WHAT WOULD BE THE ADVANTAGE TO ROLLER SPRING PERCHES IN OUR CARS??? I MEAN, WOULD IT HONESTLY BE WORTH THE TIME TO DO IT ON A STREET CAR? OR ANY CAR FOR THAT MATTER...
From what I've read on a few mustang boards,they say the roller perches seem to tighten up the front end.+ no more deformed rubber,and no squeeks.For the price that they go for I'll stick to the stock one's.
They allow the shock to travel up and down in a vertical plane without binding. Find original 60-63 Falcon/Comet spring perches.
The ones that I built from a kit really free'd up the front end. You would be surprised how tightly that rubber holds it in place.
Finding 60-63 spring perches with the bronze bushing rather than rubber is like finding a Shelby Maverick in pristine condition. People keep telling me they are out there, but I don't know anyone who has found one. I found that when I put the roller perches on, the tire no longer seems to leave the road when I hit bumps and holes in the road. It really is a good feeling to the suspension after installing them. Washboard roads and railroad tracks are no longer a terror ride.
I saw an article on converting our standard perches, but it requires welding. i am considering trying it on the comet. i too have never seen falcon perches for cheap and easy to find in all my years of junk-yarding in the SF area they must be more common back east? HI JAY! Long time!:Handshake
Plenty old cars in the junkyards around here http://www.1bad6t.com/Junkyard/LocalJunkyards/index.html
thats the problem with cali, you get a month or two then their CRUSHED!! probably some regulation for EPA.....
Its more like six months but since we are the center of restoration and the birthplace of hot rodding we have to complete with a bunch of people when we go junkyarding.
OH! you have some magical bearings that don't wear? They will wear out and they wear quickly due to shock loads - like pot holes and railroad tracks. There is no cushion between the tire and the spring mount except the tire itself. Roller and ball bearings do not handle shock loads at all well. That, and the quieter, more comfy ride is why detroit uses the rubber-bushed mounts.
Ford went to the vulcanized rubber bushings because they were cheaper to produce, "IMO". I have early Falcon perches on my car and it made a noticeable improvement in overall ride and handling.
The early 60-63 Falcon/Comet perch is the best way to go. This is way the engineer designed the perch to be. Paul is right about a ball bearing perch. The same ball is catching the load every time while the other balls are just keeping things center. Jamie is correct about the bean counters at Ford going to a cheaper design. If Ford could save a penny or a nickel on every spring perch they made then they saved big bucks a year. No telling how much dollars was saved beause the same perch was used on many different models through the 60's-70's
In point of fact the 6303 2RS bearings used in these applications are for scooter wheel bearings. They are made to turn at up to 7000 rpm and not for high axial loads or impact loads of any kind. The scooters are made to handle a total weight of 200 pounds per axle and on a Maverick the same two bearings are supporting over four times the weight. A bushing - like the early compact Fords used are much better at handling loads in that range but will still be damaged by high impact loads. It is a wear part after all. The more ridgid the parts used in the front end components (poly bushings, bearings etc.) the more positive the control is but at the price of reduced ride comfort and more noise and faster wear on other components. It is always a compromise when dealing with different components. The parts you use depend on what demands you are placing on your vehicle and what price you are willing to pay for the choices.
