old mustang and falcon suspension

[oddball383]

I have a 65 ford ranchero. I plan on 17x8 rims for the front and 17x11 on the rear. All tucked up in the body, and only be 4.5" off the ground.

Is the front suspension worth saving or should I go with a mustang 2 suspension. Are there any other ideas like an even newer suspension. I want to corner as hard as it will accelerate.

Then what do i change the rear leaf springs to. Total Control Products has a neat rear suspension but $5000 is a little pricey. Do you have any other ideas.

[EvolutionMotorsport]

I have a 65 ford ranchero. I plan on 17x8 rims for the front and 17x11 on the rear. All tucked up in the body, and only be 4.5" off the ground.

Is the front suspension worth saving or should I go with a mustang 2 suspension. Are there any other ideas like an even newer suspension. I want to corner as hard as it will accelerate.

Then what do i change the rear leaf springs to. Total Control Products has a neat rear suspension but $5000 is a little pricey. Do you have any other ideas.

We have a Watts link available for the older Mustangs that should work with your application. By the end of the Summer, we should have a 3 Link kit to go along with it.

Thanks...Mike

[MichaelUser]

Having a couple of Mustangs and a Ranchero I would hold out for a while and save the money for the Total Kit for the front. It's worth the cash and you can keep the integrity of the coil buckets. They take up some space, but are strong for a SBF motor. The stock rear leafs are really pretty good for a Ranchero. Set up corrrectly they will work fine for most driving habits. Are you running a sway bar and adjustable end links in the rear? What stocks?

Funny thing about the old "Falcon" suspension is that most new cars use a very simlar design of coils with shocks and LCA and UCA. The problem with the Ford was the coil put to much pressure on the coil bucket spring perch shock mount thingy. Once the bushings were worn out about 40k miles and then the car was horrible to drive. Then there was the steering. I think the Falcon and Mustangs are slightly different. The steering boxes don't interchange. Call Total and see what they say.

The Mustang II is okay but very light duty. It gives you the room but really weekens the unibody structure. There are a few companies that have coil over for the stock Mustang set-up, but I am not sure for the Falcon/Ranchero.

Good luck

MPQ

[Aussie]

:secret:

You might want to have a poke around on this web site

http://www.rrs-online.com.au/index.php

[MichaelUser]

:secret:

You might want to have a poke around on this web site

http://www.rrs-online.com.au/index.php


That's frickin' sano. To bad no Mopar stuff.


MPQ

[alcino]

If you are on a budget I would first try new poly bushings from p-s-t.com. Just getting the slop out makes a world of difference this includes steering, so if your box is sloppy try to refresh it(don't worry about getting rack and pinion a good tight steering box and links will do just as well). Then maybe you can look into the Shelby mod, don't know if it works on the falcon/rancheros, but I assume that setup is similar to the 64-66 mustangs.

But seriously, if you want to corner like mad on a budget just buy some "R" compound style tires like toyo RA1's. They can take a crappy setup and make it compete and often beat well setup cars on street tires. Sure the tires only last 10k miles but with my small 15x8 wheels, tires are cheap($130 each). Those big wheels look cool but hurt every time you have to reskin them plus the extra weight actually slows down the car and eats horse power from the added inertia.