Planning a build - Suspension & other considerations

[funbnme]

I'm currently looking for a 65-70 Mustang Fastback.

I've done a couple of projects in the past and am trying to learn from my mistakes.

I had a 69 Camaro that I bought from a shop and had them do a bunch of work on it. If I had known more at the time, I would have had them do a pro-touring suspension instead of keeping the stock stuff (should have gotten that for what I paid for the car).

I also did a project where I took a 52 Dodge Truck and rebuilt the whole thing (complete with a big 354 Hemi swap), but got bored driving it. I'd look in the garage and have the choice of my FFR Cobra or the Dodge Truck...the Cobra always won. Probably would have enjoyed it more if I had upgraded the suspension instead of putting all the money into the Hemi (but the cool factor of the Hemi just got to me).

This time, I want a car that I will drive a lot...so I'm going for a pro-tour setup. While I look for a car to buy, I'm also trying to put a plan together of what I want in it - and what all that will cost. I know budgets are tough...plan your budget, then double or triple it is the rule. But I need a starting point to work with. By having a good plan at the beginning, I'm hoping to stop myself from spending $45k on a car that's worth $30k when I'm done.

The suspension options are killing me. I've read tons about the Ridetech stuff, but can't really find any articles or posts where there's a comparison of their AirRide vs. Coil-Overs. Pricing on comparable systems seems pretty close...but the Street to Track stuff is about the most expensive I'm looking at (although their stuff appears to be well designed). DSE stuff is out of my price range. Anyone know of a post with some comparisons of AirRide vs. Coil-Overs.

This car won't see track time or auto-cross really. Maybe an HPDE event...but I have the Cobra for that type of stuff. The Mustang would be used for spirited street driving on the twisty roads here in North Carolina. I guess I want a vintage mustang that feels like a BMW or like my 911 (maybe even just a bit softer since you do feel every bump in the 911 because of the low profile tires).

Here's the options spreadsheet I'm putting together...what other stuff am I missing or should I be looking at for Pro-Touring on a budget? I'm putting it together so I can allocate which items will be needed depending on what car I start out with (for example, if the car I get has a good engine/trans, then I don't need to spend money on a rebuild...etc).

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/01/ProTourBudget_zps1jnlx3e0-1.jpg

[bret]

Hey Dan...I am also a huge fan of 69-70 Mustangs...got 4 of them right now, including a silver 69 that I run in the Goodguys and Optima series. These cars respond well to bolt-on modifications. The products that we offer at RideTech were developed and refined on my own car via years of autocross, road course, and street driving. If you have ever seen that car run at Goodguys or Optima, I think the performance speaks for itself. As for the difference between air and coilover...my Mustang has always been and still is on ShockWaves. I understand that some people consider air suspension a handicap for hard core performance. I consider it almost an unfair advantage. I can fine tune ride height and spring rate a the touch of a button to accommodate different track configuration, track surface, or street driving. I will admit that I may have more experience with air suspension than most, so my success probably reflects that, but anyone who wants to work with tuning their car can achieve the same or even better results. The downside of an air suspension is that it is a bit more expensive due to the cost of the compressor system.
For a car that will only see track time, or for the owner who wants simplicity, coilovers are a great way to go. You loose some convenience, but you can truly achieve serious track performance with an acceptable ride quality for some cost savings over an air suspension.
As for a true back-to-back direct comparison between ShockWaves and coilovers on the same car...I have not done that. But I have run over some pretty potent coilover cars with ShockWaves :)

[funbnme]

Thanks Bret…you'll notice I have your AirRide as my first choice. A lot depends on what car I wind up getting as my starting point and making sure I can swing it with the budget.