Coil overs and such...

Today’s goal was to begin placing the new front suspension components beneath the front of the mustang. Mike and I started by assembling the new coil-over spring setup onto the new Bilstein high performance struts. After completing the assembly, Michael assisted me in reinstalling the control arms and front spindles. We then proceeded to attach the struts to the control arms and then compress the strut so that it could be placed into the caster/camber plates on top of the strut tower. The freshly painted caster/camber plates are what allows the car’s alignment to be adjusted. After a few tedious times of correcting the spacing of the struts, Mike and I tightened all of the bolts and attached the sway bar to the control arms. After completing what we could of the front suspension, Mike and I proceeded in installing the rear shocks. In order to do so, we had to heat and bend a wrench to reach down into the shock compartment.

This is a pic of the new caster/camber plates, struts (Bilstein), and various tools needed to attach the new struts to the car.

Here's a picture of the left control arm and spindle. After taking the control arms out of the 5.o mustang, we realized that one of the ball joints was damaged. We had a new one pressed in by Beroth tire in Madison.

Here's a picture of Mr. Butler heating a spare 17mm wrench so that we could bend it in a shape so that the rear shocks could be tightened. The rear of the mustang has a tight compartment that the top of the shock comes up through, making it impossible to get standard tools into position.

When bending tools, be sure to remember not to stress the metal. It is always better to bend a little, reheat, then bend some more.

The caster/camber plates had a few dings and needed a fresh coat of paint.

Cleaned up and ready for install.

In order for the new plates to bolt in, Mike modified the adjustment holes so that the plates could be adjusted with ease.

Mike attaching the strut to the control arm.

Me placing the spindle back onto the control arm and checking the bolts.

This is a shot of the strut after it was pushed into the strut tower.

After re-attaching the sway bar.

The finished product.

The same procedure was followed to install the other side.