Suspension Kits

[gazrox]

Has anyone used the suspension kits that are available from Laurel Mountain Mustang? They have several options for front and rear and the pricing seems quite good. Without actually seeing them, its difficult to judge quality.

Hoping someone has had some experience with these - good or bad!

Thanks,



Gary

 

[franklinair]

I've never dealt with them, but if you Google them, you'll also find complaints (justified or not, I don't know). I've used NPD and/or NAPA with good results, but you'd have to do a cost comparison to find the best deal. My last suspension rebuild, I used all NAPA and was satisfied with quality & cost. For the rear springs, use NPD.

Neil Hoppe

 

[obwan93001]

Hi all. Haven't had much time to spend here as my new job has me crazy busy as well as other things going on but I saw this post and having bought from LMM before had to reply. I don't intend this as a rant but rather just relating my experience in hopes if helps in your decision.

I purchased their "1965-73 Suspension Kit #2" last Summer which only included the parts necessary to rebuild my UCAs then had to arrange to swap out the shafts and ball joints for complete UCAs upon realizing that my original shells were shot. The quality was average and some of the parts/bushings were Scott Drake and Canadian Mustang. The only rear suspension parts I bought was their "1965-73 Poly Shackle Bushing Kit, w/ eye bolt bushing" kit which is in the process of being installed on the car now. I also purchased a 1" front sway bar kit from them which I installed last weekend w/no problems myself.

Now I ordered from them mainly because of their pricing even after factoring in the shipping costs to CA from PA however it was not all without any issues. The problems I had were as follows:

-Their shipping/packaging is less than adequate for shipping heavy metal components via ground service. I had issues with parts rubbing against each other resulting in scratched/etched paint and nicks. I wasn't entering the car in any concours type shows so that wasn't a problem although I did let them know about it. They came back with "We try our best and ship out hundreds of packages every day. Our packaging is in some cases better than other vendors...." They did offer to swap out any parts I was not happy with but at the cost of me paying the return shipping and running the same risks I chose to just touch up where needed prior to application.

-Another big problem was with the LCAs. It seems the metal around where the ball joint comes up through is somewhat "flanged" with the resulting lip being "flared" out some. The dust boot for the ball joint mounts with either a heavy duty rubber band or a metal band around that flared lip (guess it depends what bin they're pulled out of at the warehouse, I got one of each) and that lip rubs against the boot and especially during transit. Well the result was that one of the boots had a small tear in it caused by another part hitting up against it either at the warehouse or during transit that when I lubed things grease shot out of that tear. They were happy to swap it out but the replacement was received in the same condition. I then chose to just return the pair of LCAs to them for a refund of what was going to be $60. I was personally told by Kevin there that he would send me the refund via Paypal as opposed to standard policy which states that refunds are given as store credit unless there is an exception made as in my case. Well never got the refund even after bugging them several times and being told they'd look into it. So after 6 months or so I decided I wanted to add a beefier front sway bar so I bought it from them thus utilizing the refund that was due to me.

I ended up buying the replacement LCAs at NPD for a little bit more but they were of way better quality, I believe of the Scott Drake brand. I also bought a 3/4" rear sway from NPD as well as replacement leaf springs (went w/the GT/competition handling type), U-bolt set, shock and spring mount plates from NPD. If you have the time you should price your parts from NAPA, NPD and LMM as well as ask each who the manufacturer/brands are. You'll see that some parts will be better priced at one place and others at another and so on but you'll have to use your judgement and wallet when you do make your decisions. One word of warning is if you want UCAs w/4 bolt ball joints on them, NPD's price is $240/ea. But if you don't care and can use the 3 bolt version then they have them for $80/ea. I stuck with the 4 bolt version from LMM for just over $60/ea. Brake hoses, power steering hoses and the like were well priced at places like NAPA and Autozone.

Best of luck and I hope my lengthy reply helps you somewhat in your decision.

Oscar
obwan93001

 

[gazrox]

Thanks for the responses - this helps me a lot. I have used NPD in the past for my 67 coupe and haven't had any problems either. Might stick with them as know what I'm getting.

 

[PFSlim]

I might have bought some of my front and back from Mustangs Unlimited as well. Used NPD alot too. Either of these two I think would be great.

Paul

 

[nfrntau]

I bought my front end kit from LMM and I didn't have any problems at all with fit or finish. I have bought quite a few things from them and never have had a problem.

 

[HappyHour]

Great thread. Obwan thanks for sharing after reading your post Im going through my parts to ensure they are all solid..just bought new rear end leaf springs etc, and new deluxe front end suspension kits..including 1 inch springs to lower front.

I priced out Cal Mustang and went with Mustang Village in Fontana Calif due to saving on shipping and 5%off on Mustang parts coupoon they were running which got me around what others were charging once I itemized parts.

Didnt like after reading up on Laurel Mountain but my shop uses Mustang Village and they offered to drive parts out no cost!

Good luck!

 

[gazrox]

Hmmm - is there any reasons why one would choose between 4 bolt or 3 bolt UCA's other than price. The front shock had pulled through one of mine, thats how bad it was rusted, so I would like to replace it with the same style. I am assuming that the three bolt is an adequate replacement?

Thanks everyone for your help on this - I haven't done a suspension before now so I appreciate your thoughts and experience.

 

[karolscali]

hi gazrox, i am up in alta canada, and just installed my front end and rear leafs from LMM. everything went in fine without to much trouble. i found them less expensive the packaging, was good, the shipping costs, were less than anyone i have tried. any parts i have ordered in the states LMM has been the quickest. they say their parts are scott drake, but i beg to differ, the only beef i had you cannot get a tracking # when ordered, but if you call them they will track it. if you can get your parts locally through napa, go for it, i found mustang unlimited poor packaging, and smaller suppliers very expensive shipping costs,