Mustang Strut IFS - Lengthening LCA's. Thoughts?

[Wesley J]

Hey Guys,

I'm doing what you could call trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear here but am looking for feedback.

I'm running Fat Man's Strut IFS kit on the front of my '67 Mustang. Its basically the strut/spindle setup out of an '03 Mustang. Overall construction isnt the best but I'm trying to make the best of it.

So, here's my plan that I'm looking to get feedback on. After doing Power Tour this year I got the car back up on jack stands to check everything out. As it turns out the LCA poly bushings are completely destroyed. You can move the wheel about 1/4-1/2" to the front/back of the car. I guess this explains my hunt and peck steering and the inability to get a consitent toe in setting.

My plan is to replace the ghetto bushings with spherical rod ends which arrived earlier in the week. I'm not worried about the potential "harshness" of the rod ends as my rear runs them and I dont find them noisy or rough at all. Anyway, due to the design of the LCA's I am running 1" wheel spacers which results in a significant scrub radius and the associated steering issues. I'd like to get rid of the spacers as then I'd be running the same back spacing as the suspension was originally designed for.

So, my plan is to essentially lengthen the LCA's but about an inch with the obvious adjustability that comes with running rod ends. I'm going to be installing a bump steer kit so I can easily account for the added length in my tie rods. Between the lower strut mount and the upper mount, I'll have no problems getting my recommended 0.5 degrees camber. And by actually pushing the spindle out I'll actually increase camber gain slightly.

I know that there are suspension gurus here so can anyone give me a good reason why I shouldnt do it?

Cheers,

Wes

[TBART70]

Are you using a stock design lower, TCP makes nice lowers with spherical bearings in them. I think Global West has them also. On the lenght question I can't answer that.

[Wesley J]

Its Fat Man LCA's specifically for their kit. Nothing like '67 Mustang LCA's.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/02/CIMG3333Large-1.jpg

[JRouche]

I like it!! Yup. I dont see any problems.. Sounds like something I would do. Any concerns? Just make sure to NOT extend the rod end threads out there too much. Try to keep at least one inch of threads in the control arm. Then you think, whats the adjustment? There is only two inches (if that) of threads on the rod ends. Yeah, if that. But keep at least and inch of threads in the arms. As tempting as it may be to push the rod ends out some to get a longer arm its not worth it. Keep at least an inch of threads buried in the arms. And yes, thats a full inch of threads, no cheating and counting the threads that are covered by the jamb nut. One inch of threads in the arm. JR

[Wesley J]

Ya, i completely agree on ensuring I have a significant amount of threads. I'm planning to build them to the existing geometry +1" with only about 1/4" - 1/2" of threads exposed. This will give me an good amount (1-2") of castor adjustment/wheel centering should I need to us it.

[Bryce]

after this mod how much of the original kit will you have left, haha!?

[Wesley J]

after this mod how much of the original kit will you have left, haha!?

After this mod, probably 75%. When I'm done, none of it....

I'm planning to build my jig tonight to get on with it.

I'm not going to update here so you can follow over in my build thread (https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65897).

Wes

[Wesley J]

In case anyone finds this and is looking for the info: https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showpost.php?p=707667&postcount=252