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1966 Ford Mustang - Project '66 - '65-'66 V-8 Rear Suspension Conversion/UpgradeWhen converting to V-8 power, the suspension and the brakes have to be able to handle it From the October, 2000 issue of Mustang Monthly By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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Our Magna suspension items... Our Magna suspension items from Mustangs Plus will soon be at home with the rest of our Magna parts on our '66 Project Mustang. We will hold off on installing the rear sway bar until after the driveline has been installed, but we are showing it here. In our July 2000 issue, we completed the conversion from six-cylinder front suspension and brakes to the safer, correct V-8 counterparts for our '66 hardtop project. The installation went smoothly, so we thought we would tempt fate this month by finishing up our V-8 suspension and brakes conversion at the other end of our hardtop. While we are opting to replace the complete axle housing and all suspension in one fell swoop, you can use this article as a guide for any one of a number of smaller projects, such as shock replacements or shackle bushing replacement, or simply use the detailing part of it to bring your V-8 suspension up to snuff. After our Currie Enterprises Super Eight-Inch rear axle assembly arrived, we promptly detailed it out with some fine concours detailing parts from National Parts Depot, including stainless brake lines, an axle vent hose kit, and more (see the sidebar To the Nines). We then gathered up the remaining Magna suspension items from Mustangs Plus that have been itching to join their sister parts on our hardtop, and we put everything together for a complete V-8 suspension and braking upgrade for our hardtop. With the rear suspension and brakes completed, our next stop will be paint prep and applying several coats of Anniversary Gold to our hardtop's new skin. Follow our lead as we rip out the old six-cylinder axle, the brakes, and the suspension in favor of their new V-8 capable counterparts.  1 With the rear of the car...  1 With the rear of the car supported by jackstands, and the axle itself supported by a floor jack, the rear shackles can be unbolted. Slide the leaf spring off the shackles, and pull the shackles (and bushings) free of the rear framerails.  2 Instead of fighting with...  2 Instead of fighting with rusty old U-bolts, we decided to remove the axle and rear suspension as an assembly. After unbolting the top shock mount, we lowered the rearend, took wrench to nut (left), and freed the driver-side leaf spring eyebolt (right).  3 Instead of fighting with...  3 Instead of fighting with rusty old U-bolts, we decided to remove the axle and rear suspension as an assembly. After unbolting the top shock mount, we lowered the rearend, took wrench to nut (left), and freed the driver-side leaf spring eyebolt (right).  4 The passenger-side eyebolt...  4 The passenger-side eyebolt didn't fare as well. The bolt had seized to the inner sleeve of the front eye bushing. This is quite common and takes cutting of the bolt to free the spring from the body. A SawZall works well for this.  5 With the front spring eyes...  5 With the front spring eyes free of the rear framerails, it was simply a matter of rolling the rear axle and suspension assembly out from under the body. Of course, the driveshaft and the brake lines were already removed, so make sure you take care of those as well.  6 With the rear suspension...  6 With the rear suspension and axle removed, there was plenty of room for cleaning, painting, undercoating, rust repairs, and more. So take a good look before you start bolting on your new parts. We began by installing our new Magna 411/42 leaf springs with new front eyebolt hardware.  7 Mustangs Plus offers several...  7 Mustangs Plus offers several different suspension options to match your driving and handling tastes. Aside from our mideye springs (to lower the car an inch), you can choose from stock shackles, urethane leaf/shackle bushing kits, and these heavy-duty design shackles.  8 Next, with borrowed five-lug...  8 Next, with borrowed five-lug wheels attached, the new Currie rearend was rolled in place over the springs.  9 We opted for the stealth...  9 We opted for the stealth look by using stock shackles with urethane bushings. The urethane bushings come with waterproof grease to fend off squeaks. Liberally apply the grease, and then install the bushings into the rear eye of the springs.  10 Since we didn't want to...  10 Since we didn't want to get jack marks on our newly detailed rear axle, we simply lifted the leaf springs up, aligning the spring center bolt with the axle perch, and then slid the shackles into place.  11 It took some effort (eat...  11 It took some effort (eat your Wheaties), but this kept us from scratching our rearend (hold the jokes).  12 The shackles were only...  12 The shackles were only "snugged" down here since the '66 wasn't on its full weight. When the car is completed and aligned, we will fully tighten all the suspension hardware. Don't forget to tighten yours.  13 Since Currie's Super Eight...  13 Since Currie's Super Eight is based on a '67 housing, we required the '67-styled spring plates and larger U-bolts. The U-bolts we already had and the new spring plates came from National Parts Depot's detailing items. We started the mounting nuts by hand, and then evenly tightened them in an "X" pattern. Make sure the spring plates are correctly installed. Otherwise, the shocks will not seat correctly.  14 Our MagnaGas shocks are...  14 Our MagnaGas shocks are shown here dressed for the prom in correct black and with the white paint daub. We didn't go all the way and fill in the shock-body lettering, though. The MagnaGas shocks come with all new hardware and bushings, so there are no 36-year-old parts to clean up and reuse.  15 The axle vent hose kit...  15 The axle vent hose kit includes the correct clamp with bolt and the frame grommet needed to complete the job, so we routed the hose to the frame grommet and secured the clamp to the original location. Lookin' good. Detailing something that is going to be hidden under a car is one thing few people outside of our hobby understand. Several of my fellow editors at our other magazine titles looked at the funny paint splotches and markings and just shook their collective heads or muttered "Why?" to me. True, some semigloss black could have covered the entire housing in five minutes, and we would have been finished with it. But I couldn't do that. Even though this car will be driven a few times a week, I wanted to detail the differential housing as if it was going to be scrutinized by MCA judges. When the housing is completely detailed, it almost looks like a work of art. It is actually a canvas when you really think about it. That goes for engines, transmissions, steering boxes, and other items that get the detailing touch. While black-and-white images don't do justice here, we wanted to touch base on the detailing process for those following along. National Parts Depot came through with all the correct items that we would need for our new rear axle. With some technical assistance from MCA Gold Card Judge Jeff Speegle, our detailing chores went quite smoothly.  16 We're not sure where the...  16 We're not sure where the factory dual exhaust brake line bracket has to go yet. We'll wait until we install the long, hard line to the back of the car, and locate another factory dual exhaust car from which to take measurements.  17 With the '66 back down...  17 With the '66 back down on all four wheels, the final job of tightening the top shock mounting bolts was all that was left.  18 Our Currie Super Eight...  18 Our Currie Super Eight rear axle is now home, and our '66 is sitting pretty on all new V-8 spec brakes and suspension. It's finally time to head off to the body shop to squeeze some paint.  19 Since our Currie Super...  19 Since our Currie Super Eight-Inch came unpainted, we decided to pull the axles and brakes out of the housing for painting.  20 The housing was cleaned...  20 The housing was cleaned up-including removing the excess gasket and silicone from around the centersection-primed, and then finished off with several coats of semigloss black.  21 While the housing dried,...  21 While the housing dried, we painted the brake drums using Eastwood's Spray Gray for a cast-iron look with the protection only a paint coating can give. The brake wheel cylinders, the wheel cylinder retaining bolts, and the backing plate bolts were all painted and then reinstalled. As a crowning touch, we installed these factory retaining clips for the rear drums.  22 Since we were converting...  22 Since we were converting to a V-8 driveline with factory dual exhaust, we needed the correct hard lines and brake hose for dual exhaust as well. The flex hose was installed and secured by the axle vent hose nipple (shown here in my hand with thread sealant applied).  23 The stainless steel brake...  23 The stainless steel brake lines were installed into the factory mounting tabs on the rear axle housing and then carefully secured to the rear wheel cylinders. Use a tubing or flare wrench to prevent damage to the tube fittings.  24 National Parts Depot carries...  24 National Parts Depot carries the correct tools and parts to complete the job. This handy clamp crimper is the correct tool for the clamp on the axle vent hose (and on many fuel lines as well).  25 Using a masking kit and...  25 Using a masking kit and some tape, we masked off the centersection and the mounting bolts (including the copper sealing washers), and painted them the correct red oxide. This was the easiest way to complete the job, since we didn't want to pull the centersection free of the housing.  26 As many of you know, the...  26 As many of you know, the rear axle housing and the centersection (or pumpkin as it is sometimes called) have areas that are machined after the parts have been painted, leaving a shiny bare metal surface. As we said before, we didn't want to totally disassemble this rear axle-which unfortunately is the only way to correctly machine these areas. But with some silver paint and a touch-up brush, you can simulate these machined areas quite well.  27 Since we didn't have the...  27 Since we didn't have the original V-8 rear housing to find all of our detailing markings, we checked with several judges and car owners to get all the correct markings we could get our hands on. Shown here is the yellow paint daub to denote that the case has been filled with oil. Others include centersection-to-housing bolts (orange), the pinion nut (yellow), the brake flex hose installation (green stripe), and more. Don't overdo it, though. If you have your original, put back only what you found on your restoration project.  28 There will also be an...  28 There will also be an assembler number and the actual gear ratio painted on the right side of the centersection, as shown here.  29 National Parts Depot markets...  29 National Parts Depot markets an exact reproduction parking brake cable in full stainless steel and it is absolutely beautiful. NPD also carries the correct cable housing retainers for the rear of the floorpans.  30 Since our Mustang will...  30 Since our Mustang will be wearing Styled Steel wheels when the project nears completion, the brake drums will receive a quick blackout treatment just as the factory did. This blackout paint kept the bare rusty drums from keen eyes when you looked through the open slots of the Styled Steel wheels.
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 | We take a glimpse inside the how, what, why, and where of restoring a vintage Mustang |
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