1965 Front Suspension

[Fomoco65]

Hey folks, I'm new to the forum and was hoping to get some advice. I've got a 1965 coupe project I'm working on. Now it's just a roller and needs everything. Just got all the for the rear suspension and am now looking for the front suspension. I was wondering if it's possible to put an independent front suspension, such as a mustang 2 style, in my 65. And if so, if there are any companies out there who sell such a kit. Any help is greatly appreciated and I thank you all in advance!

 

[horse sence]

Mustang II type kits are every where out there ,Get a catalog for any of the big vendor and you will find what your are looking for . Heits ,TCI ,Fat Man ,and several others .

 

[Social]

Can someone recommend a person or shop that can do the mustang 2 front suspension install on the Southern California area?

 

[tos]

Can someone recommend a person or shop that can do the mustang 2 front suspension install on the Southern California area?

Best thing is to find the local ford and mustang clubs and someone there can steer you in the right direction or someone in the club would be able to do it. These clubs usually have many members that don't or cant work on cars and rely on others in the club that do the work for them.

 

[Social]

Best thing is to find the local ford and mustang clubs and someone there can steer you in the right direction or someone in the club would be able to do it. These clubs usually have many members that don't or cant work on cars and rely on others in the club that do the work for them.

Fantastic thank you.

 

[horse sence]

Stang-aholics in Tera bella Ca. They are about 30 miles north of Bakersfield

 

[rbohm]

OP, before you go buying a mustang ll front suspension kit, and having it installed, and spending all that money for not much, if any, gain in performance, start with operntracker racing and check out his parts selection, and get his advice on building the original style front suspension. the original suspension just needs a few tweaks to make big differences in performance. little things like roller bearing spring perches, roller bearing lower control arms, and adjustable roller bearing strut rods make a huge difference in the suspensions feel. add to that the arning/shelby drop, a 1" front sway bar, and opentrackers blueprinted upper arms, and a set of koni or bilstein shocks, and you have some serious performance for a lot less money than a mustang ll suspension.

the nice thing about the stock type suspension is that you dont have to cut up the chassis to install it, and you dont have to change the load path either.

 

[WORTH]

OP, before you go buying a mustang ll front suspension kit, and having it installed, and spending all that money for not much, if any, gain in performance, start with operntracker racing and check out his parts selection, and get his advice on building the original style front suspension. the original suspension just needs a few tweaks to make big differences in performance. little things like roller bearing spring perches, roller bearing lower control arms, and adjustable roller bearing strut rods make a huge difference in the suspensions feel. add to that the arning/shelby drop, a 1" front sway bar, and opentrackers blueprinted upper arms, and a set of koni or bilstein shocks, and you have some serious performance for a lot less money than a mustang ll suspension.

the nice thing about the stock type suspension is that you dont have to cut up the chassis to install it, and you dont have to change the load path either.

Only if you stay with Manual steering, if you have factory PS, the valve is going to feel sloppy no matter what you do with the rest of the suspension. It's just the nature of the beast. Doesn't bother me I grew up with it, but a lot of folks like the feel of rack and pinion.

 

[Rusty67]

What is your goal for the car? Are you trying to make a daily driver or a track car? Something in between? Are you more in the San Diego area or the LA area?

 

[Social]

What is your goal for the car? Are you trying to make a daily driver or a track car? Something in between? Are you more in the San Diego area or the LA area?

I live in the LA area about 120miles from SD. And yes I'm looking to convert to a daily driver. I have a 351W under the hood which make turning with the manual steering a chore. So I'm swapping out the entire front suspension and manual steering to and cutting the wheel wells to make it easier to service and drive.

 

[Rusty67]

Again, this all depends on budget but there are a lot of ways to make day to day life with the car easier. I'm not a fan of rack and pinion steering in the classics because you get a worse turning radius but the factory power steering system is a total mess. I don't know if they ever got it done but these guys were working on a power steering box that was an all in one unit:
http://www.classicperform.com

Might want to give them a call and see if they ever got it done. If you want to go with a rack and pinion, there are a few options out there and these days I'm not sure who makes the best one. I have a friend that has the TCP rack in his 68 and he is happy with it overall but he also got a very nice/expensive aftermarket power steering pump from KRC to go along with it.

I'm also not a fan of the Mustang 2 style front suspension. You could notch the stock shock towers and put the Boss shock tower kit in to gain some more space in the engine bay. I have another friend with a 66 and a 351w in there and I know it is rather tight to get to the spark plugs. If you do go to the MII style suspension you can remove a lot more of the shock tower but I'm not sure it is all that necessary.