I have a 72 4 dr that I bought from my dad as a teenager. I helped him work on this car as I grew up and it provided some of the best memories I have of my dad and I. I realize I am keeping this car for sentimental reasons and that it might be foolish but so be it. I built up a 302 and ripped the control arm out of the shock tower. I am now trying to figure out the best way to proceed. I have begun chiseling the spot welds to remove the shock tower but am unsure if this is the best way to proceed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate!!! I am looking to keep this car and over time completely restore and return it to my dad.....doesn't need to be factory necessarily.
Go to Harbor Freight and pick up a spot weld cutter. They are over by the grinding wheels. It fits in a drill and is nothing more than a very small hole saw. It hole saws just around the outher diameter of the spot weld. It is also adjustable for depth and is reversable so, if you break a tooth off, you can flip it over and keep going. You can get these cutters as a hardened drill bit type also at Eastwood for about 20 bucks but the ones at Harbor are only 5 bucks. I only used 1 of them to remove my entire cowl. I had to flip the cutter over because I broke a tooth but still only used one of them.
Get a spot weld remover from Harbor Freight and some extra cutters. These are cheap versions of the tool but unless you plan on doing this kind of work for a living you don't need the best quality. Chiseling deforms the metal and tears it - the cutter cuts the spot weld out so the pieces com apart easily (most of the time).
I'm not quite sure how much to cut off. As you can see from the pics the welded "bracket" that has holes for the upper A arm has been ripped out as well. This piece goes all the way down to where the lower control attaches. Thanks for any help.
I have been thinking of replacing my front suspension and losing the shock towers with a M2 kit. Here is what I have found on this site: Mustang II Swap Knowledge Base coilover rack and pinion... I am considering the switch over only if my uncle helps or I can find a custom shop that I trust. (My uncle builds funny cars from scratch) Hope that helps you decide which route you want to go.
Ratio411: So in order to do the arning drop, do i have to shave the towers? Tenebros: Thx for the info!
What is the Arning Drop? My car has the Shelby Drop and the towers are not shaved. Although - I so want to remove the towers and consider a 351W....
Arning and Shelby drops are the same thing. No, you don't have to shave the towers to do the swap. If this is a 73 or later car then you may have to replace the reinforcement plate in order to keep the bolt holes from being half on and half off because the mounting holes have already been dropped to match the Shelby drop from 73 on and the plate is there for extra support. It is NOT necessary to do the drop on 73 and later cars - all you have to do is use the Shelby alignment specs.
PaulS: ok 2 questions....not necessary to do it on 73 and later? meaning not necessary to improve handling? I'm working on a 75 and was doing it for handling and to lower the car. The other question is about replacing the reinforcement plate. I have looked at that quite a bit and figured I'd drill the holes and see how it looked and then go from there. Do you have any idea where i could get this plate from? Thanks!
Sanders, The Shelby drop will not lower your car (ok, maybe 1/4") so that is a wasted effort. The handling can be improved by simply having it aligned to the Shelby specs: Camber = -1degree both sides within 1/8 degree Caster = +1 to +2 for manual steering - +2.5 to +3.5 for power steering Toe = 0 to 1/8" With no other changes that will make a huge difference. Add a bigger roll bar in front and a rear roll bar (they come in sets to keep the action the same but the rear will be smaller than the front) and it will make even more difference. I believe the plate is available from most of the Mustang specialty shops like california mustangs and Mustangs unlimited. If you have the skills you could probably make one from 1/8" mild steel and weld it in.
No one has defined what these "drops" are on the shock towers, explanation please and pictures if available. Thanks, TonyJ
thanks Paul. And if I understand what your asking Tony it's simply drilling new holes for the upper control arms 1" lower. My overall goal on this is to use the Shelby drop plate to lower the control arms and then go with a 1" drop spring in hopes that the front end would be 1.5" to 2" lower in the front. However, I'm having a heck of a time getting good information on what springs will work the best. I've been told 1" drop springs for a 67-73 mustang or drop springs for a shelby gt would work I have my engine out of the car and want to get these ordered and installed soon so I can start driving this beast again
what about using a drop spindle? That way you don't have to mess with shock travel like you would with a shorter spring.
