XY vs 66 Mustang drag link

[Rayatswan]

Merry Christmas All.
Can anyone tell me the differences between the cut down and x-rayed xy drag link and the 66 Mustang manual steer drag link. I have found a fellow in Newcastle who can certify my 66 RHD conversion for registration. He has done quite a few of these conversions himself and seemed very knowledgeable about all things Mustang.
He told me about things like firewall stiffness tests that I never gave a thought to so seemed to know his stuff.
Anyway he recommended using the drag link from a 66 manual steer mustang, I know it has been said before that bump steer is an issue but has anyone physically compared the hole spacings/lengths between the cut and welded xy and the 66 manual?
Cheers 

[shaunp]

You cant use and xy in a 66 its the wrong shape, wont work. . If you shorten them they are good for 67 on cars. In a 66 you use a 66 link with xy ends welded to it so you can use an XF box and idle arm. Some guys reverse the 66 and swap the tapers, not as good as a fabricated one though. You could call John Greene at Probe engineer Brisbane in the new year and see if he will make you a 66 one. Also believe Big AL in Sydney may be able to help with a modified 66.


Below is a RHD 66 with falcon ends and a RHD 67 using a shortened XA, you can clearly see they are nothing a like, a 66 will bumpsteer like crazy with a falcon link as the inner tie rod mount hole are in the wrong place, you can not make it work. These links are all done, dye checked and ready for Xray. Both pasted no trouble. These are John Greene design done in a jig.

[Rayatswan]

Thanks shaunp, why do you think he would have suggested the 66 manual steering drag link?
I told him I would be using the xf power steer box and suggested the cut and welded drag link but he said he had done a few with the xf and manual steer drag link and had no issues with bump steer.

[shaunp]

Not sure , I suspect he just turns them backwards, and is swapping the tie rod tapers,  ok but limits where you can mount the XF power box, and thus the height of the steering wheel. John would not go to this trouble if it wasn't better, he has done 100's of cars since the mid 80's

[Rayatswan]

Sorry shaunp, I mislead you accidently, was not John who told me this but the guy in Newcastle. I tried to ring John about a week ago but got a message bank, probably on holidays. I will try again in a week or 2

[shaunp]

Sorry shaunp, I mislead you accidently, was not John who told me this but the guy in Newcastle. I tried to ring John about a week ago but got a message bank, probably on holidays. I will try again in a week or 2

Yeah he is off, I had a Xmas Coffee with him on Tuesday morning he was at the shop but not working just mucking around. I welded the links in the above picture, John had just had some eye surgery at the time and couldn't see to weld.

[Rayatswan]

Shaunp, can you make me a drag link for my 66 RHD conversion? if yes how much $

[shaunp]

Shaunp, can you make me a drag link for my 66 RHD conversion? if yes how much $

I just used John's jig on the ones above, one for a car he was doing and 67 was for a car on the this forum I been restoring for the owner, but I often go and give him a hand with stuff and vice versa as he works on his own, Boofhead on the forum does likewise. So you really need to talk to John it's his stuff. The Xrays are not cheap, its about $200 per weld and there are 2 welds on a 66, The Xray guy is just near us and NATA approved so that is world wide certification, they do mostly industrial stuff like all the welds and valves for the Gas pipe lines from the mines etc, no engineer can complain about the welding if it passes gas pore test.
 You need to find a donna  falcon link as well for the ends. Better to get a latter link then XY as you cant buy XY idler arms now, XA-XF have a larger pin that goes in the idler. Power 66 link is ok cause you cut the ends off them anyway, the one above is a power one as it has the ram hole in the middle. Takes a while to weld them, to do them correctly you weld each joint about 3 times over about a 40mm area, in V shape, grind flat, dye check for any flaws then keep going till you have built it to correct height, the weld would be at least as strong as the original link, as the grain in the metal a laid down several times in layers. There is no issue with them ever failing

[coops]

Good Morning
I have for some time been getting the parts organised for the conversion from LHD to RHD on my 66 Mustang and one of the parts I have is an XY drag link complete with idler arm. I also can get hold of a XF drag link but am now a little confused. Which drag link is best for this conversion and are the idler arms different. After reading your post shaunp, this morning I had a look on ebay and there are lots of idler arms to suit XW right through to XH but are they different after XY. I know I should not put a lot of faith in some ebay sellers but am I better sticking with the XY drag link or is the later link a better option. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers Coops

[shaunp]

Good Morning
I have for some time been getting the parts organised for the conversion from LHD to RHD on my 66 Mustang and one of the parts I have is an XY drag link complete with idler arm. I also can get hold of a XF drag link but am now a little confused. Which drag link is best for this conversion and are the idler arms different. After reading your post shaunp, this morning I had a look on ebay and there are lots of idler arms to suit XW right through to XH but are they different after XY. I know I should not put a lot of faith in some ebay sellers but am I better sticking with the XY drag link or is the later link a better option. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers Coops

Its the same idler arm just the bush is different, they now sell the same one for both, unless they have done another production run of XW/XY. The pin on the drag link that goes into the idler is larger on the XA - XG cars, Earlier in the year I was looking for one and they only listed one unit now, so I just pressed some new correct size bushes in to the old arm.  Like I said they maybe making them again or just saying one size fits all, which isn't really true. XA on is a heavier link  which is good for 67+ cars, but on a 66 you only use the ends so makes no difference as long as you can get idler with correct bush. My 67 has a modified XY link, cause that's what I had.

[Rayatswan]

Here is a photo of my 66 awaiting RHD conversion.



I spoke with John at Probe engineering a couple of days ago, very knowledgeable fellow, asked about draglinks for my 66 and got a price for cutting and welding xf falcon ends onto a 66 mustang manual steer draglink, almost fell off my chair, but you have to pay for it to be correct and I hate left hand steer mustangs.

[shaunp]

You have to remember mate that there are 2 Xrays, which is over $400 alone, he has no control over that cost, plus a days work some times more, depending on how the welds go . While you weld them, you dye check them as you go, the dye and developer is $100 a can. He will likely give you templates to drill the rails as well. He is not clipping you trust me, its not a 10 min job.

[Rayatswan]

Believe me Shaun I understand the quality of the work that has to go into the welds, I don't mind paying for his expertise and the peace of mind that comes from knowing the job is done right.
The initial shock was soon gone when I thought about how much work goes into it.
He also gave me some other advice over the phone and I really appreciate that.

[shaunp]

Believe me Shaun I understand the quality of the work that has to go into the welds, I don't mind paying for his expertise and the peace of mind that comes from knowing the job is done right.
The initial shock was soon gone when I thought about how much work goes into it.
He also gave me some other advice over the phone and I really appreciate that.

Mate he has done 100's over the years perfecting them along the way, they drive better then new. There is a dark burgundy 66 convertible on this forum, think the user name is 66vert, Lou's car was one of the first that John did back in the 80's, Ask Lou how it goes, like wise Boofhead on here has had John help with his Cougar and 65 FB. I know people say you can do them with out welding the drag link but if you want them really good you have to.

[Rayatswan]

I will definitely be using Johns services because my last Mustang, a 69 Mach 1 with a 390 had the factory installed option of bump steer and was a pig to drive.
The impression I got from a 1/2hr conversation with John was he really knows his stuff so I think in this situation you get what you pay for.

[paulb]

John's just done the draglink for my 69 , he is a wealth of information and is willing to help wouldn't hesitate in recommending him, but you need to follow his directions, so it all fits together without issues