Have a question on ride height for our 69 Mach 1

[HAPPY ONE]

Today we installed a new front steering suspension kit - i.e. new King coil springs (standard height) Idler arm, upper and lower control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends sway bar inks and rubbers and shockies etc.

The old ones where really shot to bits and sagging ,all were original.

Naturally the height has increased significantly front is now 720mm both sides from the ground to the top of the wheel arch on the front guards. I think this has lifted the front by about 2 inches. I also think it will settle down a bit over the next week or two ....maybe 10 - 15mm (1/2 inch) ??

The back is sitting at 710mm on the passenger side and 700 on the driver side. I know the rear springs need replacing also as they are most likely also shot too.

In reality the front guard's are just sitting above the top of the tyres (maybe 1/2 inch) ......just wondering if I can get an idea from a few of you guys what your ride heights are and if you have altered it from original settings etc.


What would be considered the normal height front and back ??


 

[barnett468]

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good springs shouldn't settle at all but most springs do seem to around 10 mm after a month.

if you have "lowering" springs, you can cut them but don't tell anybody here you did 

finish off the cut end to look orig and spray some black paint on it.

[GLENN 70]

10 mm if your lucky .  King springs are a good brand not crap .  This sort of problem is why I just take my cars into king springs and tell them where I want the car to sit,and when I get it back Thats where it sits . You were probably thinking with the 429 it might sit a bit lower .

[HAPPY ONE]

Glenn l really didn't think too much of it to begin with, as we knew the suspension was saging pretty bad.

However, l wish I had of measured where it was sitting before we started as it did look good at that height.

Had I thought more about it, I probably would have gone with the 1 inch lower springs - but in the scheme of things, it may handle better taking it back to where it is now. Time will tell !

We will get the new rear springs fitted and see what it looks like in a week or two.

 

[barnett468]

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it will handle worse being higher . . it will increase its center of gravity and roll center . . race cars are low not high . . if you want to improve cornering i would at least lower it from stock height and install a 7/8" sway bar with urethane bushings . . also, add an export brace and rallye bar.

for even better steering and cornering, i would lower the upper a arm 1 inch.

if your suspension and/or steering components are worn, it will drive like crap.

also, if you have wide, low profile tires that have a fairly flat tread [no crown in the middle] it WILL wander like a pig in the holler.

[HAPPY ONE]

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it will handle worse being higher . . it will increase its center of gravity and roll center . . race cars are low not high . . if you want to improve cornering i would at least lower it from stock height and install a 7/8" sway bar with urethane bushings . . also, add an export brace and rallye bar.

for even better steering and cornering, i would lower the upper a arm 1 inch.

if your suspension and/or steering components are worn, it will drive like crap.

also, if you have wide, low profile tires that have a fairly flat tread [no crown in the middle] it WILL wander like a pig in the holler.





l agree Barnett 468,

My problem is I don't know what the original heights are on a standard car to start with - the King springs KFFL -001 which are fitted are in all sense a bit shorter then the standard height springs by about 1/2 an inch ....albeit they are also a wee bit thicker so they won't compress as easy either. Also as we have a heavier engine in the car with the 429 against what was originally in it being a 351 ....I think it may be sitting a little bit lower in any case.

I guess the question could be - is 720mm from ground to the middle of the wheel arch lip considered too high ?

And also - if 720mm is the height of the front what should the back be ...... my preference would be to have a mild stance (slightly lower front, than the back)

But if the car ended up being almost level at say 720mm in the front and say around 730mm - 750mm in the back ...would this be considered OK ??

[GLENN 70]

Mine is quite low but no problems and front is 610mm and rear is 640 mm . Now that is about 50 mm lower than std ,and std to me is high so hell yours is HIGH . 

[barnett468]

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ummm, yeah 720 mm [28.3 inches] would be fine for an off road mini van.

i forgot the factory measurement but it was definitely less than that.

from fading memory, i often set them around 660 mm which is lower than stock but is not an obviuous "lowered' look . . for a slightly "lowered" look, i would go around 25 mm .lower.

if i am going for the lower front look, i will make the back no more than around 30 mm higher so it doesn't look like a stink bug.

this is around 45 mm too high in the rear for me . . it looks like a stink bug . . the front height ok.




i like the small amount of difference between the front and rear on this but i would like both to be around 30 mm lower.




this is around 15 mm to high for me front and rear but i could certainly live with it just as is.




This is one of my old cars we restored . . it is too high but that is because it was done as a stock show car and should have had 70 tires on it but it is too high for my liking . . i guess i charged the buyer so much for it that he couldn't afford a full set if matching tires.

[barnett468]

.

In reality the front guard's are just sitting above the top of the tyres (maybe 1/2 inch) ......just wondering if I can get an idea from a few of you guys what your ride heights are and if you have altered it from original settings etc.

what size are your tires?

i would also remove a spring then jack the lower arm up at 50 mm intervals then turn the steering wheel full left then full right each time to see if the tire hits.

[HAPPY ONE]

Not sure of the tyre size other than to say they are a nice set of Radial TA - BF Goodrich

Mine looks to be sitting very simular to the last pic you have there.

Decided what I'm going to do, is put a set of mid eyes on the back ...then re-look at the front to get the right stance on the car from there. Maybe lower / change the springs to KFFL-00

My gut is telling me, the rear mid eye springs are going to sit about where it's sitting now...maybe 10 - 15mm higher

My preferance would be to get the top of the front tyre sitting just under the front gaurds with the top edge of the rear tyres just visable - approx 1/2" to 1" drop.

 

[barnett468]

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ok, you might need to go to glenns magic spring guy . . there are several brands of springs . . some brands of mid eyes will raise the car . . you can get your existing springs re arced if you think they are stiff enough . . if you spend $200.00 for mid eyes and then install them and it is too high and need then re-arced, there goes another $100.00 or more plus r and r labor.

you can use lowering blocks in the rear in the us . . you can try that if its legal.

if your front springs feel really stiff you can cut them and it wont bottom out . . if you cant exchange them, i would cut 1/2 coil off and try it . . you have nothing to loose but a little time.

my india fire car is close to stock height . . good for concours shows . . bad if you want it to look cool.

do you like any of the other photos?

[GLENN 70]

My spring guy is king springs themselves ,they make the springs .  They do have a small fitting service on site ,you take your car in ,work out the height you want it to be ,and you pick it up and it's done . Same price as suspension shops but no mucking around fitting all different height springs . In one day job done maybe 2 days .

[ND69]

Hey Glenn,
I spoke to Kings the other day and  they said that they don't do rear leaf springs, so where did you get your rears from?

[GLENN 70]

Neal I could tell you but then I would have to kill you   

[shaunp]

Hey Glenn,
I spoke to Kings the other day and  they said that they don't do rear leaf springs, so where did you get your rears from?

Bathy at Morning side normally has them.

[barnett468]

does anyone re arc them?

[GLENN 70]

Yes there is but we call it getting them reset .  For you   HAPPY ONE I don't know where in Brisbane but there is a place on the Sunshine Coast and one in Toowoomba .

[barnett468]

Yes there is but we call it getting them reset.

i will add that to my aussie translation guide.

[LEE H 69]

Hey Ed, Hope you and Monique had a great holiday.....
anyway down at Browns Plains is a suspension shop, Pro-Trac, Darren is the guys name, he own a 67/68 coupe and knows Mustangs pretty well, he had my rear springs reset and added a leaf. there are in a small rank of units next to Motorama, just down from Greenbank RSL.

[HAPPY ONE]

Guys, I ended up buying a set of mid eye rear springs at Mustang Auto Spares at Bulimba - paid a bit more then I wanted too ($375) but they were in stock and didn't have to freight them in from interstate or OS.

I have been told that the mid eye springs will set the car at 370mm from the centre of the wheel to the centre of the wheel arch.

Once this is done, then we will re-look at the front and adjust the height accordingly in order to get about a 25mm drop in the front after the front springs settle in a bit.

Under the pump to get this all done by the end of next week, as well as fitting new front disc rotors, replace the rag joint coupling (that's going to be a bitch to get too) will have to pull out the brake booster to get to it),  re-installing the balanced tail shaft, bleed the brakes and a tune up. .

I managed to get in on a " Lunch & Dyno" day that's being run by the Corvette club where they dyno your car and give you a BBQ lunch for $40 on Sunday week down near Loganholme

Will be interesting to see what the Mach Vader will pull on the dyno as it sits without any other mods. I'm thinking maybe  somewhere around 350hp +  who knows, it might go a wee bit more ?

Will keep yas posted.

 

[R_Beckhaus]

Happy, Don't forget FoMoCo had a policy, back then, of quoting FLYWHEEL hp, not rwhp, so if you are expecting near factory figures you will need to factor in at least 25% power loss thru the drivetrain.
cheers,Ron B

[barnett468]

Will be interesting to see what the Mach Vader will pull on the dyno as it sits without any other mods. I'm thinking maybe  somewhere around 350hp +  who knows, it might go a wee bit more ?

a mustang dyno will read around 22% lower than most others.

[shaunp]

i will add that to my aussie translation guide.

Bayside springs and Mayne spring works.

[shaunp]

Ed make sure you dont do the eye bolts up with no load on the springs, once you have them in put stands under the rear axle to take the weight of the car on the springs then do up all the bolts otherwise it will sit higher and youll will screw up the front eye bushes.

[HAPPY ONE]

Happy, Don't forget FoMoCo had a policy, back then, of quoting FLYWHEEL hp, not rwhp, so if you are expecting near factory figures you will need to factor in at least 25% power loss thru the drivetrain.
cheers,Ron B

Thanks Ron, I didn't know this was the case so Ill bare it in mind.