Suspension
 

I'm looking for some advice on a new/upgraded suspension for my 1970 mustang. I have about $1000.00 to spend, but not sure what to do. The car needs all new bushings/mounts...the rubber ones are all cracked and dry and the car is kinda squeaky. Control arms are fine, shocks are new and the leaf springs seem alright. Should I just replace the mounts all over and install some sway bars for better control??

with that buget i think that would be your best option. sway bars are always good :tup

Definitely a good start,then as time rolls on,you can add on to compliment what you have,or will be doing with your current plan.

had the same thoughts... here's what I did
 

Hi
I had a 70 Mach1

You don't want Polyurethane bushings, though there is less play in them and they improve handling, they squeak, very annoying.
There is a compromise to this using something called Poly-Graphite, which I used. They improved car handling, but still squeaked a bit.
Remember though that I took mine to Mosport to road track it, so I needed the better handling these provided.
For a street car, just replace the stock rubber bushings (National Parts Depot in Michigan stocks them and they ship to Canada).
Or have Vintage & Performance Restoration in Waterdown order & install them for you 905 690 7637 (John Miles)

As for the sway bar, I highly recommend you go as big as you can. I installed a 1-1/8" dia Sway bar which really helped improve the body roll on cornering. No downside for a street car, just a better car.

I favoured KYB shocks to improve on the stock units also. Slightly firmer ride, but barely noticeable, but really helped with handling.

If you want to go a step further, consider Roller Spring Perches, becuase I'll bet once you take the suspension apart to do all this work, you will find the spring perches are junk. They have a limited life span, and they are wayyy under the radar of most restorers.
The Roller spring perches eliminate the "binding" the stock type rubber perch causes and frees the suspension travel for much better handling & cornering.
They are not too expensive either !

Recommend you do this all at once, as this work requires an alignment be done after installation. You don't want a new alignment everytime you add another goodie.

Best Regards
Mach1steve

I had a 70 Mach I that was squeaky. you need to install grease nipples on the upper control arms to fix it. Unfortunately, most people cut holes in the shock towers to do this. Don't do it!! there are ways around it. If you are upgrading suspension anyway, do it when dis-ssembled. You can buy a complete rebuild kit for about $800 on Ebay for a '67, here is a link;

70 71 72 MUSTANG FRONT PERFORMANCE SUSPENSION STEERING on eBay.ca (item 380231150838 end time 13-May-10 12:56:20 EDT)

good luck!!

The upper control arms are known for being squeaky. You need to keep them greased.

Polyurethane can cause squeaks. I have polyurethane out the wazoo on my car. Everything is polyurethane. I do have some squeaks.

$1,000 is a great start and you will get some great results but it is no where near state of the art. My Koni shocks cost me $800 all by them selves.

My suggestions:
- 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch front sway bar. You don't really need a rear bar.
- replace the lower control arm bushings with poly or stock. They don't seem to sqeak so either is good.
- roller springs perches from Shaun at Street or Track. Tell him Paul Prince referred you. I want to make brownie points with Shaun. I want to buy his Trans Am brakes for my car.
- You have new leaf springs so the front bushings will be fine. Are the shackle bushings good?
- Adjustable strut rods from OpenTracker. These rank right up there with the roller spring perches. The adjustable strut rods allow the suspension to work with the geometry as you go through a curve rather than binding, like the originals strut rods do.

Those items will cost you roughly $600.
Use the other $400 for a set of frame connectors.