Suspension Upgrades – Building a 1969 Mustang 302 Restomod

Old leaf spring bushings

needed to be replaced. Getting the old ones out is a real chore. I ended up drilling lots of holes through them and then breaking out chunks with a screwdriver

Air adjustable shock absorbers

Behind the leaf spring shackle you see a massive air adjustable shock absorber. I'm not sure why these were necessary. The car had a trailer hitch when I got it so maybe the previous owner was hauling heavy loads? The air lines were all dry rotted so the shocks didn't do much "absorbing".

Leaf spring lowering kit

My local Advance Auto had a generic 2" lowering block kit that looked like it would work. It had been returned previously and the box was barely intact so the clerk offered a discount. I found out later that it was missing one nut and lock washer. Nothing a quick trip to the hardware store couldn't fix.

Stance

With the lowering blocks installed, the car no longer had a jacked up 4x4 stance. With the negative rake, it looked more like a "gasser". Front suspension mods coming soon.

Rear view with lowering blocks installed

This was a generic kit so the U bolts were oversized and needed to be cut down. Here, the right side has been trimmed and painted.

Opportunities missed

I missed a great opportunity to clean and paint the axle while the leaf springs were off. I didn't have the new poly bushings when the kit was installed so I had to take the springs off a second time. Once again, I missed a good chance to paint the axle.

Now the front needs to be lowered.

Still sitting a little high.

I'd like to drop the rear another inch. The fuel tank is empty so maybe a full tank will drop it down some more.

Rock Auto Santa arrived!

I ordered parts to rebuild the front suspension and rear drum brakes. included in the order: front & rear KYB shocks, coil spring seats, heavy duty coil springs, upper control arm ball joints and shaft kit, lower control arms, strut rod bushings, stabilizer bar links and bushings, drum brake rebuild kit and new drums.

Coil spring compressor

There are too many stories of coil spring compressors failing and causing serious injury and death. This is one place where it is critical to use the right tool for the job. Many mustang owners recommended a tool fabricated by ebay user "tommyzees"

Coil spring compressor

This tool mounts to the shock tower and spring perch just like a shock absorber. As you tighten the nut against the thrust washer, the coil spring is compressed. Supported by a jack under the lower control arm, the spring perch is unbolted from the upper control arm.

Coil spring compressor

The spring is further compressed until the upper control arm can be unbolted from the frame and rotated out of the way. At this point, the spring can be decompressed fully and safely removed.

Coil spring removed

At all times while the spring is compressed, it is captured by the tool. If the spring were to somehow slip off the perch, it still could not "spring" free.

New vs old coil springs

The new spring is shorter but stiffer. The final ride height will actually be higher with the new springs.

Measuring for lowered ride height

This may not be the right way to go about this but it seemed better than guessing. I wanted about a 2.5 inch drop. With the new spring installed and supporting the weight of the car, I marked the coil at the point where it measured 2.5 inches from the top.

Cutting the spring

The spring was then removed and cut at the mark. In this case, the spring was shortened by 1 1/3 coils.

Shelby drop

While the springs were off, I replaced the lower control arms, upper ball joints, stabilizer links and bushings. I also relocated the mounting points for the upper control arm one inch lower. See: http://dazecars.com/dazed/drop.html for more info.

Final height

This is a bit higher than I intended but I decided to wait a bit and let the suspension settle before cutting again. Good thing I did...the suspension has now settled to the perfect ride height