Love to "work" on new guyz Mustangs!!
Welcome to the forum.
For the bucks Mustangsteve has a good disc brake update. I went the Scarebird option and it stops waaay better than the drum set-up butt.....he has Ford style stuff for about the same price and better customer service.
The steering.......
you COULD do the manual swap over trick for low cost and these Mustangs are so light the only time you hafta struggle with the steering is maybe parallel parking. I'm old(sorta) and I don't have power steer. I think the manual steering kinda just goes with the experience of a classic car.
If you use more narrow front tires (ex. 205 or 215 65-15's or 16's) then it parks even easier.....save the fat tires for the rear!
Have a look at the Shelby alignment and NOT the factory settings. Can be found on Daze's web page or someone on here can spit out the numbers. Makes a BIG difference in how it handles. It has more caster which is the secret.
A rebuild of the steering parts(which you have started) and maybe the roller perches, little bit stiffer front springs, which will lower it a little(while your in there) will help. One piece export bar and Monte Carlo bar  and 1" sway bar made a dynamic change in mine..for the better.
I like the part about the lumpy camshaft
Enjoy the experience and welcome!
6sally6          I have MANUAL front discs..stops good. Not throw-you-through-the-windsheild....butt good.

Last edited by 6sally6 (2/13/2016 10:52 PM)

For the steering the rack and pinion kits are in my opinion unimpressive.  They cost 2-3x what the Borgeson setup costs and typically you are going to have to live with a reduced turning circle.  Borgeson all the way if you want power.  Manual isn't bad either, that's what I still have in my '67 going on 23 years of ownership.  Parking can be a chore, especially with wider front tires, and power is on my to do list, but right now its behind redoing the engine bay and installing my 347 (not yet built), so it may be a few more years before I get to that. 

The drum/drum brakes have to go.  I too would advise getting a kit from Mustang Steve.  I used a Stainless Steel Brakes Corp kit about 22 years ago and it was not complete and lacked proper instructions.  Be aware that power brake and manual brake pedals are different in a '67.  That's one of the little details SSBC left out of their incomplete kit and instructions.

On to the suspension.  Alignment makes a lot of difference, but dealing with a car that is now closing in on 50 years old the first order of business is to make sure that the suspension is in proper working order.  If you've got worn out bushings, wasted shocks, etc. all the alignment in the world isn't going to help.  There are about as many suspension options for the '67 Mustang as there are fish in the sea, and you can spend anywhere from a few thousand to twenty grand.  For a good street car that you will drive hard on occasion I would stick with mostly factory style hardware.  Install some good bushings (polygraphite or delalum), good shocks (I'm still using my KYBs and still happy with them), decent springs (don't get crazy on the rate or it'll ride like a 3/4 ton truck), and the Shelby drop is a worthwhile mod.  The get your alignment set.  Look for 1 degree of negative camber, about 1/16" toe in, and all the positive caster they can give you.  Wider and modern rolling stock also greatly improves handling.  Tires that aren't used regularly go bad after about 3 years of sitting, so if the car's been garaged a lot consider new rolling stock at the very least.  Its never going to be a new car in the handling department, but you can make massive improvements over what its doing now. 

I would advise against throwing out the factory power steering this early in the game.  I can guarantee you will hate the manual steering, especially with your quick ratio P/S box that will make it that much more difficult.  When everything is set up right, it works fine, plus you already own it.  Your alignment tech probably aligned the car to factory specs which includes ZERO caster.  Adding caster will make the car go straighter down the road without wandering, PLUS it makes it a bit harder to steer, so that fits in with the factory stuff. Is there better stuff out there?  Probably.  But the factory stuff can work quite well.

Brings up another thought... What is some previous owner added the power steering and utilized a manual steering box?  That would make it super effortless to steer and have no feedback.  Count the turns lock-to-lock to determine which you have.

I am glad you found the forum.  Everyone here is eager to help out as you have read.  Most on here speak from direct experience from actually doing the stuff they talk about rather than repeating something they read on a forum or magazine article.  Always ask if somebody who is suggesting something has actually done it on their own car, and what their outcome was.

There are lots of mods out there for sale these days, most in my opinion are just designed to lighten your wallet with not so much gain in performance.  Just because something is for sale does not mean you need it necessarily.

My advice for a new Mustang owner is to make sure the car is mechanically sound so you don't get stranded or have/cause an accident.  That means checking wheel bearings, brakes and steering linkage, and make sure there are no fluid leaks that can cause problems.  Don't drive on tires more than about five years old.  That can also cause wandering if the tires are in less than perfect condition.

When you plan to do something, run it past the forum first.  There are some things that you will want to avoid, and there is no way for you to know that unless you ask first.

Again, welcome to FYIFORD.  Let the fun begin!
 

From everything I've read the Borgeson setup offers reasonable assist when you need it, but not overbearing assist when you don't.  The problem with the factory setup is that the goal back in the day was to allow grandma to turn the wheel with her pinky.  All power assist cars from the day drive like that.  This is why I still have the manual steering.  I have all the parts for a factory power setup sitting on a shelf, but I drove a factory power car once and decided it was very much not how I wanted the car to handle.  The Borgeson system was the next step in power assist, using a power box instead of ram assist.  They use the Saginaw pump, which is a better design than anything Ford ever put out.  Sure, you could argue that the next step was rack and pinion, and I can't think of a car made today that doesn't use R&P, but my issue with the R&P kits is the cost and the reduced turning radius.  I know guys have built their own setups that get around the turning radius issue (and likely the cost issue too), but that's not something for the uninitiated.  If you want bolt in convenience coupled with reasonable cost and maintenance of the factory turning radius I think Borgeson is the only real option.  Here's a link to the Borgeson systems:

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/EM_CatalogSite/00303.htm

For the suspension I'm going to bombard you with some stuff here.  First, the upper A-arm drop, if you want to do it, here's a link to the right setup.  There are 1-3/4" drops offered, but what they neglect to inform you is that these will destroy a factory balljoint in a matter of a few miles.  You need to run either the Negative Wedge kit sold by Mustangs Plus, or run modified balljoints to make the 1-3/4" drop work.  Keep in mind, this will lower the front end 1" if you do not run taller spring isolators.

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=CRK2A+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

Here's a decent kit for the suspension.  You'll still need some other odds and ends (front end bushing kit, taller spring isolators if you use the 1" drop and don't want the front end to sit 1" lower, spring perches), but this is reasonably complete and has good springs and shocks with better swap bars to reduce body roll.

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=GT68A+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

Here's a poly front bushing kit:

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=418111+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

Front spring perches with poly bushings:

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=PMC61702+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

Front spring perches with roller bearings:

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=1003388+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

1" tall front spring isolators (1/4" and 3/4" are also available if you do the drop and want some of the lowering):

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=541541+01&catkey=65-73$srccode=MUEMVWEB

Now, chassis stiffness makes a huge difference in handling.  The stock chassis is not very stiff, lacking full framerails front to rear.  Instead there is a frame stub at the front and another at the rear and a floorpan in the middle.  One of the best handling mods you can make is a set of subframe connectors which will bridge the gap and tie the front and rear stubs together.  This also allows for better handling with less spring rate and a more comfortable ride.  Another quick and easy thing is to install the engine compartment export brace, which reduces the tendency of the shock towers to flex inwards under heavy cornering loads. 

On to brakes.  Here's a link to Mustang Steve's page for power conversions.  I personally like the power assist.  I don't think its too much of a hassle to fit once you know what's required (you have to change brake pedals and modify the firewall a bit).

http://www.mustangsteve.com/BRAKES.html

As for the brakes themselves, here's a link to MS's page on his disc kits.  The one thing I'd caution is that the bigger brakes require bigger wheels.  A 13" disc isn't fitting inside a 15" wheel, so if you want that much brake you need to be willing to upgrade you wheels.  If you have any questions just ask him. 

http://www.mustangsteve.com/cobrabrakes.html

That gives you a lot to digest, and of course this stuff is my opinion and others may feel differently, but knowing what I've learned with my '67 over the past 23 years this is the way I would go if I had it all to do over again (and these products all existed at the time).  Hope this helps more than it confuses. 

I really think we need a standardized template to answer questions like this that come up

Something like:

1) greeting     Hello and welcome to the forum, family freindly site, please read rules before posting, safety first, yada yada yada

2) tell us about yourself
Where are you from?
What skills do you have?
What kind of budget do  you have?
Can you do the work yourself?
Do you have tools?
Are you willing to learn?
Do you have a garage or workspace?
Are you patient enough to wait for it to be a safe car before driving it?
Do you have time to invest in a project?
What is your purpose with the car?  daily driver, track car, weekend cruiser, show car,
Are you more interested in the journey or do you want to jump to the last page of the book?
Who is going to be driving the car?  you or your wife, or your children?
How observant are you?  Do you notice strange noises, car isn't braking like it did before, fluids leaking, strange smells like exhaust fumes in the car? 

3) tell us about the car

4) disclaimer
safety first
ask questions before doing anything, no such thing as a stupid question
seek opinions and advice before doing anything
be patient while waiting for replies

the everlong debate on Mods
to each his own.  My taste vs your taste.
safety Mods
Required mods vs optional mods
Mod options
performance mods
cool factor mods
the positive and negative of certain mods

 

Don't remember where I heard it or read it but when it comes to brakes you have to think about the other guy.  If you plan to use the car much you'll be behind modern cars most of the time.  And, they almost all have power disc brakes!
My suggestion is go with a power disc conversion.  My first mustang was a 69 Mach 1 with a 351 and all drum brakes.  I bought in the car in 1975 and even then a lot of cars could stop faster than me.  I'm going with a disc conversion and adding a booster on my 68.  Last brake conversion I did was swapping rear drums for discs in my 86 Mustang GT. Was kinda a pain in the neck but when I did that all I had was a cheap put it in the vice flare tool.  Now I have a hydraulic flare tool so it should be interesting.  Enjoy your Mustang.

Welcome Trainrek!!  I'll just add my 2 cents.  I have a 65 fastback that has pretty muck stock suspension and steering with the exception of progressive rate front springs and roller spring perches.  otherwise I rebuilt everything else in the steering and suspension.  I do have factory power steering which I sent off and had rebuilt.  It handles just fine with NO bumpsteer!  Brakes are Kelsey-Hayes front power disc and factory drum rear.  It stops just fine!   Dont discount the stock components.  
When you start pricing parts, Rockauto usually has good prices on MOOG components and they usually have a 5% off code for members of this forum, just go to the swap meet page and do a search for Rockauto.

What part of the world do you live in???  We have members on here from about every state in the US and several other countries all over the world!  Once again WELCOME!!

Gonna give you the advice I got when I first started messin with cars. "Fix the whoa before increasing the go" in a word BRAKES. I did the Mustang Steve power brakes and front discs, Shelby drop and all new bushings etc up fron with 1" sway bar. In the process of installing a rebuilt manual box. Even with the old box it drives good. Only difficult to steer when parallel parking but I'm not any good at that with power steering. WELCOME. All the advice you need you will find right here. Good luck.