As some of you know, my 1989 5.0 Coupe was stolen last April. Got it back at the end of August but there wasn't much left of it. Well yesterday, thanks to my friend Paul, the biggest obstacle was overcome. Finally got the rear end back in the car! Here is how it went:
First of all, it's kind of tough to get anything done when you have nothing to go on. So, I bought the bolts for it ahead of time... unbeknownst to me, they were the wrong ones... also, no nuts so, I ran around for the first few hours trying to get what I needed. Fortunately, I had a friend that has 5 GALLON PAINT BUCKETS full of Mustang bolts. So he had the extra long bolt I needed for the lower control arm. Also, Autozone had the nuts... 12MM 1.75
Made sure everything was right before putting the rear end in position:
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View attachment 232846
Because yeah, it's not easy to lift with one guy and one girl. Of course my friend Paul did all the REAL lugging!
Then put in the shocks:
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They just bolted right in!! Got non-adjustables because I don't want to have to futz with a whole lot. One of these days, if I change my mind, I go for broke and buy a sweet set. For now though, the KYBs will be just fine.
Then slid the rear end into place... thank goodness had two jacks as it made the job way easier.
Found that bolting in the upper and lower control arms to the car first was the easiest way to go. Started with the uppers:
View attachment 232851
Then moved to the lowers. Also, got Energy Suspension rear spring isolator kit... good stuff. Can't WAIT to get the Master kit! Used the jack to move everything up into place, then bolted it in.
View attachment 232852
Bolted in the shocks:
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Then the sway bar:
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BAM!! DONE!! It's a car again!
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HALLE FRIGGIN LUUUU YA!! It still has no breaks but hey, small steps! I am just ECSTATIC it's out of the front yard, and off blocks!! **cabbage patch**
I need to clean up the rear end a little bit... had some guys lay down some tile and they were MESSY!! I hope it'll come off. I gotta say, that having no trunk in it, made this job a LOT easier! IT was also a lot less complicated than I thought it would be. Now on to getting a trunk welded back in it!
Next weekend, gonna hit a couple of junk yards and try and find something.
To be continued...
First of all, it's kind of tough to get anything done when you have nothing to go on. So, I bought the bolts for it ahead of time... unbeknownst to me, they were the wrong ones... also, no nuts so, I ran around for the first few hours trying to get what I needed. Fortunately, I had a friend that has 5 GALLON PAINT BUCKETS full of Mustang bolts. So he had the extra long bolt I needed for the lower control arm. Also, Autozone had the nuts... 12MM 1.75
Made sure everything was right before putting the rear end in position:
View attachment 232845
View attachment 232846
Because yeah, it's not easy to lift with one guy and one girl. Of course my friend Paul did all the REAL lugging!
Then put in the shocks:
View attachment 232847
View attachment 232848
View attachment 232849
View attachment 232850
They just bolted right in!! Got non-adjustables because I don't want to have to futz with a whole lot. One of these days, if I change my mind, I go for broke and buy a sweet set. For now though, the KYBs will be just fine.
Then slid the rear end into place... thank goodness had two jacks as it made the job way easier.
Found that bolting in the upper and lower control arms to the car first was the easiest way to go. Started with the uppers:
View attachment 232851
Then moved to the lowers. Also, got Energy Suspension rear spring isolator kit... good stuff. Can't WAIT to get the Master kit! Used the jack to move everything up into place, then bolted it in.
View attachment 232852
Bolted in the shocks:
View attachment 232853
Then the sway bar:
View attachment 232854
View attachment 232855
BAM!! DONE!! It's a car again!
View attachment 232856
HALLE FRIGGIN LUUUU YA!! It still has no breaks but hey, small steps! I am just ECSTATIC it's out of the front yard, and off blocks!! **cabbage patch**
I need to clean up the rear end a little bit... had some guys lay down some tile and they were MESSY!! I hope it'll come off. I gotta say, that having no trunk in it, made this job a LOT easier! IT was also a lot less complicated than I thought it would be. Now on to getting a trunk welded back in it!
Next weekend, gonna hit a couple of junk yards and try and find something.
To be continued...