What did you do to your car today?

[mach71351c]

Finished floor pans on top side anyway. Will under side later. Cut out rust on battery apron. Did more sanding in engine bay.

Little behind on this thread, nice job Mike!

Thanks

 

[Sprintsportsroof]

Put a new battery and Voltage regulator in the Sprint.....I'll clean up the engine compartment eventually!

 

[droptop73]

I installed 3/4" poly spring spacers / isolators on the front springs today. I got a little overzealous cutting the springs, this should bring the front back up a little and give me a little needed ground clearance. I also installed a new fuel pump since the old (original) pump was leaking and I cannot afford to put the precious juice on the ground. I' prepping the inside windshield header pieces for paint since the plating is bad. Tomorrow I'll install the new strut rod bushings and get the car cleaned up to enjoy a long overdue ride. I'll post some pics when I get it out of the garage.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Front clip is [finally] at the 'blaster shop. I'm outta town next week, so I should pick it up the following Monday or Tuesday. Can't wait to see it all cleaned up.

 

[Sprintsportsroof]

Does installing a small fridge in yer' garage (Man Cave) count?

 

[Mister 4x4]

Yup! Anything that keeps ya in the garage longer to work on the Mustang is applicable.

Now slap a Mustang sticker on it, and it'll be official!

 

[droptop73]

I replaced the strut rod bushings, changed the oil and cleaned the car up. Ready to go out for a ride.

Here's some 2year old rubber strut rod bushings from the 4 letter national chain.

 

[OLE PONY]

Wow, they look pretty rough for only two years old! Were they new-old-stock?

 

[droptop73]

I'm not sure, they charged me plenty though. Comparing them to the bushings I bought from CJ's I think they weren't even the proper bushings for my car. They did not have the plate and the shape was totally different. I did drive the car tonight and the new bushings made a huge difference.

Here's a couple of new (crappy cell phone) pics of the revised stance. And another shot of the old bushings.

 

[luxstang]

Hi Jeff,

the stance is way better this way. I did not wanna go there, but I always thought it was a little too low. Way better now! ::goodjob::

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

Finally got around to replacing lousy organic Raybestos front disc pads with EBC green pads (they have been sitting on my bench since Fall 2009). Did a 10 mile drive to begin break-in phase - they say it will be approx 100 miles before fully seated. Big difference already in stopping.

 

[droptop73]

Hi Jeff,

the stance is way better this way. I did not wanna go there, but I always thought it was a little too low. Way better now! ::goodjob::

Yeah Mike me too! LOL It was a pain pulling in and out of driveways dragging the front spoiler. I like the look much better. I got carried away when cutting the coils.

 

[Mach]

Hi Jeff,

the stance is way better this way. I did not wanna go there, but I always thought it was a little too low. Way better now! ::goodjob::

Yeah Mike me too! LOL It was a pain pulling in and out of driveways dragging the front spoiler. I like the look much better. I got carried away when cutting the coils.

Jeff, I am seriously planning to do the same thing (cut springs) and I sure don't want to go to much. Do you have any rule of thumb you learned when cutting yours? I really only want to drop 3/4" or so. 1" at the max. Any info would be good...

 

[mach71351c]

Hi Jeff,

the stance is way better this way. I did not wanna go there, but I always thought it was a little too low. Way better now! ::goodjob::

Yeah Mike me too! LOL It was a pain pulling in and out of driveways dragging the front spoiler. I like the look much better. I got carried away when cutting the coils.

Looks much better Jeff. I really like the boss black out on hood very nice

 

[URUGUAYAN_FASTBACK]

Hi Jeff,

the stance is way better this way. I did not wanna go there, but I always thought it was a little too low. Way better now! ::goodjob::

Yeah Mike me too! LOL It was a pain pulling in and out of driveways dragging the front spoiler. I like the look much better. I got carried away when cutting the coils.

Jeff, I am seriously planning to do the same thing (cut springs) and I sure don't want to go to much. Do you have any rule of thumb you learned when cutting yours? I really only want to drop 3/4" or so. 1" at the max. Any info would be good...

Hey!!!.. how are you mach1?.. (tell us your name or this sounds i´m saying hi to half of the forum )

You wont have any practical problem in cutting your springs... As ons of its ends is not "flatted" you can cut as much as you like...

I´m not a very fan of cutting springs person because the suspension tends to feel a lot harder when you do that...

My mustang is a I6 with V8 springs that i cutted a little more than a spin... I finally got the high of a factory car but it is hard as rock to drive in the city...

If you are planning on lowering just a little i suggests you start cutting not more than a half spin...

Good luck!

 

[droptop73]

Jeff, I am seriously planning to do the same thing (cut springs) and I sure don't want to go to much. Do you have any rule of thumb you learned when cutting yours? I really only want to drop 3/4" or so. 1" at the max. Any info would be good...

It's all math. Determine the length of the control arm then the distance from the inside pivot to the center of the spring perch. If this distance is 1/2 of the total you will get 2 times the drop as the vertical amount cut from the spring. Measure the spring with the car's weight on the spring, you want the distance between the coil center lines (top of one coil to the top of the next). Then you can determine how much coil to cut. If you have 1" loaded spacing between coils and you want 3/4" drop you can simply cut 3/4 of a coil.

Damian, you are correct on the spring getting stiffer. Think of it this way, if your spring has 10 total coils and you cut one off, the spring becomes 10% stiffer. There are less coils to absorb deflection.

My advice is to cut the spring off with a cut-off wheel in a grinder, there is less heat transfer in the metal this way as opposed to a cutting torch (gas axe).

I hope this helps. I am reluctant to tell you to cut "X" number of coils because each car and springs are different.

 

[URUGUAYAN_FASTBACK]

Jeff, I am seriously planning to do the same thing (cut springs) and I sure don't want to go to much. Do you have any rule of thumb you learned when cutting yours? I really only want to drop 3/4" or so. 1" at the max. Any info would be good...

It's all math. Determine the length of the control arm then the distance from the inside pivot to the center of the spring perch. If this distance is 1/2 of the total you will get 2 times the drop as the vertical amount cut from the spring. Measure the spring with the car's weight on the spring, you want the distance between the coil center lines (top of one coil to the top of the next). Then you can determine how much coil to cut. If you have 1" loaded spacing between coils and you want 3/4" drop you can simply cut 3/4 of a coil.

Damian, you are correct on the spring getting stiffer. Think of it this way, if your spring has 10 total coils and you cut one off, the spring becomes 10% stiffer. There are less coils to absorb deflection.

My advice is to cut the spring off with a cut-off wheel in a grinder, there is less heat transfer in the metal this way as opposed to a cutting torch (gas axe).

I hope this helps. I am reluctant to tell you to cut "X" number of coils because each car and springs are different.

I cut them that way and yes, i understand the less coils, the more shiftness... Besides, my car has a wrong set of 8 cylinder car springs so, it is even more shifter...

I think if he cut just a little bit, it wont harm at all but i recomend no more than 1,5 coil cutted... It is just my opinion

 

[Sprintsportsroof]

New gas tank is in and boy did it make a difference. Took the car North of town (90 mile stretch of road without a single tree or a town ) It ran flawlessly. I know the horse power is rated at around 266 for the 351c, 4v, CJ, but it HAS to have more than that......

PS: And a new Temperature sending unit which did the trick!

 

[Steven Harris]

New gas tank is in and boy did it make a difference. Took the car North of town (90 mile stretch of road without a single tree or a town ) It ran flawlessly. I know the horse power is rated at around 266 for the 351c, 4v, CJ, but it HAS to have more than that......

Sounds like a good place to let a Mustang stretch her legs. I'll be right over.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Just got back from Detroit to a couple of surprises. My gallon of Rust Bullet Black Coat showed up last week, along with a remote passenger side mirror from a Mustang II that I won on eBay. I know I mentioned wanting to have remote control mirrors a long time ago, and figured that since the M-II mirrors look the same, maybe I could make one work.

Also discovered that my wife won an auction for a set of remote control sport mirrors (both sides) from a '71-'73 Torino (or whatever) that look identical to our mirrors. Can't wait til they show up - should be able to just bolt them on and have control of both mirrors now.

Now, I just gotta get my front clip back from the 'blaster next week and get to applying the Rust Bullet. Gettin' closer to the front end swap... shouldn't be more than another 3 weeks or so.

I was hoping to go to the Henry Ford museum and get some pics of all the awesome Mustangs and other cool cars, but the automotive section was closed for renovation until November. Boooo.