1966 Ford Mustang - Project '66 - V8 Conversion - '65-'66 Six to V-8 Front Suspension Upgrade

18 On Wednesday we got started around 7 p.m. Going into our third night of working on the Mustang, my wife was beginning to have doubts about my "fun" idea of working on the car here instead of at the Emap Petersen Active shop. In the background, the Magna lower control arm is already bolted into place. The strut rod is bead-blasted, painted, and ready to accept the urethane bushings, shown here with antisqueak grease applied. MP suggests turning around the washers on the strut rod when using urethane bushings.

19 The V-8 with power steering-specific steering stops was found through Metro Mustang. Metro specializes in good used and new old stock parts, and always has plenty of suspension parts in stock. The strut rod and steering stop is bolted to the lower control arm.

20 To properly and safely complete a V-8 suspension conversion, you will need the larger 10-inch drum brakes with a five-lug bolt pattern. We found perfectly good spindles with the drum brakes still intact at Metro Mustang as well.

21 Both the five-lug V-8 spindle and drum assemblies will need complete brake overhauls down the road, but we just wanted to get them on the car for now. I tried to get the family involved in the restoration act, as seen here by my son, Kyle, helping me clean and paint the spindles with Eastwood Chassis Black. (This is a staged shot, he wore a mask to paint.)

22 Once the spindle was dry, we mounted it on the lower control arm ball joint. Just snug the castle nut for now. The upper control arm is installed with the original shims. The Magna control arms come with grease fittings already in place (including the 90-degree fittings for the cross-shaft), and can be greased after they are installed.

23 With the upper control arm in place, the spindle can be brought into line and secured to the upper control arm ball joint. At this time, you can tighten the ball joint castle nuts and install the cotter pins. Make sure the pins are securely bent back to prevent backing out.

24 The new Magna 1-inch front sway bar looks positively massive compared to the old six-cylinder piece. With new reinforced, cadium-plated mounting brackets and endlinks, installing the bar is simple. For those who want handling in a stock-looking package, the Magna parts can be easily painted with correct detailing paints and paint markings.

25 The MagnaGas shocks are installed next. The shocks come with lower mounting hardware but not the upper. If your upper hardware is damaged, then you will need to buy new bolts. Notice we're using the Magna "poly perch" cad-plated with urethane bushings versus the OE-style black painted steel with rubber bushings. This will offer a better, more controlled ride.

26 Wednesday at 11 p.m. our left-side suspension was completed. Our new V-8-ready suspension, spindles, and brakes were in place. All we had left to do was install the spring cover, fender, and a spare five-lug wheel to get our Mustang back on the ground.

27 Our shock mounting caps had been brazed to the inner fenders due to failed and missing hardware. New mounting caps and hardware were obtained from Mustangs Plus, along with our suspension and steering pieces.

28 Styled Steel Wheels will be used on our '66 when it's completed, but for now we borrowed some five-lug shop wheels to transport our Mustang around for final bodywork and paint. There would be nothing worse than getting paint overspray on our brand-new Styled Steels!

29 Coming up in the next few months, we will also tackle converting our rear suspension and driveline to V-8-capable parts. We already have the Magna leaf springs, shocks, shackles, and bushings from Mustangs Plus, and we will soon be taking delivery of a Currie Enterprises 8-inch differential. Stay tuned for that segment as well as our power steering conversion article.