kblackav8or
Active member
- Joined
- May 28, 2011
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 3
- Location
- Oak Harbor, WA
- My Car
- 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
M Code 351C originally. Basically a road race car that is street legal.
I posted this in my intro a while back but thought it might be of use in this part of the forum in case some may not have seen it.
If there is one thing I would urge all 71-73 owners to do - install some sort of subframe connectors/chassis stiffeners. Especially if you are running stiffer then stock springs. I found that whatever stiff springs the previous owner had installed were just flexing the chassis - in effect just making the chassis the spring. The stock springs are way too soft in my book for even casual driving - especially being about 40 years old. If you stiffen the chassis and run some descent shocks and springs all around it makes these cars a lot more enjoyable to drive. The next thing I would do is replace the stock steering box with one from Lee Power Steering - they rebuild the stock Saginaw hybrid Ford box to whatever specs you would like. They will still work with your stock pump. What I did was get one built that has a 12:1 ratio and a bit less boost and more feel. Makes the car a lot more nimble and tight. It is also about 1/3 the cost of a rack and pinion conversion. I think I paid around $450 for box and hoses. Our boxes can be rebuilt basically to mimic the older Corvette boxes used in racing and stock car racing. I ended up running a more modern 5.0 Mustang style pump which are very common and a lot quieter then the old one was. Also a tad lighter.
If there is one thing I would urge all 71-73 owners to do - install some sort of subframe connectors/chassis stiffeners. Especially if you are running stiffer then stock springs. I found that whatever stiff springs the previous owner had installed were just flexing the chassis - in effect just making the chassis the spring. The stock springs are way too soft in my book for even casual driving - especially being about 40 years old. If you stiffen the chassis and run some descent shocks and springs all around it makes these cars a lot more enjoyable to drive. The next thing I would do is replace the stock steering box with one from Lee Power Steering - they rebuild the stock Saginaw hybrid Ford box to whatever specs you would like. They will still work with your stock pump. What I did was get one built that has a 12:1 ratio and a bit less boost and more feel. Makes the car a lot more nimble and tight. It is also about 1/3 the cost of a rack and pinion conversion. I think I paid around $450 for box and hoses. Our boxes can be rebuilt basically to mimic the older Corvette boxes used in racing and stock car racing. I ended up running a more modern 5.0 Mustang style pump which are very common and a lot quieter then the old one was. Also a tad lighter.