Have any of you installed these and if so... A) Have you seen any improvements? B) Is there a reliable source for this product you would buy from again?
I put a set on my 68 Cougar. it definitely takes the bumps smoother. All of the roads in Jersey suck, potholes, bad paving, huge crowns, etc... but the perches allowed the front end to react quicker so it's not as bone garring. Build them yourself, i did. It's not that hard. Google "Daze Cars", he has instructions on his site on how to build them and sells the basic parts to convert the set you have now. I bought my bearings off Evilbay and the tubing locally. I have enough bearings for about 24 sets, now I just have to find another 20 classic Fords I want to own
Ok, I was also looking into the upper a-arm drop while I have the front end apart. I wasn't sure which template would work and I sent him an email. He said if it's the early template the bolts would be 3.75" center to center, if it's the later template they would be 4.75". He also cautioned that in 1971 ford incorporated the change into Mustangs from the factory and I should check clearances on the ball joint before doing it to make sure it wasn't also done factory on the Maverick. I measured the bolts on my car and they are 4.75" apart so I assume I would need the later template which is simply a 1" drop (no 1/8" back offset). My question is how can you be sure that the ball joint won't bottom out before doing the drop? I have new upper ball joints to install as well. Does anyone sell a shim kit to correct for the angle change? I did a search on the forum, but I've found posts that refer to using both the early and late template. Just trying to sift through all the info and make sure I don't mess anything up.
I just did the 1" drop on my 68 Cougar (which is essentially the same upper arm as a Maverick) and have done it on my Mustangs and Falcon. It makes a differnce in handling that is immediately noticable. One caution tough, and this applies to the upper ball joint, if you cut your coils to get teh desired ride height I would use a wedge under the ball joint. I cut 1 coil out of the Cougar and I've noticed that the ball joint looks close to it's limits during minimal suspension compression (bouncing the car while parked). I'm going to add wedges to be safe. There is some great information here http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=22070 on the drop and the possible side effects on the caster by dropping the arm down 1" with no rearward movement. Pro-motorsports sells wedge kits but they're not cheap. I borrowed one from a friend years ago and had three sets copied at a machine shop for my Mustangs and Falcon. So far (12 years on one Stang and 8 on the Falcon) no problems.
Our cars use the same geometry as the 70 Mustang. Use the late template to do the drop. With a 1" drop, no wedge is needed. If you move to the 1 3/4" drop, you will need the wedge. The amount of drop at the spring also affects the ball joints. If you slam the car with radically cut springs, you have to worry about ball joint bind, strut rod hitting the frame, lower control arm hitting the frame. All these conditions will create an unsafe ride. The Shelby drop is done primarily for better handling, not to drop the front end.
I followed the development of the ones that Open Tracker sales back when I was working on my 65 Fastback. There's a lot of information on his stuff over on the Vintage-Mustang Forum. He certainly has several satisfied customers and I would have had a set, but their a little on the expensive side. He has offered several group buys over there as well, but I've since gotten rid of the 65. - Matt http://www.opentrackerracingproducts.com/
