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Fox body control arms

Wondering if anybody out there knows if Foxbody mustang adjustable upper/lower control arms will fit in a t-bird? In the process of swapping in a 8.8 and would like to stiffen up the rear suspension before it goes in. I see LMR sells the BMR adjustable kits, but want to know before pressing the buy it now button! Thanks for the help.

Fox body control arms

Reply #1
Mustang lowers are the same as our cars. The uppers are different. The ones you really want are CHE control arms.
1986 Ford Thunderchicken, 5.0 AOD w/ Shift kit,  354,XXX miles. 1-Family owned. Original engine+trans.
8.8 Disc Rear w/ 3.73 Posi. CHE Control Arms. '04 Cobra brakes all around. 2000 Cobra R wheels. Tubular front LCA's. MM Steering Shaft. Unlocked Speedo, Lowering springs, Eibach sway bars front and rear. Ram air intake.

Fox body control arms

Reply #2
Quote from: kylesburrell;468887
Mustang lowers are the same as our cars. The uppers are different. The ones you really want are CHE control arms.

Nope. Mustang RLCAs are shorter. Not by much (3/8"-1/2" IIRC), but they are shorter.

TBird RUCAs are over 1" longer.
Long live the 4-eyes!  - '83 Tbird Turbo

Fox body control arms

Reply #3
Both CHE and Maximum Motorsports make rear control arms that fit our cars.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Fox body control arms

Reply #4
Go with Maximum Motorsports although CHE is a good budget option
88 Cougar
88 T-Bird
other cars that don't apply to this forum

Fox body control arms

Reply #5
Ill have to look into the CHEs, never heard of them. I was just thinking that if the mustang ones were adjustable they could make up the difference of the t-birds longer ones. Ill let you know what route i take.

Fox body control arms

Reply #6
Quote from: Blackbird85;468897
Ill have to look into the CHEs, never heard of them. I was just thinking that if the mustang ones were adjustable they could make up the difference of the t-birds longer ones. Ill let you know what route i take.

The Mustang adjustable LCA route can work for the lowers, but for certain, most Mustang adjustable RUCAs won't have near the adjustment needed to properly/safely work on a TBird.
Long live the 4-eyes!  - '83 Tbird Turbo

Fox body control arms

Reply #7
Blackbird- Some of these links may help.

What I have read on the Maximum Motorsports lower control arms is that if you use them you need to use Mustang springs.
 https://www.maximummotorsports.com/Heavy-Duty-Adjustable-Rear-Lower-Control-Arms-1983-1988-Thunderbird-P1450.aspx

Also, the adjustable CHE lower control arms raise the rear 1/4" to 1 - 1/2".
 https://www.cheperformance.com/collections/83-88-thunderbird-and-cougar-parts/products/che1g

Anyone use the CHE adjustable then use the Mustang springs later on?

I may just go with the non-adjustable CHE for now and later down the road sell the lower when I swap out coils for an adjustable lower.  Project creep!
1988 Thunderbird TC, 5spd
Stinger 3" single exhaust, Cone Filter, Adjustable Cam Pulley, Schneider roller cam, Walbro 255 lph, AEM Wideband O2
'93 Mustang Cobra replica wheels on 235/50R17

'21 F150 Powerboost
'17 Husqvarna TX300

Fox body control arms

Reply #8
I have 98 GT convertible springs and Maximum Motorsports rca in my car. They work great. With the Maximum Motorsports RCA the stock upper arms get reused. Because the lowers are so stiff Jack at Maximum Motorsports recommends using the stock uppers with stock style rubber bushings to keep the rear from binding.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Re: Fox body control arms

Reply #9
Just ordered the CHE adjustable RLCA and RUCA. On the fence on what spring to go with it. Any suggestion?
How fast is fast?

Re: Fox body control arms

Reply #10
So there is another option if you want to run coil overs which consists of Griggs Racing RLCA's and Gobal West RUCA's.  This setup is not cheap but I will say it works very well on my '83.

Our RUCA's are basically the same length as a GM A Body RUCA but a little different at the body connection point.  Global West does not list them but if you call and ask for a price they have a part number.  These utilize the bushings in the rear end and then a heim joint with spacers at the body connection.  Griggs has the RLCA's on their site and these are heim jointed at both ends with spacers so no bushings which will contribute to NVH but that is the performance trade off.

If you are just needing a good street set up with traditional coil springs then the CHE's are highly recommended and several folks here run them.  You need to look into the rear shock adapters that allow you to use Mustang rear shocks so that you can run the Mach 1 springs and the correct dampers with them.  This is one thing that a lot of peeps mess up and that is getting a damper that works with the springs.  Chuck W used to make them but no longer could support the effort so he opened the CAD files up and these guys stared making them on along with some of the motor mounts.

https://turbotbird.com/thread-chuck-w-shock-brackets-55-shipped

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Re: Fox body control arms

Reply #11
Awesome! Thanks aerocoupe.
How fast is fast?