65fastbackresto
Active Member
Opentracker
Used to have a link on building your own roller perches, they might still be there, not sure.
Used to have a link on building your own roller perches, they might still be there, not sure.
Shelby drop worth doing?
- Thread starter robbz28
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skywalker
Member
No way in hell.
I have a 1.5 inch drop on mine and got no noticeable ride height difference. 2 inches would be very noticeable. It would also be impossible - a shelby drop is 1". Lowing the arm 1" can't give you a 2" ride height drop.
You'll get some drop, but not much - the upper arm is lower, but the top of the spindle is not, so basically you have a sharper angle and the back end of the arm is lower than before but the outer end is the same as before. Can't get much of a drop out of that.
I know this is an older thread but I happened on it doing a search so I am adding my two cents. I have a 68 GT350. I redid the front end with OpenTracker Racing's upper and lower control arms and the stiff, shorter, performance springs. Ironically those shorter springs took my front end up two inches from the tired, old stock springs.
John at OTR recommended the mid eye 4.5 leaf springs in the rear. Turned out on my car the rear ended up an inch lower than the front. So I cut off 1/2 coil spring on the front. Dropped the front about another inch. I had 245 60R15's all around on the Shelby 10 spokes rims. Front tires rubbed first dip I hit. Swapped those tires for 215/65R15's. (which is closer to the stock size tires) an inch narrower and I/2 inch shorter. Front tires don't rub now. During this process my power booster went out so I ended up replacing that, the master cylinder and added Wilwood 4 piston front discs. The car sits a good inch or more lower than stock, and about another 1/2 an inch lower in the front. Left the wider 245's on the rear. How does it handle? Great. It is so tight now. It does what I ask it to. Honestly, before it was not much fun to drive. I had a close call coming back from a car show this spring that motivated me to finish the conversion. I was going into a ramp with a large curve going under the road I was heading to. I couldn't see the traffic ahead of me. All of a sudden traffic stopped in front of me. It was a stop now or else deal. I got it stopped but the car shifted to the right towards the wall of the ramp under the hard braking. There was no time to panic.
I had gotten to the point of only driving my Mustang to shows. I didn't like the handling or the braking. Now I can't wait to have an excuse to drive it.
This is a street car so I did NOT do the Shelby Drop. I did use alignment specs from John at OTR. I also have the spring perches and the adjustable strut rods. Let's just say this combination gave me an amazing difference in how it handles. You couldn't have convinced me how this would improve the handling before I did this and expect me to believe you.
Lessons here? Replace those old suspension parts. They get tired and don't perform like you need them to, especially the braking system. Don't trust you or your Mustang to worn out, tired parts. Upgrade the braking. You want it to go but you need it to stop. I discovered the classic Wilwood set are no more expensive (and cheaper in some cases) than those other Kelsey Hayes copies. And they look cool. But more importantly they are superior brakes. Ask Shelby American, they replace the Brembo brakes on the new GT Mustang with Wilwood 6 piston discs.
Here is another observation since I did these changes. My GT350 is red so it stands out in the crowd. But there is something more subtle to it now. The stance and how it sits lower makes it appear more attractive or something. People have always come up to me and commented on the car but lately I really think the change in the stance draws even more people to tell me how "cool" my car is. I was tweaking the Holley this morning and a guy mowing the yard next door came over to tell me it was the nicest looking car he'd ever seen. I did not get those kind of comments before the drop in height.
I've taken it to two shows so far this season, I won 2nd in my class at my club's Ford show. A Red street GT 40 took first. The second was a show for all kinds of cars. I took 3rd. Funny that the cool, highly modified Chevy Nomad and the Hudson that took 1st and 2nd were also red cars. Popular vote in both shows. I have been to both of these shows before many times and never won anything.
So drop you car an inch or so. Easiest way to do that is replace that tired, old suspension parts with shorter performance coil springs and a lower rear leaf. And be aware of how wide your tires are as compared to your fenders.
John at OTR recommended the mid eye 4.5 leaf springs in the rear. Turned out on my car the rear ended up an inch lower than the front. So I cut off 1/2 coil spring on the front. Dropped the front about another inch. I had 245 60R15's all around on the Shelby 10 spokes rims. Front tires rubbed first dip I hit. Swapped those tires for 215/65R15's. (which is closer to the stock size tires) an inch narrower and I/2 inch shorter. Front tires don't rub now. During this process my power booster went out so I ended up replacing that, the master cylinder and added Wilwood 4 piston front discs. The car sits a good inch or more lower than stock, and about another 1/2 an inch lower in the front. Left the wider 245's on the rear. How does it handle? Great. It is so tight now. It does what I ask it to. Honestly, before it was not much fun to drive. I had a close call coming back from a car show this spring that motivated me to finish the conversion. I was going into a ramp with a large curve going under the road I was heading to. I couldn't see the traffic ahead of me. All of a sudden traffic stopped in front of me. It was a stop now or else deal. I got it stopped but the car shifted to the right towards the wall of the ramp under the hard braking. There was no time to panic.
I had gotten to the point of only driving my Mustang to shows. I didn't like the handling or the braking. Now I can't wait to have an excuse to drive it.
This is a street car so I did NOT do the Shelby Drop. I did use alignment specs from John at OTR. I also have the spring perches and the adjustable strut rods. Let's just say this combination gave me an amazing difference in how it handles. You couldn't have convinced me how this would improve the handling before I did this and expect me to believe you.
Lessons here? Replace those old suspension parts. They get tired and don't perform like you need them to, especially the braking system. Don't trust you or your Mustang to worn out, tired parts. Upgrade the braking. You want it to go but you need it to stop. I discovered the classic Wilwood set are no more expensive (and cheaper in some cases) than those other Kelsey Hayes copies. And they look cool. But more importantly they are superior brakes. Ask Shelby American, they replace the Brembo brakes on the new GT Mustang with Wilwood 6 piston discs.
Here is another observation since I did these changes. My GT350 is red so it stands out in the crowd. But there is something more subtle to it now. The stance and how it sits lower makes it appear more attractive or something. People have always come up to me and commented on the car but lately I really think the change in the stance draws even more people to tell me how "cool" my car is. I was tweaking the Holley this morning and a guy mowing the yard next door came over to tell me it was the nicest looking car he'd ever seen. I did not get those kind of comments before the drop in height.
I've taken it to two shows so far this season, I won 2nd in my class at my club's Ford show. A Red street GT 40 took first. The second was a show for all kinds of cars. I took 3rd. Funny that the cool, highly modified Chevy Nomad and the Hudson that took 1st and 2nd were also red cars. Popular vote in both shows. I have been to both of these shows before many times and never won anything.
So drop you car an inch or so. Easiest way to do that is replace that tired, old suspension parts with shorter performance coil springs and a lower rear leaf. And be aware of how wide your tires are as compared to your fenders.
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