I could have sworn I read several folks saying that a good front end rebuild with some OpenTracker (or comparable) roller perches lower ball joints etc and the Shelby drop performed as well as a lot of the whiz bang upgrades out there. But I cannot find that link.

Last edited by Raymond_B (10/11/2021 3:11 PM)

I have the stock configuration in my 68 with the Arning/Shelby drop along with free moving perches.  For a street driver that drives curvy roads using the steering wheel without riding the brakes, unless the curve is a "kiss your butt hairpin", my Mustang front end stays very level.  So I don't see the need for a different front suspension.  It does great.  Perhaps a driver that cuts through those parking lot obstacle courses would need something better.  Is this what you want to set your car up for, those parking lot courses?  If it is only aggressive mountain driving, I think the Arning drop with good components is all you need.

This is what I am running- it is older but very similar to the current Mike Maier setup- just with less built in caster.

Anyone who's ridden in Dan's rat rod knows that its ride is outstanding. I was truly impressed.

Nos681 wrote:

I have Vi-King coil overs (350# springs for a small block) that have the poly bushings (bearings are available too).

Stock style upper control arms with MS modifications and additional caster on control arm shaft
Stock style lower control arms with Energy Suspension inner pivot poly bushing
1” Arning/Shelby drop
1965 spindles

Installed February of 2020 and have almost 9500 miles.
I like them FWIW.
I wanted to to be able to adjust ride height without having a harsh ride.

Isn't a setup like this basically an adjustable coil spring?  If so, I like it.
 

The Shelby drop has more to do with improving the camber curve and adding in some positive caster than it does ride height.  The ride height difference is pretty negligible actually (maybe 5/8").  Its a night and day difference in terms of handling, regardless the spring/shock package in use. 

There's a LOT of stuff I'll spend money on before coil overs.  I don't find my car's ride objectionable, and from a handling perspective you don't actually gain anything.  It does make ride height adjustments easy if that's your goal.  If your goal is handling do the drop, big front antiroll bar, and good springs/shocks do just fine. 

Thanks for compliments guys.

I had poly strut bushings, Shelby drop, and MS control arm modification before changing to coil overs.

The two major binding locations are the spring perch and inner pivot on lower control arms.
The rubber pivot points are pressed in…at least mine were.
I think some might be vulcanized in place.

I had considered roller bearings for spring perches too.
Just desired to have the ability of height adjustment without the harness.
I received good information from Bearing Bob that lead me in this direction.

The poly lower pivots can rotate freely even after bolt is torqued down.
Basically the poly bushing becomes the bearing between two metal shells.
I believe Mike Maier is using similar design in his upper control arms.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Its food for thought.
I guess I was looking at this upgrade for adjusting front ride height options mostly and improved handling.
I have a stock front end with all new components and Moog gear. It does handle really well now, so maybe coil overs are not necessary for me who does spirited driving occasionally at best.

Toploader wrote:

Its something I think about as an upgrade...
What do people think of coil over suspension on the front? Is it a worthwhile upgrade? How does it compare to the stock Ford set up? Are there any negatives?

It's your money and your car - spend and modify as you please.
But it's generally thought to be a less than useful upgrade unless you have to get rid of the shock towers for some reason.  The factory suspension is essentially a coil-over.  It only differs from modern iterations in not having the coil spring mounted directly to the shock.

If your goal is to improve handling you can keep your factory parts tight and properly aligned, upgrade your shocks and sway bar, and as needed, further stiffen the chassis with the convertible bracing, monte carlo bar and/or subframe connectors.

Last edited by John Ha (10/14/2021 12:10 PM)

I performed the drilling for the 1” Shelby drop with engine and headers still installed.
Just placed a thin piece of wood in between to prevent accidental damage to headers.
It drives much better with this modification.

Why would have Ford  not done the upper “A” arm relocation at the factory, they knew that it worked from Klaus Arning”s work on the Mustangs prototypes.
It would not have cost them 2 cents, unlike the IRS they developed that would have cost an arm and a leg in tooling costs.

Rufus68 wrote:

At 4 minutes into this video, Jeff shows the change in tire patch that you get after doing the Arning/Shelby drop.  This helps you "see" the real benefit of the upper control arm change.


 

Thanks so much for posting this! It convinces me to get the Shelby drop done. Because I was dumb by not getting it done with the front end work, it will cost me some stupid tax.

Last edited by Toploader (10/15/2021 12:39 AM)