Have you considered doing the Arning Drop on your suspension? It's more or less a free mod, and you get both lower stance and handling improvements.
These spindles use Granada calipers.[/QUOTE] The 72 that I had used calipers similar to a 68-69 style. I'll double check when I get back to work but I'm pretty sure the Granada style calipers were not until 1974.
ok let me clear this up for everyone... the fatman fab mustang drop spindles accept granada disc and maverick disc brakes.... jamie is trying to see how the suspension will act once he puts them on his car... not whether or not the brakes or ball joints will bolt up correct me if im wrong jamie
Thank you sir, you hit it on the head. I'm not sure why this seems so difficult to understand. It clearly states that these spindles use '75-'80 Granada brakes. '71-'73 Mustang brakes have absolutely nothing to do with this post. I know all the other particulars, I've been at this for a while now and have converted several Mavericks to disc brakes. I just want to make sure the steering arm geometry and all that is correct. I know the Mustangs are wider cars, if that has anything to do with it. Won't dropping the upper control arm cause negative camber? Like I said, my car is a daily driver. I don't need to be going through front tires every 15,0000-20,000 miles like my dad's Mustang does. With the type of driving I do, which is about 85% highway, I am perfectly happy with the way the car handles stock. A decent set of shocks and thicker sway bar will probably be the only mods I do in that area.
ok well depending on how much higher the steering knuckle is located on the fat man spindle it shouldnt change the geometry too much... if your askin about a shelby drop it is not something you want to do with your car if its primarily a highway driver... you wont get much more than a half inch of lowered ride height with a one inch drop of the control arm but you will eat through tires... mostly done for handling purposes when you call fatman fab ask what exactly they changed... if they only raised the rotor mounting position then steering geometry wont change much... alignment could fix it... if they raised the location of the steering knuckle then you might have bump steer problems... just gonna have to ask i know i didnt answer any questions but i hope i cleared something up for you :Handshake check out this link http://www.fatmanfab.com/catalogpage.php?page=31
ok maybe i shoulda read before i posted.... the link on my last post has in it that they lowered the outer tie rod mounting position to get rid of bumpsteer ooops sorry
Okay, the real skinny is that they work fine as long as you know what to expect. There is a good set of instructions on the fatman web site for the installation. Read it then read it again. The main problems you will run into are: 1. The brake caliper needs to have some of the material ground off to clear the upper control arm. The installation instructions show where and how much. 2. The brake hoses have to be replaced with hoses from a particular model GM and must attach using supplied banjo fittings as the stock hoses will interfere with the upper ball joint. 3. The front suspension will drop at least 2". This will make the car pretty hard to drive until you have an alignment done. I ended up having to add a shim between the shock tower and the front of the upper control arm to get adequate caster without pulling the front tires completely out the front of the car. By centering the adjustment on the strut rod then adding shims to get it in the ball park, everything works fine. I have about 6,000 miles on my Fatman dropped spindles now. It drives nice and allows me full suspension travel. I do to be very careful with wheel offset now as the same wheels are very close to the upper control arm. (less than 1/4 inch)
Thank you!! What size wheels are you running? The car will have to have an alignment regardless. I am starting completely over from scratch and building up anther body that will become my permanent Maverick for many years to come. The entire suspension will be new under the car. I have 3 day weekends off work through the summer and am going to lay into this car heavily and try to get it to the point of being a daily driver by late fall.
15 x 7 with 3.5" (neutral) offset. I have a set of 2007 Mustang GT takeoffs that are 17 x 8 that I will be putting on that car. That will take care of the interference, I hope. I will be using 1.75" wheel adapters which, according to my measurements, should be just right.
Help me understand your reasoning... The purpose of the Arning Drop (aka Shelby Drop) is to improve the relationship of the upper to lower control arms. The potential to wear the tires unevenly is cured by an alignment. Ford eventually built the drop into all production Mustangs after 1970, if memory serves (may have been earlier), and they apparently aligned just fine. Most folks on Stangnet report .75" drop. Far from 2", but hey, it's a drop, and it would be a great time to install shorter springs when you do it.
