Our Magna suspension from...
Our Magna suspension from Mustangs Plus features MP's 620 coil springs, full upper control arms, lower control arms, 1-inch front sway bar, urethane strut bushings, and MagnaGas shocks, all with a lifetime guarantee.
Part of any restoration project is replacing worn or unsafe steering and suspension components to ensure a safe, comfortable ride. Either you can go back with stock parts and rubber bushings (if you like your 35-year-old Mustang to feel like a 35-year-old Mustang) or you can upgrade to any of the numerous levels of aftermarket performance suspension kits out there for the vintage Mustangs. The choices run from improved bushing designs to full-on tubular adjustable upper and lower control arms with coilover shock conversions. That's just the bolt-in variety too. If you really want outrageous, then you can weld in a Mustang II-style system with rack-and-pinion steering, but that's more for all-out restomods and engine conversion groupies.
To throw another wrench in the works, we've decided to convert our hardtop to a full and correct (as correct as we can get) V-8 running gear, which will require some extra thought. While items such as springs and tie-rod ends can be easily converted by simply making the correct choices in the parts catalog, other used items such as steering stops, spindles, and power steering centerlinks are all hard to come by.
For our new suspension pieces, we went with the great line of Magna suspension hard parts from Mustangs Plus. These lifetime-warranted parts look OE-correct but are improved in several areas. Most noticeable are the upgrades to urethane bushings and, in most cases, stronger materials. While we were speaking to the suspension pros at Mustangs Plus, they went through several questions to determine what we wanted to do with our hardtop, and what we were expecting from the car's handling. We eventually settled for the Magna 620-pound-rate coil springs-and surrounded them with Magna upper and lower control arms, cad-plated and urethane-bushed spring perches, a 1-inch front sway bar, and MagnaGas shocks. Talk to the experts before you order your suspension pieces and you'll be happy. Though we're saving the rear suspension for another article, we opted for Magna mid-eye 411/42 -leaf rear springs, MagnaGas rear shocks, and a shackle kit with urethane bushings. The entire suspension package should lower the hardtop about 1 inch all around. It's nothing drastic to the eye, but handling will be vastly improved.
With our suspension practically dialed in, we needed to score the remaining items to make our V-8 conversion correct and, more importantly, safe to drive. The V-8 spindles aren't impossible to find, but instead of searching countless salvage yards, we went right to the vintage Mustang used parts masters-Metro Mustang. The able-bodied staff of Metro Mustang sent us the requisite V-8 spindles with drum brakes needed for the swap, and even fulfilled our request for the elusive V-8 with power steering-specific turn stops. Other items the folks at Metro can find in their inventory or on their numerous parts cars include power steering, suspension, and engine components. Why drum brakes you ask? We think that a power-drum setup is a nicer street-braking system than manual discs, but who's not to say that we might upgrade from this to power disc later. It is-after all-a project car, you know.
 1 Due to lack of shop space,...  1 Due to lack of shop space, we had the '66 stored at my house when we had to complete the suspension replacement. Thus we were limited to basic handtools, no compressor, and no lift, among other things. We thought it might be interesting to keep a time log of the project. Here sits the old suspension (with fender removed for photography) ready to go on a Monday at 7 p.m. |
 2 We will be replacing the...  2 We will be replacing the steering components at a later date, but we still needed to separate the outer tie-rod end from the spindle. Remove the cotter pin and loosen the castle nut several turns. |
 3 With the castle nut loosened,...  3 With the castle nut loosened, hit the eye of the spindle with a ball-peen hammer to separate the tie-rod end from the spindle. Fully remove the nut and pivot the tie rod out of the way. |
 4 Though not necessary, we...  4 Though not necessary, we removed the spring cover from the inner fender to allow more room for the spring compressor and for better photography. |
 5 We decided to take some...  5 We decided to take some pressure off the spring before removing the shock. Depending upon the type of spring compressor you use, you may not have to remove the shock absorber first. We were using an external-type compressor (shown here ready to begin compressing the spring). MP also carries the internal-style spring-compressor tool. |