65' Mustang Fastback Project "Racesteed"

[bikefreak600]

4'' cowl hood from Glasstek

[67cougnut]

When looking at suspension kits I looked at this CPP kit, How do you adjust for caster?

[ochohill]

Do your wheels clear the calipers?

[bikefreak600]

When looking at suspension kits I looked at this CPP kit, How do you adjust for caster?

the front lower arm is on a slot and it came with centric eliminator kit that locks it in place. I will try it out, if I am not happy with it I will cut off the bushings and weld in threaded bungs & rod ends. I have the kit installed it moves freely, zero binding. so far I am very impressed with it. this kit is worlds better than the strut rod design. i did quick test using magnetic angle finder on the spindle out of the box with no shims i have 4 degree neg camber, also while cycling the arms through the entire suspension range camber changes only half a degree (.5''), i am still learning how alignment setting affect a car, i am under the impression that the less it changes the better correct ? btw i did not measure castor angle.

the biggest reason that made me choose this kit is because i do not like the strut rod design. this kit keeps the lower arm pivoting on the same axis, as a true double arm design does, i also wanted to keep the shock towers for chassy strength. the cpp kit has the benefits of both designs, a double a-arm & chassy rigidity also uses a long shock mounted on the lower arm allowing for more suspension travel. originally i had plans to fabricate my own adjustable arms & struts, the cpp kit cost just a little more than all the materials to make my own. choosing this kit was a easy decision.

[bikefreak600]

Do your wheels clear the calipers?

i have not gotten that far yet. i just got the cpp arms installed. i am in the process of fabricating the coil over mounts, then i will make fake shocks of wood or steel tubing to get the car on the ground and mount the wheels and start checking for clearances. everyone who uses the cobra brake kit says 17'' wheels fit..... i doubt there will be any issues ! i have Coys c67's with tires already mounted waiting to go on the car. i love the look and have my heart set on using these wheels. lol. if the cobra brakes do not fit i will be buying different brakes lol

[chetly]

Did you happen to look at Maier Racing for suspension? Mike is running 18x11's with 315's on all 4 corners. Seeing the work that your doing, it wouldn't be any trouble at all to do the same thing...

[ranger2339]

Very cool thread. Currently looking for a fastback chassis myself.. Will be following this closely.

[65 Fastback]

Subscribed!

[bikefreak600]

Did you happen to look at Maier Racing for suspension? Mike is running 18x11's with 315's on all 4 corners. Seeing the work that your doing, it wouldn't be any trouble at all to do the same thing...

i like there suspension parts. however, the only thing i did not like is they require the shocks to be mounted to the upper control arm. that is not the direction i wanted to go. mounting coilovers on the lower arm give the shock much more leverage, giving better feedback, also a benefit of using a longer shock & lower spring rate. shock on the lower arm also takes stress away from the upper balljoint. i would love to run 315/255 or so tires, i already have brand new wheels & tires though. hopefully in the future i will easily be able to use a wider setup when i start road racing this. all in due time i guess.

[bikefreak600]

this car should be much further along, but i have to divide spending money between hobbies lol. i have to pinch pennies with this project. i guess that is why i am trying to stick with the theme of using as much fabricated parts as possible, and using off the shelf parts as the benefits over-weigh the cost. i put the car on the back burner for most of 2013 while i was building another dream machine i have always wanted... a vintage harley chopper, 1975 harley davidson ironhead.

i built this project the very same way, doing all the work myself & fabricating everything by hand. all metal work, paint & mechanical did myself ( except the engine machine work). the engine is a 1256cc stroker, making 70.4 hp & 74 lbtq @ rear wheel. has S&S stroker kit, S&S super E carb, ported heads w/stainless valves, sifton racing cams, crane electronic ignition, bandit racing clutch.
bike when i bought it....


after 8 months of late nights in the garage....

[Auto Rod Technologies]

Quite the project.. Should look killer when finished.

[67cougnut]

im seeing the slot for the LCA for camber adjustment, but am still not seeing an adjustment for camber. replacing the strut rod design would mean that there should be caster adjustment since thats where it originally took place on the car. do you have any other pics? a friend of mine is looking at the the kit and when him and I looked at it we cant seem to find any caster adjustment. does the upper arm bolt in the stock location OR is it on some sort of adjustable plate?

the front lower arm is on a slot and it came with centric eliminator kit that locks it in place. I will try it out, if I am not happy with it I will cut off the bushings and weld in threaded bungs & rod ends. I have the kit installed it moves freely, zero binding. so far I am very impressed with it. this kit is worlds better than the strut rod design. i did quick test using magnetic angle finder on the spindle out of the box with no shims i have 4 degree neg camber, also while cycling the arms through the entire suspension range camber changes only half a degree (.5''), i am still learning how alignment setting affect a car, i am under the impression that the less it changes the better correct ? btw i did not measure castor angle.

the biggest reason that made me choose this kit is because i do not like the strut rod design. this kit keeps the lower arm pivoting on the same axis, as a true double arm design does, i also wanted to keep the shock towers for chassy strength. the cpp kit has the benefits of both designs, a double a-arm & chassy rigidity also uses a long shock mounted on the lower arm allowing for more suspension travel. originally i had plans to fabricate my own adjustable arms & struts, the cpp kit cost just a little more than all the materials to make my own. choosing this kit was a easy decision.

[705.0Merc]

I have the same feelings about keeping the shock towers as you. I am looking at the same control arm kit you purchased. I am interested to see how you fab the control arms for the coilovers.

[Yellow66]

i have not gotten that far yet. i just got the cpp arms installed. i am in the process of fabricating the coil over mounts, then i will make fake shocks of wood or steel tubing to get the car on the ground and mount the wheels and start checking for clearances. everyone who uses the cobra brake kit says 17'' wheels fit..... i doubt there will be any issues ! i have Coys c67's with tires already mounted waiting to go on the car. i love the look and have my heart set on using these wheels. lol. if the cobra brakes do not fit i will be buying different brakes lol

Caliper clearance shouldn't be a problem. I'm running Cobra brakes all around with Coys as well, 235/45/17 fronts, 255/45/17 rears on 17x8's. Hope to test them out this spring

[capri v8 driver]

Caster angle on first generation ’65-’66 Mustangs is adjusted with shims. Add or subtract shims fore or aft on the upper control arm to change caster. From ’67-’73, adjusting the strut rod fore or aft moves the lower control arm forward or back to change caster angle.

I used the CCP lower and upper suspension kit and I loved it.

[bikefreak600]

im seeing the slot for the LCA for camber adjustment, but am still not seeing an adjustment for camber. replacing the strut rod design would mean that there should be caster adjustment since thats where it originally took place on the car. do you have any other pics? a friend of mine is looking at the the kit and when him and I looked at it we cant seem to find any caster adjustment. does the upper arm bolt in the stock location OR is it on some sort of adjustable plate?

the upper arm uses the stock mounting holes. the arms are very nice, much nicer quality than i was expecting for the price. the slots in the lower arm front mount is what adjusts caster. i will do the shelby drop as well.

as for fitting the coil overs, i am cutting out the roller perch mounts on the upper arms to open up room for coil over to go through, there is plenty of room. i am welding lower coil over mounts on the lower arms. pretty simple process. i have the upper shock mounts already prototyped out of cardboard. just waiting for my replacement compressor pump to come in to start working again.,

[bikefreak600]

Caliper clearance shouldn't be a problem. I'm running Cobra brakes all around with Coys as well, 235/45/17 fronts, 255/45/17 rears on 17x8's. Hope to test them out this spring

i love this car ! i have seen this somewhere else on the web, do you have a link to any more pics ? bad ass coupe you have here !

[ochohill]

Is the lower ball joint designed to support the vehicles weight that way? The clearance issue with some wheels isn't the rim diameter, it's clearing the caliper that sticks out a bit beyond mounting surface.

[bikefreak600]

Is the lower ball joint designed to support the vehicles weight that way? The clearance issue with some wheels isn't the rim diameter, it's clearing the caliper that sticks out a bit beyond mounting surface.

well the lower arm uses the same design ball joint ring & mopar style screw in ball joint as the other brands that use lower arm mounted coil over. i do not see why it would not work. the lower ball joint is under less stress compared to the upper. that is one reason kits change the design to lower mount, amongst other benefits lol

[Yellow66]

i love this car ! i have seen this somewhere else on the web, do you have a link to any more pics ? bad ass coupe you have here !

Surprisingly, I didn't take many pictures as I've been building it. I've posted it over at VMF a few times. It was a completed car that i decided to put a T5 in that turned into new floors, torque boxes, convertible inner rockers, interior and engine compartment redo, etc... It's turned into a five year plus project. I'm actually working on a coil over setup myself that I hope to have completed soon. Maybe I'll remember to take some pix...... I included a pic of my other toy.