1968 Shelby 1" drop

[franklinair]

Has anyone done the 'Shelby drop' on their CS?
Is it worthwhile as far as handling/suspension?

Neil

 

[robert campbell]

Dad,
I almost did that to Val's Fastback. In fact the I drilled the holes for it. From what I have read over the years is it is a great mod if you are seriously roundy round racing.

The downside is it is harder on the tires and kinda scrubs the outside edges down as the tire wears. IMO, it is not a good mod for a street car that is driven as a street car. There are all sorts of great mods that stiffen up the front of a Mustang while retaining the stock geometry as you know. Such as the export brace, Monte Carlo bar, larger sway bar, and roller bearing spring perches. I know Steve Wick did some roundy racing with the 71 to 73 Mustangs. Maybe he will weigh in.

Rob

 

[franklinair]

Yep, I've already acquired the Export Brace, Monte Carlo Bar, 1" Sway bar. I'm going to replace the UCA's & LCA's, Coil springs, and improved perches. Also have new Leaf Springs and all 4 KYB shocks. I think I'll have to o'haul the P/S Ram (leaks), and inspect all the steering linkages for condition. And of course clean/paint/detail as I go along. Just waiting for the patient to come back from the paint shop.

Neil

 

[robert campbell]

She will handle like a dream!! Just like all of the cars you build!!

For cars you keep and may work on from time to time, the below adjustable shock tower braces are the cats meow!!

Rob

 

[p51]

Yes, I've done the 1" Shelby (Arning) drop and the handling improved. I'd recommend it.

Also an alignment per DazeCars spec really seemed to help...
http://dazecars.com/dazed/suspension101.html

 

[p51]

Neil

One other thing, the Arning 1" drop will drop the car ~1/2" at the front wheel wells.

You can get the 1/2" back either by thicker spring insulators, raising the perch with washers (1/4"), or with another mod that is being toss around which supposedly makes the handling even better than the Arning drop alone...

http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/v...868257-spring-perch-relocation-pros-cons.html

Excerpt from the above thread by Opentracker (who sells a lot of upgrade suspension parts)...

"It is a modification I came up with to give better handling on the race tracks to the stock type suspension and still be vintage legal. Like Tom said, it improves the motion ratio and that gives a better ride quality.

The two things you get from a coil over is a lack of bind from the pivot points as they all use rod ends and the improved ratio.

With our roller parts and the perch move, you don't get all the way there but you get close to what you get from a coil over and it cost a lot less. I have moved the perch more than 1" on several cars but that takes a little more work than just drilling new holes. As a rule, the 1" perch move will raise the spring rate by about 125lbs and raise the ride height by about 1/2".

There is no down side to it. In a way it's like the upper arm drop, it's all good and it's free.

The photos are of our template for the perch move and one of our roller upper arms with a track roller perch mounted 1" out."


James

 

[rvrtrash]

First, what I did was road racing. Driving in a circle for an hour gets me dizzy! :grin: As far as the Shelby drop, I highly recommend it. I've done a couple of '68's with it, and the handling improves a bunch. To be fair, I always paired the drop with a wheel and tire change, what used to be called +1/-1, which is add 1" of wheel diameter and remove 1" of tire sidewall. 14" wheels became 15" and the tire diameter remained the same. This is the second part of the equation, which is why Shelby's came with 15" wheels. I also changed from factory shocks to KYB. It was the best you could do, back in the '70's and '80's. So the short answer is, yes, but think of your suspension as a package to get the most out of it. You will see some increased wear on the upper ball joints, but as these cars are no longer daily drivers, and I don't think you'll be hitting Watkins Glen every weekend, it won't really be an issue. The new parts you've assembled sound good. Did you buy the roller perches?

Steve

 

[franklinair]

I opted for the Scott Drake high performance spring perches rather than the high dollar roller perches. I can't justify the additional cost/benefit for an occasional driver.
I'm still on the fence for the Shelby drop. Its not hard to do, but I'm not sure I want to change the geometry of the stock steering. All of the suspension will be new/rebuilt, and detailed to concourse specs, and with the stiffening pieces I'm adding (Export Brace, Monte Carlo bar, KYB shocks, 1" sway bar, and the steel plate between the trunk & rear seat) I think everything will be firm, minimizing any flex.

Neil

 

[robert campbell]

I knew there would be thoughts on this!! For me, my goal is from point a to b in a straight line!! Heck, I don't even worry much about the brakes. A good conditioned 60's era power disc is all I need!! I find the massive and expensive brake systems they sell today a bunch of hooey, unless you are road racing!! A lot of money to stop 10 feet quicker!

And I learned that roundy round is not road racing today! You can't make me any smarter, but you can make me more knowledgeable!!

Rob

 

[rvrtrash]

"And I learned that roundy round is not road racing today!"

Think Nascar and Daytona for roundy-round, the big ovals.
Think Trans-am and the rivalries between the Shelby's, Boss 302's, Z-28's, Javelins, Firebirds and Challengers for road racing. :wink: What kids today would call canyon carving if you're not on a closed track.

Steve

 

[robert campbell]

So something more than a left hand turn???? Just kidding, brother from another mother!!!

Rob

 

[CougarCJ]

Neal, look at this video for a couple of ideas. Specifically the weld in shock tower plates and the seat divider. The Cougar seat divider will not fit a Mustang though. But they are available from the Mustang suppliers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgxL4xnTTZ4

 

[Mosesatm]

So something more than a left hand turn???? Just kidding, brother from another mother!!!

Rob

Something like this?

 

[robert campbell]

We ain't nearly that purdy!!!

Rob

 

[rvrtrash]

Or in my case, as much hair! :grin:

Steve