71 Mach1(Trans Am) 2" nose drop

[71Rustang]

Hi all.i finished welding all the interior structural panels together. That's pretty much it for that. The car is still straight and the doors still shut ,so we will call that a win.Next I will figure out how to install the monoball bearings into the front crossmember for the strut rods.The bearings take the place of the stock bushings.But once again these Mustangs are different than the earlier cars and the bushing mounts are rather different.The older cars have 3 layers of steel to bore a bigger hole through and weld in the housing and room to work. These cars have a crossmember made of 14 gauge with swagged in round sleeves that are spotted onto the crossmember.So once I make the hole at 2 5/8''there is barely anything left of the sleeve and the front part will fall off,leaving just the 14 gauge crossmember which is not strong enough. So once again I put on my KK thinking cap and figure out a way how they would have done this. The only other reference I have is pics of Topes car.But he removed the crossmember and installed tubing with brackets for Heim joints. The first pic is of Warren Topes car.

 

[droptop73]

Someone on here made bolt in brackets to attach rod ends to similar to the Tope car. It seems that would shorten the rods quite a bit and maybe have negative effects on caster and toe.

How about welding a ring around the "bushing" and maybe add some gussets to that and weld the ring to the crossmember? I'm not sure how much room you'd have to work.  I'm sure you'll come up with an effective way to mount it. 

 

[71Rustang]

No more bushings.Since the redesign of the Mustang made the front suspension better,it also made the front crossmember worse.I had thought about just cutting the whole thing out and throwing it away,but that would be the easy way out.I wanted to use it so this is what I came up with. The factory bushing mounts are just pressed in with 2 halves,swagged together then spotted to the crossmember. So I elected to just get rid of both of them and hole sawed a 3 1/2'' hole in both sides.Then I made two 1/4'' thick mounting rings to weld the bearing housings to. The point of those was to strengthen the 14 gauge single wall crossmember and have a wider mounting flange to have access to weld it in on the back and in the front through the access holes.That wasn't easy. I just cranked the gas up and had about an 1 1/2'' of wire lead out and steady hands with good aim. I also had no line of sight to weld the front in. The only other option would be to cut the front corners off to gain access and then put them back on. Or maybe buying a 70 mustang would be easier.

 

[droptop73]

That looks like a good solution. 

On to the next "issue"! 

 

[71Rustang]

Hello. I've been working all week on this and I finally have it. I will not be running a Monte Carlo bar because I don't want one,and it won't work with my set up anyway. So I am installing the "upper frame rail supports" as KK installed them on the 70s. I feel that they  would have continued to due so on the 71s. For reference I have included a pic of a Bud Moore 70 Mustang.Since the 71s are rather different in the front end I used the 70 for reference and changed it for the 71 chassis. Now I just have to turn cardboard and tape into sheetmetal and welds...........

 

[droptop73]

That should add a ton of strength to the front. 

 

[c9zx]

Really impressive chassis work, well done. These cars are real "flexible flyers" as built. The work will be worth the effort. Chuck

 

[71Rustang]

Really impressive chassis work, well done. These cars are real "flexible flyers" as built. The work will be worth the effort. Chuck

Thank you.

 

[71Rustang]

Here's the finished boxing pieces for the upper door to shock tower bracing. I just have to fit and weld to the car. I also am trying to figure how I going to deal with the cowl drains. Kar Kraft cut off the outer cowl panels on the 69/ 70 cars and just plated over the drains.......because race cars and water drains aren't important. But I would like to have a way for the water to get out.............I'll figure a nice clean solution out.

 

[tony-muscle]

This is awesome. Can you share dimensions/drawings for the boxing pieces?

For the drain, a way could be to fit a hose between the original drain hole and through a hole in the box. You could weld a nipple to the original drain and add a silicone hose or some kind of braided hose that would withstand the elements.

 

[droptop73]

Very nice! What gauge material did you use? 

 

[71Rustang]

Hi again.I'm pretty much fighting with myself over if I should cut holes in the boxing plates to make the cowl drains functional. The thing is, I have come up with at least 5 or 6 different ways to have the drains work and the truth is I hate them all,no matter how much I make them look like they are supposed to be there.I still hate them.I'm a very details oriented person.Details matter and all of the small details for me add up to the big picture.And even though nobody will ever see the holes or the supports for that matter,if I put the holes in,it will bother me. So if I get a little water in the cowl from washing or get caught in the rain I can just put a rag down in there and get the water out. It's never going to rust out again anyway. I am leaning toward how KK would have done it,because.................race car. Oh...........and I really can't give accurate dimensions on them because of the nose drop, the tops of the aprons are shorter than stock.But they are 23 1/2'' and 22 1/2'' long from the end of the cowl to the front of the shock tower.They follow the shape of the car and are 16 gauge.

 

[71Rustang]

Hi,here's what I decided to do about the cowl drains. I blocked of the large half round openings. I then welded all of the seams of the cowl extension to the apron making it water tight. I made filler pieces for the top of the extension and at the bottom where it is cut out for the front cowl channel runs through it. I reworked the ends of the front flange to allow any water to run off.  Now water will not be able to get into the upper apron boxes when installed. As for water getting in the cowl. I will just deal with it.  I'm not going to seal the top off as the vent hole on the drivers side will be used for air to the driver and the pass will be vented to the transmission  though the floor.

 

[71Rustang]

Hi everyone. Well after a lot of research and work. My ,what do I think Kar Kraft would have done to install upper frame rails on a 71 Mustang is done. I Think they turned out very well. they extend 23 1/2'' out from the front of the cowl plates and are 1 1/2'' tall at the very front. They are fully welded and sealed at both ends.They are also fully boxed at the spring pocket................................Next.

 

[droptop73]

Nice work! 

 

[Mister 4x4]

I just ran through the entire thread, and I have to say, Excellent Work - Truly Inspiring!  I love the vision and direction you're going - very cool, indeed!

My one question: why did you feel the need to mini-tub when you're planning on stuffing 'just' 295/50R15s on 15x10s w/5" back spacing out back?  I have the same wheel size setup as what you spec'd without any modifications whatsoever, although I have 5 1/4" back spacing on those 15x10s.

Just my curiosity asking the question.

 

[71Rustang]

I just ran through the entire thread, and I have to say, Excellent Work - Truly Inspiring!  I love the vision and direction you're going - very cool, indeed!

My one question: why did you feel the need to mini-tub when you're planning on stuffing 'just' 295/50R15s on 15x10s w/5" back spacing out back?  I have the same wheel size setup as what you spec'd without any modifications whatsoever, although I have 5 1/4" back spacing on those 15x10s.

Just my curiosity asking the question.

Hello again.I mini tubed the car for multiple reasons. Yes a 10'' wheel with a 295 does fit the stock wells and looks good, but..............My car is going to sit very low,and by low I mean oil pan maybe 2-3''s off the ground.Now in the rear I wanted the tires just about even with the flare on the body,which is fine for a stockish car. But with a very low rear suspension height once you start working the suspension tires with large flexible side walls start hitting things.Mustang wheel houses are very narrow in the front.So if you take a low riding car with a big tire and jack up, just on one side of the rear axle, the top of the tire will get jammed into the inner wheel house. I also did it because all of the factory team race cars had it done. I don't want to look at the car and go I should have.If I just tub it,it's done and no clearance issues to deal with.I am trying to keep in line with how KK might have built it.I am also going to have to hammer larger flares into all 4 corners and cut out the top of the outer rear wheel house and make that flat. Here is a pic of Allan Moffet's car.This is pretty much the stance that I am building into my car.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Makes sense.  I was just curious.  Can't wait to see how it all comes out.  :thumb:

 

[detritusmaximus]

I've been following this thread sit it started since I am more interested in roadrace stuff than dragrace.  I have to say that is a heck of a lot of impressive work. I have two questions.

First...What are you doing with the steering box? I remember reading years ago about someone running a Trans Am car using the Australian Falcon RHD steering boxes for header clearance and cutting a hole for the mirror image box to fit in the car. But that was on a 69/70, so is it even practical (or needed) in a 71-73?

Second...are you seeing an increase in weld quality from the start to the finish? Seems to me with that much welding there would have to be....

 

[71Rustang]

I've been following this thread sit it started since I am more interested in roadrace stuff than dragrace.  I have to say that is a heck of a lot of impressive work. I have two questions.

First...What are you doing with the steering box? I remember reading years ago about someone running a Trans Am car using the Australian Falcon RHD steering boxes for header clearance and cutting a hole for the mirror image box to fit in the car. But that was on a 69/70, so is it even practical (or needed) in a 71-73?

Second...are you seeing an increase in weld quality from the start to the finish? Seems to me with that much welding there would have to be....

Hi,glad you like the car.Your first query.The Mustang with the Australian steering box was Smokey Yunick's 69 Boss 302. I don't really know the reasoning behind him doing that other than the fact of,Smokey Yunick. The standard manual steering box (16:1)was fitted to the cars built by Kar Kraft.My car has the variable ratio box that comes with the competition suspension.But since none of that matters anyway ,I was still going to reuse it. The 800 series boxes are good steering boxes.I am either going to rebuild as is,or send it out to have it reconditioned with a 12:1 conversion.I'm not going to bother getting a manual box.................and yes some Tran Am cars did have power steering.       

 Your second question about welding.I've been welding on cars for almost 20 years.So no,I don't see any improvements since I started on this project.I just build and weld one modification and move on to the next.See what nobody ever really tells you about building a car is there about 1000 different scenarios where the car will dictate to you what techniques  you use.Some stuff will just come out **** like welding galvanized panels ,like the entire bottom of these cars ,and doing it overhead.So now you have gravity to deal with.There are so many different factors like: welding thin to thin,thick to thin,is it over head,hidden grease and oil in between joints and seams, can I even see what I am doing,how do I even get the welder nozzle in there and it goes on forever.The best advice I can give just be comfortable and relaxed before you strike an arc,the rest is just inch by inch.