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Took it on the most spirited drive yet. Started off on some backroads, handles great. Flat in the corners, not so stiff it kills your kidneys. I do still have a slight tire rub though and it's because the brackets on my Granny's rear axle moved the axle close to a half inch forward. The tire hits the front of the inner wheel arch that I carefully trimmed and re-welded. So next project is getting some lower control links and putting a Heim joint on one end. if anyone knows where I can get a set I posted a wanted to buy in the classified section.
I also drove it on the interstate for the first time. I had scoped out a 2 mile section to calibrate my Autometer electric speedo. Gotta love the .10 mile markers they have now. It couldn't be easier to set up. Push a button, drive 2 miles, push the same button and it's set. I checked it against my phone speedo app and it's dead on.
Overall I'm super happy with how it drives. Steering is so nice. Rack and pinion really works well. it's so solid. No bump steer at all. no vibrations at least up to 80 MPH.
I need to get some serious wheels and tires on it soon so I can run it in autox.
Sweet!! Is there any reason you can't cut up the links that are on it?
Sweet!! Is there any reason you can't cut up the links that are on it?
no. I just don’t want it to be down while I do it. Plus if I screw something up then I could be in trouble.
I do have the old upper control links and the bushings are the same size so i could buy some thick wall DOM and make my own. I would still like to find some used ones though because I would trust the factoory weld better than my own.
Last edited by Frankenmazda; Mar 1, 2018 at 12:04 PM.
Reason: addition
Ok found the solution to my problem and I don't have to fabricate anything. Techno Toys makes both lower and upper adjustable links. The lowers were about 200 bucks. Not cheap but they look to be good quality. USA made teflon lined heim joints and 6061 links.
Ok found the solution to my problem and I don't have to fabricate anything. Techno Toys makes both lower and upper adjustable links. The lowers were about 200 bucks. Not cheap but they look to be good quality. USA made teflon lined heim joints and 6061 links.
I should have told you about them, That should work for what you need!
what are your thoughts on the solid mounted mufflers?
i am thinking the same thing and installing some stainless flex pipe after the down pipe.
Well, so far so good. I haven't noticed any ill effects from having it solid mounted. I was a bit worried about heat transferring into the car from the solid mounts but everything seems to be working well. With the exhaust wrapped the side skirt doesn't get hot at all even after sitting at idle for awhile.
So I got the Techno Toys lower links on and adjusted to where I wanted the rear axle. super nice parts from those guys. High quality, made in America, heim joints. Nice mis-alignment spacers. Really impressed with the parts from these folks. I had take a little off the spacers on the axle end. The brackets Grannys put on the rear axle are thicker than stock. But it's all in. I'll drive it this afternoon and see how it feels.
So with that I declare the suspension finished! Still waiting on the rear wheels. Ordered on the 1st. so I guess I better figure out what I need for front backspacing and such so I can get them ordered as well.
First time on here in a little while, great progress on this! T3 makes really nice parts don't they? Gabe is a really good guy to deal with.
Glad to see you're getting to finally enjoy your build
Good to see you back.
Yea they make really nice stuff. All top quality. So that's why this is happening. I ran into a problem with my watts link. I fabricated the upper link with a bend to clear the center section of the rear axle. Problem is; it is allowing some flex which is a little scary going around a corner fast and the rear skips sideways. So after a lot of research and measurements I think about the only thing I have room for is a setup like T3's panhard bar. It does have a bend in the bar to clear but it's really beefy and I just don't have room to do anything else. between the mustang gas tank and the 8.8 rear axle it's pretty full back there. So I'm going to use the existing watts link bracket on the passenger side and modify it. I have to drop it down a bit to clear my center section. I'm going to fab a bracket and weld it on. Should make the rear more planted hopefully.
So I got the bracket fabbed up and the bar installed. It actually looks like it's going to work out pretty well. The bar pivot points are fairly parallel to the axle. I just have to figure out what to do for the rear sway bar.
I'll drive it this afternoon and see how it feels.
bracket dropped
Doesn't hit through the entire suspension movement
Thanks! So after driving it for a bit I have to say the panhard bar is a huge improvement over what I had for the watts link. It feels much more planted around corners. No hop at all. I still don't have a rear sway bar worked out but I haven't noticed any change in cornering caused by not having it. Perhaps I would if I was driving it at the limit but for what I can do on the street, with my crappy rear tires, it feels better overall.
Thanks! So after driving it for a bit I have to say the panhard bar is a huge improvement over what I had for the watts link. It feels much more planted around corners. No hop at all. I still don't have a rear sway bar worked out but I haven't noticed any change in cornering caused by not having it. Perhaps I would if I was driving it at the limit but for what I can do on the street, with my crappy rear tires, it feels better overall.
no rear sway bar will get you more grip at the limit, You'll probably like the feel as long as it doesn't roll over too bad.
Ok, so a more than 2 month wait and they got my backspacing wrong by almost an inch. this was after giving me three different ship dates which were all wrong. I called them about the backspacing, they really didn't seem to care about rectifying the situation. I can ship them back at my own expense, wait another 2 month then pay shipping again. Still don't have the front wheels. So my advise is if you can find another source for wheels I would skip Weld.
Ok rant over now I have to fix the situation. I'm going to wait to get the front wheels before I do any body work but as you can see from the pics I'm going to have to do some modification on the rear flares to get them to cover the wheels. Which means that without fat spacers I won't be able to run my old wheels for road trips.
Is it just me or do companies not seem to give a crap about making the customer happy anymore? once they get your hard earned cash that's about as far as their customer service goes.
once I get the fronts mounted and on I'll do the body work to try and make it looked like I planned it that way.
I will admit they are super nice rims. Light and I love the look. Just wish they fit.
Its unfortunate they will not work to make it correct. Have you tried talking to someone higher up in the company? Also depending on how you paid for them dispute the charges or don't pay for the fronts and tell them never mind. Cut your losses and try another company.
Unless you really were looking to reshape the rear I hate to see it just because they messed up.
Mat
Last edited by MACRacing; May 23, 2018 at 01:12 PM.
