Project 1989 Mustang GT Convertible

[low89fox]

I'm not ****** on the car, I know how hard it is to find clean foxes and yours looks really good. I'd say go with a set of tubular control arms, you'll like the way they feel a lot better. My dad's 84 has a full tubular k member, control arms, and coilovers. You'd be surprised at how well a sra fox body can handle with those.

You'd be surprised how well my car handles as-is.... Slamming it with coilovers (Koni struts and 350lb springs) and sn95 stuff made it one of the best handling cars I've ever been in, even with cut springs in the back. I actually love how the cut springs feel in the back.

The only drawback was the tires... They would always lose grip just a little around hard 40mph turns, but on this turn, they completely gave out, and there was nothing I could do to regain control.

I was really confused and mad, because I make this turn every day on the way home from work at the same speeds with little grip issues. But not this time....


And what I was thinking last night, about my positive camber on the passenger side and negative on the drivers side (and also, my engine is pushed to the drivers side about 2 inches, because my fan rubs on the shroud now) is that it may just be my k-member that's bent or may have gotten pushed over. I measured everything under the hood, and it's all straight, with the exception of a crooked engine.

[low89fox]

Here's some control arm pics










I took off my front clip to inspect the damage closer...



I like the look of no front clip, Racecar status, brooooo




Driver side camber


Passenger side camber




And the last time I washed my car like a week ago........

[Solar]

well that sucks!

[low89fox]

I found that my frame is not bent, it's my Koni strut and my caster camber plate... I'll just have to deal with it, because it's not that far out of alignment. There's no way I'm buying a new strut and caster camber plate. I will, however buy a new inner tie rod and try to just get one of the outer tie rod adjusters that I bent.

I drove around like this today with the top down and felt really cool, haha. Everyone stared at me.





Those are the rims I was going to put on the back. They're 9.5" wide with a 35mm offset. The tires are Falken Azenis 265/35/18. I may just order some 10.5" wide rims for the rear.

[Hitman Cody2130]

Do it, the 265's look mean up front!

[low89fox]

Do it, the 265's look mean up front!

Lol, they look hella mean with the front clip off, but I put it on and it looks kinda stupid and rubs like a bitch, lol (and I raised it 2.5 inches to fit them!!!!). I'm putting 225/40 Kumho's on these rims tomorrow.

I also bought a rear end with discs and 5 lug.... It was going on this weekend, but I got set back by the curb.... I'm thinking about 11's in the rear, lol. CCW knock-offs all around. and these ones as drift spares.

[keeton]

Lol, they look hella mean with the front clip off, but I put it on and it looks kinda stupid and rubs like a bitch, lol (and I raised it 2.5 inches to fit them!!!!). I'm putting 225/40 Kumho's on these rims tomorrow.

I also bought a rear end with discs and 5 lug.... It was going on this weekend, but I got set back by the curb.... I'm thinking about 11's in the rear, lol. CCW knock-offs all around. and these ones as drift spares.

I've been thinking about those 18x11s with like some 265/35s on the rear of my fox...do it! I wanna see what it looks like. Or if 11s will even fit decent.

[semaj4712]

If I would have done this, It would have been much MUCH worse....... My frame is bent enough as it is... I don't need something more sturdy to total my car....

I am going to assume with the stupid confederate flag you wanted to paint that your from the south...and I know the education system down there sucks, so its not your fault...but the quoted statement, literally makes no sense

[low89fox]

I am going to assume with the stupid confederate flag you wanted to paint that your from the south...and I know the education system down there sucks, so its not your fault...but the quoted statement, literally makes no sense

Actually, South Florida's education system is within the top 10 best of America..... I'd much rather bend a $20 control arm than my frame. A weaker control arm has less chance of transmitting force to the frame to bend it, as it absorbs most of the impact itself.

[Trif0rce]

And every time you hit a sweet ass pothole instead of transferring all that force up through your spring and shock, it'll bend your 20$ control arm. Good plan!

[loekaaz]

Hooning; you're doing it wrong....

[TurboFox]

I hit a curb with my fox once and all it did was completely destroy my rims. Im not really sure what to say about the control arm mod because I'm not a suspension expert. It just depends on if that cut control arm is flexing and harming the handling characteristics of the car I guess...

I def want to see this car on some wide wheels though. I think a 10.5 in the rear would be wide enough. Watch out with the front though because a lot of mustang guys have trouble fitting even a 9in rim in the front with coils. You might be able to pull off a 9.5 if you did some mild fender work and a stretched tire.

[low89fox]

And every time you hit a sweet ass pothole instead of transferring all that force up through your spring and shock, it'll bend your 20$ control arm. Good plan!

I can't hit potholes anyway..... I'd rip off my bumper and bend my radiator support lmao. Even speed bumps are a struggle. There are some that I get stuck on, and then I have to rock the car and push it, lol.

But seriously, the cut that I put in my control arm doesn't weaken it THAT much, to the point that it just bends like that.... Remember, I was going 40 when this curb jumped out at me......

I hit a curb with my fox once and all it did was completely destroy my rims. Im not really sure what to say about the control arm mod because I'm not a suspension expert. It just depends on if that cut control arm is flexing and harming the handling characteristics of the car I guess...

I def want to see this car on some wide wheels though. I think a 10.5 in the rear would be wide enough. Watch out with the front though because a lot of mustang guys have trouble fitting even a 9in rim in the front with coils. You might be able to pull off a 9.5 if you did some mild fender work and a stretched tire.

There is no noticeable flexing... It still handles extremely well. It did not harm the handling characteristics at all.

And I'm already on a 9.5 with a horrendous 35mm offset up front, lol. I need to get spacers because the coil adjuster would hit the rim if I went lower (which I want to). Any wheel can fit with the right offset. I could fit a 10.5 with a 20mm offset if I wanted... (I do want to, but I'd have to pull my fenders a little, and I don't have the money for a whole set of rims)

I may just get shorter springs to put on my coilovers so there isn't an issue with wheel fitment. I might get a 7" spring instead of my 9"

[wickedsnake00]

This is starting to turn from promising to cringe-worthy.

Aside from hitting a curb at 40, running cut control arms is just a big no-no. If you boxed it in, it may not be so bad. I strongly suggest going to a tubular front end, or at the very least A arms.

You can also look into the 03/04 Cobra A-arms. I had heard that they were slightly different in geometry than the standard ones to accommodate the wider tires up front, and the new edge suspension is almost identical to the fox. Might be worth a look.

[low89fox]

This is starting to turn from promising to cringe-worthy.

Aside from hitting a curb at 40, running cut control arms is just a big no-no. If you boxed it in, it may not be so bad. I strongly suggest going to a tubular front end, or at the very least A arms.

You can also look into the 03/04 Cobra A-arms. I had heard that they were slightly different in geometry than the standard ones to accommodate the wider tires up front, and the new edge suspension is almost identical to the fox. Might be worth a look.

I have new edge control arms...... The fox suspension went bye-bye the day the 18" rims went on. They are different in geometry from fox-length, they're like 3/4" wider per side. Cobra arms are the same.

Everyone get over my cut control arms, lol... I like them being cut. If I ever have any problems with them, I will admit that I'm wrong and get custom tubular ones. But until then, I'm not changing it.

I am having a lot of progress with my car, I'm just getting lazy with the thread, lol. The curb was just a minor set-back, since I found out I didn't bend my frame.

By the way, I'm going drifting on the 27th on a road course, so get ready for some pics and vids.