Cobra Brakes and Spindles on Old School - Northern California Ford Owners

This is topic Cobra Brakes and Spindles on Old School in forum General Talk at Northern California Ford Owners .

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Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

You guys will probably make fun of me for this but here is goes. I've been thinking and I noticed that the tie rods on old schools are in the back and the fox's have them in the front. So why not use the newer spindle on the old school lower control arm and use coil overs(which I have and have been staring under my 69). Only funny thing I see possibly wrong is the caliper will face forward and I will have to make a custom mount for the strut or some how use the sn95 CC plates. Any and all thoughts will be appreciated [patriot]

[ 2014-08-27, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Wht86drop ]

Posted by Fostang (Member # 3752) on :

You are about 10 plus yrs too late.

http://www.fatmanfabrications.co/products/1965-1973-ford-fairlane-strut-ifs-conversion-kit/

Fatman has been building a kit like this for some time.

Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

I was close lol. Thanks for that link. Now I know I can reuse my suspension from my 86

Posted by RRRCobraSC281 (Member # 7086) on :

I have a kit that will allow you to use Mustang II spindles and 5 lug hub and use SN95 brake calipers and spindles.

Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

I think I've got it covered. All I'm going to do is use the spindles on opposite sides and move the calipers. I'll make something work for the cc plates but that's not till another week or so

Posted by wilit (Member # 3367) on :

It won't work. If you look on VMF, there are two guys who attempted this, MrPantera (who never updated with a completion thread) and Dave Stribling (who did complete but does custom fab work for a living). There's a LOT of geometry involved in getting a steering system to work properly. Not to mention, the stock lower control arm is not strong enough to do what you want it to do. Try Googling this. You won't find much because it's not a simple swap. There's a lot of engineering and fab work to get it to work correctly and SAFELY. If it was a simple swap, you'd see a ton of threads on a bunch of boards. There's a reason the coilover conversion kits are expensive, because they require a lot of time to properly engineer it, and that R&D cost needs to be passed onto the consumer. Yeah, that Fatman kit uses stock Fox spindles, but look at all the other stuff that comes in the kit. A new subframe, A-arms with dual mounts (as opposed to the single mount on the '69 A-arm), reinforced upper strut mounts, rack and pinion to replace the steering box.

Besides, unless you're going to do some hardcore road racing, the stock suspension is fine. Do the Shelby drop, run roller spring perches on some 620 springs, a bigger sway bar and you have a very good street setup. Plus it's a proven setup that won't get you killed when your suspension collapses or your geometry is all off and you have an unpredictable steering output.

If you want cheap disc brakes, look at these cheap alternatives that use the factory V8 drum spindles.

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

https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65&product_id=87

http://www.vintagevenom.com/front-disc-mustang-brake-conversion-kit.htm

[ 2014-08-29, 07:10 AM: Message edited by: wilit ]

Posted by Fostang (Member # 3752) on :

Werd....

But I wanted him to find out on his own....

[Big Grin]

Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

I have been looking at those setups. You are right though the car will be pretty much a cruiser so I should just do the little things and call it that. Thanks for the advise I would have been passed to have to undo a bunch of unnecessary work. Only reason I wanted to try it was so I can use newer wheels without using the 1" spacer but it seems like the spacer will be a more safer solution right now

Posted by wilit (Member # 3367) on :

I run Bullitts on my '68 with only a 1" spacer up front. It's not a problem. Just get good quality spacers.

Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

Any suggestions on brand or type?

Posted by v-town coupe (Member # 2771) on :

seriously the fatman kit is garbage there have been way to many issues with their Strut conversion kit. the new kit thats out with the support tubes might be a different story but if I remember right that kit is about $6k and there are way better options to go with.

Gotta ask yourself, why do I want to use my existing suspension off of my 86?
do you have big brakes? coil overs , aftermarket control arms etc.?

If not Then you are looking for more headache then its worth. if you have lets say a cobra big brake kit you want to use there are kits available to use the brakes on an early spindle.

if you are just looking for disc brakes there are kits as low as $500 out there.

Posted by Wht86drop (Member # 12104) on :

I have front koni coil overs, full cobra brakes and Spindles.

Posted by v-town coupe (Member # 2771) on :

Sell the coil overs and order the AJE kit, mounting that M motor in that k member is going to be a chore.
If your are looking into the best handling possible you may want to re-think going through all that trouble to go strut.

Posted by 4IDFOX (Member # 9921) on :

I am always amazed when people want to put struts on an early mustang. The fox and sn95 owners who want to make there cars handle the best they can throw the struts away and install a sla front suspension.
I have coilover struts on my AI fox car but would much rather have an sla.

I think with the new power steering boxes and a-arms with Bearings instead of bushings along with the Shelby mod would result in a better driving and handeling car.

Posted by v-town coupe (Member # 2771) on :

quote:
Originally posted by 4IDFOX:
I am always amazed when people want to put struts on an early mustang. The fox and sn95 owners who want to make there cars handle the best they can throw the struts away and install a sla front suspension.
I have coilover struts on my AI fox car but would much rather have an sla.

I think with the new power steering boxes and a-arms with Bearings instead of bushings along with the Shelby mod would result in a better driving and handeling car.

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