For earlier cars you need to cut the column and use the included shorter, solid shaft. You can upgrade the parts and make substantial improvements in performance. Tie rod ends, ball joints, and so forth arent especially expensive and should be the first things to get replaced if theyre worn or damaged with excessive play. Polyurethane should never be used for a street car because it can restrict and bind the arc of suspension travel. An export brace bolts between the firewall and the shock towers to brace them under hard cornering. The cradle may interfere with large exhausts. Its larger size, however, requires some modification of the steering shaft. If youre thinking of buying a complete replacement you probably should just save your money and upgrade to a better system instead. In addition the OEM spring perch uses a relatively compliant rubber bushing, which isnt the best for performance or durability. The extra reinforcement is obvious at the end where the tubes come together at the chassis mount, across the tubes, and even right up to the ball joint. The difference they make in terms of vehicle performance, however, is extremely obvious. The OEM rubber bushing has been replaced with a spherical bearing. (Photo Courtesy Global West Suspension). Lower-cost systems tend to use polyurethane bushings and other less-costly components to keep the price down. This added flexibility can be very convenient plus it can be a competitive advantage with quicker adjustments. Its typical of similar mid-priced and more-capable systems. Early Mustangs benefit greatly from a Monte Carlo bar (the straight, adjustable bar between the shock towers) and an export brace (the fixed bars running between the firewall and the shock towers). Such bars may be smaller or larger in diameter than the stock bar depending on differences in materials, design (solid versus hollow), shape, and adjustability (extra holes, etc.). Their rubber bushings at the frame rail mount also tend to disintegrate over time, thus allowing the ram to move more than it should. (Photo Courtesy Global West Suspension). Weight and the number of potential leaks are also reduced plus additional header clearance is provided. The mounting location should also minimize the need for any corrective measures such as the installation of a bump steer kit or making exhaust modifications. In most cases a Watts linkage offers superior performance but costs more. You probably wont be changing the parts out much so you just need to get things right at first and then you can rely on shock settings, tire pressures, and so on for any tuning you might need to do. Like many other cars that rolled out of Detroit the Mustang is a unibody car and, unless the body and suspension have been recently restored, time has most likely taken its toll. The use of a hydraulic cylinder/ ram to provide power assist wasnt a very elegant solution; it introduced many more joints where excess wear and play could develop. By using adjustablelength rods with rod ends that index to the frame (to ensure proper alignment) these strut rods also provide additional adjustment capability for a more precise alignment. They accept all other OEM components and are a very good choice for drag race vehicles where the need for lighter weight is more important than the need to handle higher cornering. This quickly makes the steering more vague and slow. All spherical bearings have grease fittings and are capable of being readjusted and even rebuilt if necessary. They allow use of all stock components but, realistically, these parts should also be upgraded to achieve the best result. Even though you likely wont lose steering altogether youll probably end up someplace you dont want to, fast. Global West offers negative-roll components for road racing; those optimized for drag racing are fine for street use. I also cover steering options for the three vehicle types. These twin-tube, steel-bodied, gas-charged Koni Sport shocks provide excellent damping and are an affordable alternative to high-end aluminum-bodied shocks. You cant always judge stiffness by its appearance. As with the front, the goal is the minimization of unwanted compliance/movement along with general spring and shock firming. If the various rubber components are cracked or otherwise deteriorated they too can be replaced for little cost. Theres little point in upgrading to a more expensive, adjustable shock in a daily driver unless you intend to stay with leaf springs for the foreseeable future. Rebuilt rams are available, though theyre not cheap. For a high-performance application a higher spring rate is needed and this produces a harsher ride and fails to maintain as stable a total rear tire contact patch. In higher-performance situations a rear bar may prove to be beneficial if it helps balance the car but this probably isnt an issue with a daily driver. The design of the Del-A-Lum frame bushing eliminates the potential for any significant lateral movement (while only allowing the rotation of the mounting bolt) but not its movement in other directions. When combined with the better arms, bushings, shocks, etc., they very noticeably improve the dynamics of the vehicle. If a strut rod bushing fails you can be sure that happens, severely and quickly. The upper and lower links can be installed in multiple positions and are also adjustable in length. It was very strong too. The ride and behavior on rough surfaces and/or with high loading is simply better and more predictable and consistent with coil springs, even in drag racing. The suspension is crude by todays standards but it had pretty high limits and capability. These tubular lower control arms from Global West provide exceptional strength and performance for a stockstyle front suspension. The longer rod reduces the alignment change throughout the range of travel, thus allowing less of a compromise in setting the caster, etc. Grease fittings for each Del-A-Lum bushing ensure they can stay properly lubricated throughout their very long life. The strut rods are an often overlooked component in the front suspension. To avoid potential noise and squeaks over time Energy Suspension includes grease fittings to allow for additional lubrication as necessary. The stock eccentric adjusters can loosen and/or shift under hard use, thus causing the alignment to be out of spec. (Photo Courtesy Total Control Products). If you have no need to keep the original components for judging at a show, for example, it just doesnt pay to keep the stock system unless its in good shape and you dont want to put much money into a daily driver. The basic suspension was developed and refined for use in SCCA Trans-Am road racing. A worn/failing bushing usually causes the car to pull to one side when trying to drive straight. A Mustangs cornering ability is improved while body roll is limited. For a daily driver the factory leaf spring-style suspension is usually retained. The stock upper control arm is adequate for many high-performance street applications and does not need much improvement. When building a high-performance or restomod Mustang, installing subframe connectors is an absolute must. The extra rails also can provide a more convenient jacking point for lowered cars. This greatly stabilizes the spring and produces much more accurate, consistent, and limited motion. A quick and relatively easy way to remove some of the squishiness of the stock suspension is to replace the OEM rubber-bushed spring perches. If you change the leaf springs and/ or the rear axle assembly make sure to use compatible parts that locate and retain the springs on the axle. For this vehicle type, the chassis should receive additional stiffening for higher cornering forces. In some cases the joint could actually fail under extreme use. With this Global West complete coil-over conversion system, the OEM spring/shock setup is replaced by a coil-over setup, which mounts to the revised lower control arm to better direct/distribute the spring forces. You can copy and paste this link to share: https://www.diyford.com/mustang-suspension-steering-uprades/, The daily driver focuses on minor modifications with a limited budget based on the factory-style suspension. The Mustang had this issue from the beginning so export braces and Monte Carlo bars were offered. The best designs have fully welded tubes and large, thick attachment brackets that contact the frame stubs on three sides. With some modifications, however, the basic design even proved to be race worthy. Proper weld penetration is critical. Electric-assist systems generally dont have the same direct feel as a hydraulic system. The OEM parts arent very strong so its best to use good aftermarket components such as those sold by Mustangs Plus and Global West. The lower control arm with a strut rod has some pretty large (and soft) rubber bushings. Further front anti-sway bar modifications may not be needed if you already did some. They claim its not necessary due to their choice of springs, shocks, and geometry. The guidelines for the front apply to shock absorbers: Stick with a premium brand such as Koni (Classic line) for simple and nonadjustable versions. Because power is useless without control you need to understand how the suspension helps the force at the tires be transformed into motion while the steering (for the most part) determines what direction the motion is in. ridetech coilover shocks coilovers swaybar However, they have a higher cost and progressive spring rate. This provides firm or soft roll control. The caster is adjusted on the strut rods that have jam nuts. The reason is the tabs to be welded to the axle housing must be precisely located to ensure the axle is properly located in all directions. Considering all the new parts you get, this is one of the best upgrades you can make for the money. These panels box off the bottom of the car while better tying together and reinforcing the major structures. An elaborate (and costly) strut rod design is from TCP. Combining Global Wests upper and lower tubular control arms virtually eliminates friction over the entire range of movement. (For extreme/track use more radical modifications are needed.). This is easily done by loosening the locknut on the steering box and adjusting the screw per factory instructions. Polyurethane perches cushion the ride, allow less movement, and last longer. Incompatible designs could result in the locating peg on the springs not reaching the corresponding hole on the axle mounting plate. The elimination of excess movement/compliance stabilizes the lower arm and greatly improves vehicle handling, braking, and stability. You experience better steering every time you drive the car. These are not only much, much stronger than OEM arms but they also incorporate revised geometry and use Del-A-Lum bushings instead of rubber or polyurethane on the cross shaft. An easy and inexpensive way to fix this is to replace the OEM perches with ones using polyurethane. The system weighed more and was prone to leaks. Another prime candidate for replacement is the rag joint between the steering column and the steering box. A very effective and reasonably priced way to dramatically improve steering performance is to replace it with a more contemporary system such as this one from Borgeson (left). Air springs are able to change damping characteristics on demand for increased ground clearance and performance at various speeds and applications. Upgrading the lower control arms follows the same theme as the uppers but takes things a bit further. The concentricpivot assembly utilizes two preloaded Delrin bushings inside billet aluminum housings to relocate the effective pivot point farther forward, thus effectively lengthening the strut rod while also eliminating unwanted compliance/movement. The suspension solution for this vehicle type builds on the highperformance street type and its basically an upgrade with greater emphasis on strength and tunability: a coil-over system from Ridetech. A curved bar may be necessary to clear a larger distributor or other obstruction but these are not as strong unless they use thicker-wall tubes. It almost always weighs less than a regular system when you consider all the links, joints, and so forth it doesnt have. The spring shackles are also reinforced. Even on a road course car a stiffer bar may not always be best if it throws the handling balance off, especially with lighter small-blocks. Upgraded aftermarket lower control arms provide significant performance improvement over stock. One way to help ensure proper handling balance for a given vehicle is to source all components from a single supplier as a matched kit for a particular type of driving. The best Monte Carlo bar designs use thick, straight tubing with thick brackets and adjustable rod ends with opposing threads to allow adjustment by simply rotating the bar (versus having to adjust each side separately). Some units integrate the assist motor directly onto the rack, though that can be a packaging problem.
Everything needs to be compatible to get the best result. They can even improve the ride due to less initial impact friction (stiction). The Level 3 system includes the front bar along with the best shocks (single adjustment for rebound with dual-stage high- and low-speed adjustments for compression, plus remote reservoirs) and is the preferred choice for this vehicle type. A harsher ride is one of them plus things like spring wrap-up also come into play. A better solution is to use DelA-Lum bushings from Global West. A pure drag race suspension isnt well suited to street use so I briefly address it in the high-performance street and streetable track-day sections. Even right off the showroom floor they were vague, void of any real communication from the road, and not very responsive to inputs. Ensure the nuts on the U-bolts are evenly tightened and not overtightened to the point of warping the flanges. If the strut rods are improperly adjusted the wheel alignment may be off and there can be a high possibility of the car pulling to one side under braking or acceleration. A vehicle in this category sees a lot of extreme use so it needs even more chassis stiffening than the other types. Ridetech offers three levels of coil-over, or ShockWave/air-spring, configurations. First-generation Mustangs were equipped with mundane hydraulic shocks at the factory, which faded after severe acceleration, hard braking, and aggressive cornering. These Global West arms are the stronger four-bolt variety plus they utilize a revised bushing design with harder durometer rubber to reduce excessive and unwanted movement of the arm. Inexpensive rebuild kits with superior materials reduce the tendency for leaks or excessive play after the rebuild. These can be adapted to work with most engine swaps such as this 5.0L EFI engine. They significantly reduce the amount of movement yet still provide some isolation from noise and vibration, etc. 
The upper links are adjustable in length to allow the proper setting to be reached but this may not be possible if the tabs are not located properly. Global West advises against using anti-sway bars when their complete suspension system is used. A final feature of the g-link is its exceptional provision for ongoing maintenance. The front suspension design of first-generation Mustangs didnt change much. The anti-sway bars themselves can also be upgraded with thicker/stiffer parts to reduce body roll. The support cradle is reinforced by gussets and links, which extend forward to attach to the original leaf-spring mounts. If the cost of doing this proves to be too high you can perform an upgrade instead. Remember, the suspension is a system, not just a combination of parts. Even higher spring loads and cornering forces place a greater load on the body and chassis and cracks tend to develop in the thin sheet metal of the towers. A Monte Carlo bar provides additional support by connecting to the shock towers across the engine bay to further reduce their movement relative to each other. They are also lighter than the components they replace. After the axle has been verified as being correctly located and centered these adjustable fixtures are run between the axle and the upper link mounts on the cradle. Perches using bearings instead of bushings provide the maximum reduction in unwanted movement. I discuss roll bars and cages in Chapter 12 but there are other modifications you can make to the basic body structure. These bushings rest inside anodized aluminum housings, which are inserted into the spring and/or frame rail. More importantly, the integration of the power assist directly into the steering box greatly improves steering feel and response. This provides increased firmness for high-performance applications. A sudden suspension jolt or impact can cause the strut rod to bend (or even break off) at the base of the threads. When the additional loads of high-performance driving are to be the norm, additional strengthening measures are needed for the body structure. They dont compress to any noticeable degree and they reduce friction and impact harshness. (Photo Courtesy Global West Suspension). The starting point is the elimination of the stock rubber spring eye and shackle bushings because theyre probably worn out anyway. This almost fully eliminates any compliance or friction while helping to reinforce the mounting box. Non-adjustable and doubleadjustable versions plus other springs are available. They are usually installed under the dash, either with a new steering column or through modifications to the existing steering column. These designs completely eliminate any excessive for-and-aft movement of the strut rod while greatly reducing friction and strength. If much higher power levels and cornering loads will be generated such modifications are likely necessary. 
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