1968 Export brace and sway bar.

[dalorzo_f]

Was fairly original when I got it a few years ago. Original front springs were mush and put Bilsteins and new springs on it right after I bought it. That made a nice difference.

Ordered the OE style heavy export brace and had it planned for this weekend. Last weekend stumbled on a 15/16" sway bar for $25, with all monting hardware. So put both on today. A really easy job as the export brace needed very minor convincing on one bolt at the cowl, and the sway bar was dead simple. Nice to have a job that went faster than expected (for once!)

Took it out for a spin. Wow. What a difference. Steering is way more reponsive and stays almost flat in the corners (street driving so no smoking or screeching tires).

A great $100 upgrade... and totally reversible as I kept the OEM tower braces and mini sway bar...

When I pull the engine for a reco later this year or early next will do the Shelby drop. Can't wait to see what that does as if it as noticeable as this upgrade the car will be real fun to drive...

 

[robert campbell]

There are kinda mixed reviews on the Shelby drop. I almost did it on Val's 1967 Fastback, but did not. It was a great upgrade in the day to a full on roundy round race car, but scrubbed up the edges of the tires. No problem for racing, but for street driven it may be a bit harsh.

With all the bolt on stuff that is out there today the Shelby drop, although cheap, may have been over come by newer engineering and technology.

Rob

 

[dalorzo_f]

Thanks.

Most of the replies on the Shelby drop I see make it sound like its orgasmic. I don't expect quite that much, but an improvement as it does benefit the geometry. Most replies I see are neutral to very positive, few negatives...

As for scrubbing, would that be a problem with 205/14's or 215/15's? Never heard that in the context of "small" tires... or that it makes the ride any harsher as none of the other suspension is changed; springs, perches, shocks, so can't see why would it make it a harder ride? All it does is improve the contact patch and thus would seem to reduce edge wear from everything I've seen?

I have no desire for 18's or 245's on the front, to me the new fad big tires/rims just look silly on most old Mustangs.

... and I'm betting in a few years some "new" engineering and reaserch (or more likely just marketing) will show that 14's and 15's are really better, to get folks to swap out all the old "bad" tires and rims again... :smile:

Never seent that noted unless folks are trying to put 255/10/20's on the fronts!:wink:

 

[rvrtrash]

I did the Shelby drop to a friends '68 "back in the day". I also removed the jacked up shackles, pulled the 14" wheels and tires and put on a set of 15's with low profile tires. We used to call that +1/-1 (1" extra wheel height/1" less tire sidewall). It made a huge difference in handling and my buddy couldn't believe it was the same car. Now the downside. It changes the geometry of the upper ball joint and puts extra stress on it. You also loose some range of motion. If you're pushing the car hard on a regular basis, you'll want to change the ball joints on a regular basis. You'd be better served by buying some redesigned upper control arms with corrected geometry, but you'll spend more money.

Steve

 

[x-codegtcs]

I have heard that the "wedge" kits to reduce the UBJ binding issue are problematic. Is that true? I am surprised someone doesn't make an offset upper ball joint.

Who makes the redesigned UCA? Is that TCP?

 

[dalorzo_f]

99+% of what I have read says the wedge kit is a non issue on a street car. Shelby only used it on the race cars with a larger (1 1/2" or so) drop. I have never seen anyone show a ball joint failure on a street car with the 1" drop.

I find it odd how the drop is so good for handling, but would miss the fact it destroys the ball joint. That would just be very bad engineering, and the Ford Engineers back in the day were pretty switched on...

 

[Mosesatm]

http://mustangforums.com/forum/classic-mustangs-tech/113292-shelby-drop-bad-idea.html
"So I did the Shelby drop when I put in my grab-a-trak. Then when I took the car in for alignment (and other expensive mods), the alignment shop said this was a BAD IDEA (reputable classic Mustang shop in SoCal that regularly writes and contributes our "How To" articles to Mustang Monthly - that's how I found them). Turns out that Carrol Shelby stopped doing the Shelby Drop on Shelby Mustang model #252 (bet you didn't know that - I didn't...). There were constant upper ball joint failures on the cars with the drop. Ball joint life was dramatically reduced to about 1/3 its usual life. If the Shelby Drop is accompanied with a special upper ball joint modification (expensive$$$ part, and expensive$$$ labor), then all is well. However, just doing the drop with no ball joint mod will be detrimental to a regularly driven Mustang.

None of this matters if you only show your car, or "occassionally" drive it less than the maximum miles allowed under a classic car insurance policy. If that's your case, then I wonder why one would go through the hassle and expense of this mod when you won't ever be able to feel the difference, since the car is never run long or hard enough to notice."

 

[robert campbell]

Changes the steering geometry... Wears the tire contact path on the edges (scrubbing). Makes alignment more difficult.

Racing, yes. Daily driving, no. Steve (rvrtrash) has done some serious road racing in his past. As he said there are other options to achieve the same effect without the downside. I have a nice set of aluminum templates to perform the "shelby" drop. Unused and in perfect condition.... Free free free!!!

Rob

 

[dalorzo_f]

Well... of course it changes the geometry, that's the whole point of the drop! :wink:

The "constant ball joint failures" were on GT350-R's with the larger drop and othewise mostly stock suspension. And were not even that common. And, yes they stopped doing it, common knowledge. But as a cost cutting measure, not due to any safety issue (any recall on the earlier ones with the drop if it was so dangerous?) Ford was screwing Shelby down on prices so they did it to save $.

Based on many "quality" articles I've seen in MM (more like ad's for parts than technical articles) I'll defer on that reference to the overwhelmingly positive posts and articles on the topic. Far to many have done it with zero issues.

As for a more difficult alignment, well then any suspension mods like Global West, RRS, etc. have the same difficulty. Just has to be accomodated.

And "hassle and expense", it is drilling four holes and some time, so not really a high cost or more than a weekend (day)/sixpack job.

And for "you won't ever be able to feel the difference, since the car is never run long or hard enough to notice." Huh? I have no idea how driving the car for any length of time changes the steering/tire geometry (its not an F1 that needs heat in the tires). It is in effect immediately. If it wasn't, it is like saying your alignment won't kick in for 100 miles or only if you go over 65mph! :wink: total crap-ol-a!

A BS story, full of holes, that has taken two factoids; they stopped doing it, and R's broke ball joints, and fed into the mythology of "its bad" and "you need a wedge kit".

Yes, other options exist. But it is a simple and low cost upgrade that has extremely minimal downside, and a reasonable upside, for the average street driven Mustang.

Ran an unscientific poll on VMF. So far, 30 people have done it, stock suspension, no issues. Zero report any problems. Empirical , and extremely limited, data that follows the most common thoughts on the drop.

 

[AADaddy]

Interesting reading. I've been in the process of installing a Global West negative roll kit on my car for the past month. Part of the install for this kit is the Shelby drop. I only work on it a couple hours at a time here and there, so it's taking a little longer than it should. Worst part has been getting all the old stuff out! I'm very excited to get it back on the ground and drive it. Before the car was all over the road. Every part I took out was majorly worn out. Doug at GW claims this car will out handle my 07 GT with a Steeda track setup. While I know I may have take away from originality of the car a little I will trade that for better handling any day.

 

[rvrtrash]

I'm trying hard to remember why I bother to share first hand experience. I can't compete with 'I ran a poll on another site and they say you're full of BS.' I should probably limit myself to "Happy Birthday" and "Wow, your car's looking real nice".

Steve

 

[franklinair]

Old Guys Opinion

"Opinions are like belly buttons. Everybody's got one."
Here's mine, based on experience pre-dating ball joints, UCA's, and LCA's. (I still have my dad's reamers for replacing kingpins & bushings.)
For small block Fords, I stick with stock dimensions,suspension & parts. I prefer MOOG components, KYB shocks, Eaton leaf springs. Stock alignment-caster, camber, toe-in. In addition I like to add heavy duty swaybar, ExportBrace, and Monte Carlo bar (straight, not curved). This has served me well since the early 1980's when I first started in this hobby. (And I only do 1968 Mustangs, 'cause they're the model I prefer.) I prefer 302/4BBL engines. But if I have a 289/2BBL, bet your life I'll add a 4BBL intake & carb.:wink:
These cars are 45 years old. The engineering & technology cannot compare to the modern versions. GT/CS's & HCS's are antiques. I enjoy them for what they are- relatively rare, iconic collector cars.
I have no heartburn if folks like to modify their car. As the cliche' says, "It's your car, do it the way you like." While basic stock is my personal preference, Concourse, Driver, or Modified- I like them all- and won't criticise variations based on individuals' choices. If someone disagrees with my opinions- that's OK. Everybody's got one. (Belly buttons, that is.)

Neil

 

[x-codegtcs]

This is an interesting thread and it really shows the broad range of belly buttons, er um, opinions and experiences. I have not had any issues with the drop on UCA ball joint failures. I am not a reliable comparison just due to the low mileage I post each year and almost all of these are not radical driving miles. I can comment that the handling is definately better.

Here is an article the I found very helpful in my consideration to do the drop and he provides alignment settings for the cars with the drop. He has other In depth articles explaining alignment "science" if you are interested. A good read anyway whether you are an innie or outie.

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/drop

 

[dalorzo_f]

I'm trying hard to remember why I bother to share first hand experience.

As input for a discussion? I never said you were full of anything, just posted information for discussion. The BS was about the totally incorrect "facts" in the quoted article and the idea that the drop only kicks in under hard or long term driving.

I guess your experience outweighs mine, and the first hand experience of all the others who posted in the poll. Oddly, none of whom noted any issues using the drop in their cars with many years of street use. Empirical data, and if they had noted problems I would have noted them. I have no axe to grind other than trying to dispell some of the misinformation that has become tribal lore on the subject.

All I've stated is the ovewhelmingy postive experiences with the drop I have seen and heard so others can get a balanced view of the issue, and then decide what they might like to do...

... and I'm a "none-ie", clone with no belly button! :wink:

 

[CougarCJ]

As input for a discussion? I never said you were full of anything, just posted information for discussion. The BS was about the totally incorrect "facts" in the quoted article and the idea that the drop only kicks in under hard or long term driving.

I guess your experience outweighs mine, and the first hand experience of all the others who posted in the poll. Oddly, none of whom noted any issues using the drop in their cars with many years of street use. Empirical data, and if they had noted problems I would have noted them. I have no axe to grind other than trying to dispell some of the misinformation that has become tribal lore on the subject.

All I've stated is the ovewhelmingy postive experiences with the drop I have seen and heard so others can get a balanced view of the issue, and then decide what they might like to do...

... and I'm a "none-ie", clone with no belly button! :wink:

You have no belly button? Have you registered with the guys at MIB?


You asked for opinions, and didn't get the answer you were looking for here. Knock your self out, if you want to do the Shelby drop, go for it.

Totally predictable outcome on your question.

This forum is about the preservation, restoration, and the history of the 1968 GT/CS and HCS. We are generally trying to maintain and improve the values of these collectible and investment grade Mustangs.

The 'other' site to which you asked your question has a large following of modified Mustangers, that thrive on the things sold in Modified Mustangs and Ford, and Hot Rod magazines.

But if you must, check out Cobra Automotive for parts and information that the big boys are using for sanctioned vintage racing.