know if I am on the right track. I appreciate it..

 
Not sure how precise you want to be about ride height, but....

1. I have Total Control Products tubular uppers on a 1970 XR7.

The TCP tubulars have 20k miles on them. No squeaking. No loose feeling. No noticeable wear. Very nice feel at the wheel.

I bought stock control arms for replacement once. They were crap in every sense of the word. The SMALLEST issue was they rubbed on a STOCK ORIGINAL 14" wheel. Some guys here have used stock control arms with good luck.

2. Springs are tough for several reasons. The most obvious is the weight of your motor. Going from a 302 to 351 adds weight, taking off the cast iron manifold and installing an aluminum manifold, takes away weight. Exotic aluminum heads also subtract weight.

As a result, it may be difficult to get the road height you want with your first spring installation.

I suggest buying a soft, tall spring(sorry, I can't tell you what tall is). Install it and run it for 3 or 4 weeks. At that point, the spring will have settled in 85% of its true height. I know your car will look funky, but you can always get an outfit at the Goodwill store to match your funky car.

After 3-4 weeks, fill your tank 1/2 full of gas and buy your weight in beer. Can't give you a conversion factor for beer/weight because there are just too many variable- Bottle Beer, Can Beer, Keg Beer, Light Beer, Draft Beer...etc. Maybe you can make us a table.

When you get home and get the car jacked up(your car...not you), secure the beer into the driver seat. Now the fun begins(the 1/2 tank of gas and beer weight is more important than you think...).

Remove the spring and using a cut off tool, little by little cut the spring until you get your desired height +1/4 to 3/8" (to allow for further settling). If you are the slightest bit mechanical, after the 2nd spring install, the time it takes to remove the wheel will be longer than the time it takes to remove the spring. (Hint- Typical spring removal tool requires

4 1/2" of washers to remove a Mustang spring)

Notes:

As you cut the spring, the ride gets firmer. This may seem counter intuitive(especially if you are Polish as I am). Think of a long diving board. As you walk out onto the diving board, the further you go to the edge, the more the spring moves- the more bounce. Well, a coil spring is just like the diving board, except coiled. The longer the coil is, the more travel it will give for a given weight. In my circumstance I think we took a full coil out and the ride firmed up very nicely.

Also, prior to cutting the spring, don't assume that if your ride is 2" too tall you should remove 2" of spring. This will actually lead you to reduce your ride be probably 4"(I am that Polish, yes). I think of a good rule of thumb for your first cut is 1/3, that is if you want to drop your ride by 2", remove 2/3" from the spring.

Good luck. Can't help you on your rear end. Plenty of guys here are more into Mustang rear ends then I am....not that there is anything wrong with that.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not sure how precise you want to be about ride height, but....

1. I have Total Control Products tubular uppers on a 1970 XR7.

The TCP tubulars have 20k miles on them. No squeaking. No loose feeling. No noticeable wear. Very nice feel at the wheel.

I bought stock control arms for replacement once. They were crap in every sense of the word. The SMALLEST issue was they rubbed on a STOCK ORIGINAL 14" wheel. Some guys here have used stock control arms with good luck.

2. Springs are tough for several reasons. The most obvious is the weight of your motor. Going from a 302 to 351 adds weight, taking off the cast iron manifold and installing an aluminum manifold, takes away weight. Exotic aluminum heads also subtract weight.

As a result, it may be difficult to get the road height you want with your first spring installation.

I suggest buying a soft, tall spring(sorry, I can't tell you what tall is). Install it and run it for 3 or 4 weeks. At that point, the spring will have settled in 85% of its true height. I know your car will look funky, but you can always get an outfit at the Goodwill store to match your funky car.

After 3-4 weeks, fill your tank 1/2 full of gas and buy your weight in beer. Can't give you a conversion factor for beer/weight because there are just too many variable- Bottle Beer, Can Beer, Keg Beer, Light Beer, Draft Beer...etc. Maybe you can make us a table.

When you get home and get the car jacked up(your car...not you), secure the beer into the driver seat. Now the fun begins(the 1/2 tank of gas and beer weight is more important than you think...).

Remove the spring and using a cut off tool, little by little cut the spring until you get your desired height +1/4 to 3/8" (to allow for further settling). If you are the slightest bit mechanical, after the 2nd spring install, the time it takes to remove the wheel will be longer than the time it takes to remove the spring. (Hint- Typical spring removal tool requires

4 1/2" of washers to remove a Mustang spring)

Notes:

As you cut the spring, the ride gets firmer. This may seem counter intuitive(especially if you are Polish as I am). Think of a long diving board. As you walk out onto the diving board, the further you go to the edge, the more the spring moves- the more bounce. Well, a coil spring is just like the diving board, except coiled. The longer the coil is, the more travel it will give for a given weight. In my circumstance I think we took a full coil out and the ride firmed up very nicely.

Also, prior to cutting the spring, don't assume that if your ride is 2" too tall you should remove 2" of spring. This will actually lead you to reduce your ride be probably 4"(I am that Polish, yes). I think of a good rule of thumb for your first cut is 1/3, that is if you want to drop your ride by 2", remove 2/3" from the spring.

Good luck. Can't help you on your rear end. Plenty of guys here are more into Mustang rear ends then I am....not that there is anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...
What? :huh: exactly does the beer do?

 
What? :huh: exactly does the beer do?

For starters, I could see it make me stop trying to figure out why my 71 Mach1 M code doesn't have staggered shocks...I'll drink to that.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I like the 200 pound 5 leaf rear springs. I am running about that wheel size and back space and I can tell you 600 pound front springs in a Cleveland will be a stiff ride and that is not always the ticket for better handling. Wolverine gave you good advice. Just don't let him paint for you.

 
I do appreciate everyones input. That sounds like good advice. I do understand how the springs work, it's just that I am use to the SN95 cars with coil overs. I actually have the 600#/165# springs on my '68 coupe. And that's a 393w with aluminum heads, intake and a TKO-600. The Mach 1 has a 4v Cleveland and I assume the car is quite a bit heavier than my 68.

As for suspension parts, is Global West better than Total Control?

 
Simulates the weight of a driver? Problem is, the simulated driver would lose 10 pounds by the time I got done. :D
Click to expand...
We have a WINNER!!!!



As for suspension parts, is Global West better than Total Control?
Click to expand...
I cannot speak for GLOBAL WEST, but the Total Control parts also came with a great set of instructions. When I buy a set for my convertible in about 2 months, I will be sticking with Total Control. They also were very quick and thorough in answering my email questions.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks everyone..

 
The Mach 1 has a 4v Cleveland and I assume the car is quite a bit heavier than my 68.
Click to expand...
My '73 convertible was born an I6-250. Spent it's teenage years as a V8-302 without changing springs...not a bright move on the previous owners part. For it's golden years it will be sporting 351C. So, the suspension is definitely going to be retuned.

In regards to weight, I should also mention your choice of exhaust manifolds, headers, and water pump can make a weight difference. All these little changes can add up and change the stance....maybe that is why one of our members found some cement in his front end. The owner changed out a few iron parts for aluminum and the front end lifted.

 

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