shelby drop

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by OLD GOOSE, May 23, 2016.

  1. OLD GOOSE

    OLD GOOSE Member

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    For those of you that have done the Shelby drop and have used Lowering springs of an inch .Have you any problems with bump steer tire clearance alignment ? I am also going to do the Granada disc brake conversion any problems combining all of the above. Any expertise appreciated Thanks.
     
  2. jasonwthompson

    jasonwthompson Member

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    I have done a disc brake conversion. The donor vehicle was a 75 Maverick, so everything with that was an easy bolt on. I wanted to do the Arning/Shelby drop, but instead opted to use upper control arms that already had the 1 inch drop incorporated into the cross shaft. This allowed the use of the factory mount points, so I did not have to try and drill in the correct location for the drop, and I can easily go back to factory should I ever want/need to. The springs are still the factory V8 springs that are uncut. The steering and handling improved dramatically with the new upper arms and there are no interference or alignment issues so far. My only recommendation would be to wait and cut the springs last, after you have done the other things, as you may decided that they do not need to be cut. It is easier to remove coils than to put them back.
     
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  3. mojo

    mojo "Everett"- Senior Citizen Supporting Member

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    Which/who's control arms did you install? What other upgrades did you incorporate in your suspension?
     
  4. jasonwthompson

    jasonwthompson Member

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    The upper control arms were SPC 94210 from Summit. They also have 3 degrees of caster incorporated into the arm in addition to the 1 inch drop. The only other non factory mods were the lower control arm eccentric eliminators and the solid tie rod adjusters.
     
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  5. mavgrab302

    mavgrab302 MCCI Florida State Rep

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    I was looking at SPC upper arms, is the price on summits web site for 1 arm or is it a pair ?
     
  6. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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  7. jasonwthompson

    jasonwthompson Member

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    Summit has a price beat policy. I showed them a set on ebay, and they beat the price.
     
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  8. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    Good info! I wonder if something has changed in the last couple years because last time I wanted them to match ebay they told me the "item wasn't eligible"?

    I will reread their newest policy terms to figure out what is being excluded these days. Hopefully it saves me some cash but it seems to be a smart move on their part though when you consider that not many companies could buy the same quantities as Summit does and be able to undercut them.
     
  9. mojo

    mojo "Everett"- Senior Citizen Supporting Member

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    Had no idea Summit had that kind of policy! But, as groberts states, not many, if anyone has the buying power to out-do Summit. I just purchased a new set of stock arms; if I had know I cud get a set of those for less than ebay price I wud have gone that direction. I wud have even bought them at ebay price. I was thinking they were something close the $600.00 shipped,
     
  10. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    I just read their terms right after posting my reply last night. Apparently it must be one of the larger sellers with an ebay STORE.. they consider anything else to be a private seller.
     
  11. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    I did the Shelby drop mod and to be honest after cutting a inch off my springs all I got was a lower front end but I drag race my car and couldn't tell you if it improved the handling at all. For all the work I did I wouldn't do it again.

    As always just my .02

    Terry
     
  12. gunslinger68

    gunslinger68 Member

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    I did the Shelby drop..my spindles were from a 68 Mustang, but the rest of the pieces are Global West, their upper control arms have the corrected ball joint angle(prevents binding and premature wear), and they have a newer version out now, which relocates the ball joint reward, giving more caster.
    Back when I did mine you could get negative wedge kits for factory type control arms....
    https://www.mustangsplus.com/1967-1968-1969-1970-Mustang-Negative-Wedge-Kit-3-Bolt.html

    Either way, if you lower the upper control arm, bump steer correctors are recommended, they help by minimizing the tow in/tow out effect when the wheel travels up and down, so the tires aren't fighting each other during suspension travel.
    I hope this helps...others may have different opinions, and I did this about 13 years ago, and alot has changed in the availability of parts for Mavericks.
     
  13. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    Things haven't changed all that much from a physics standpoint really. A few more brands, SPC 94210's are reasonably priced, and more MII/strut conversion kits being produced for these cars. I've used several kits similar to that one. They work VERY well. Even mod'd one kit to a 2" drop and added 3/16" rearward offset. Handled so well that I started having issues with the rear of the car becoming more unpredictable at the limits. Kinda like only using snow tires on the front of your car. I'm ok.. I'm ok.. more gas.. more speed.. oh crap!.. maybe I'm not ok!

    As for the bump steer kit requirements?.. a lot more of it has to do with the relationship for the low arms angle change as compared to just the upper arms angle change all by itself. So, for instance we'll use a more extreme example.. using a 2" Shelby upper a-arm drop and NOT using a lowering spring will change the lower arms angle by about 3/4" or so(with same affect on ride height) compared to NOT incorporating a Shelby drop and running 2" reduced spring heights which would change the lower arms angle(and overall ride height) by nearly the same 2" amount. My rudimentary math would suggest running a 1" drop spring in combination with a 1" Shelby drop would likely raise the lower control arms height(in relation to the ground) around 1-3/8" or so. Definitely still within the realm of lower control arm angle changes where a bump steer kit can improve geometry during heavy steering transitions. Aside from caster gain, the more static geometry consistency(what you set it at) you can maintain the more predictable the handling and better the tire life will become. IMO, it's worth going all the way towards the added improvement of a bumpsteer kit if you're already this far into modding one of these old factory suspensions.

    Also consider that longer suspension strokes with softer taller springs generally need bumpsteer kits moreso than shorter suspension strokes using shorter height/stiffer racing type springs because the geometry changes further from the static settings due to the suspensions greater range of movement compared to the static ride height setting. So, in that sense.. not many here that really like to drive their cars a lot would not benefit from a bumpsteer kit being installed.
     

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