I'm 39 years old; Why has it taken til now to figure out that if I'm not going to do things right, I should just not do them?
A few years back, I cheaped out and 5-lugged my car, SN-95 axles, drilled the drums, got Ranger rotors, wheel bearings and caps, tried to find axles seals and called it good. I had all sorts of problems, like having to machine pad clearance around the hat of the rotor, and try to match up an axle seal that never sealed the axle, or stayed put in the axle tube. The brakes pulled slightly left, and the drums ALWAYS had free gear oil in them. If that weren't enough, I transplanted a 7.5" 3.73 R&P and generally did it poorly, so that the pinion noise was unbearable, and not really wanting to go back in there and face it, I just ran it.
(https://i.ibb.co/XzGSYMM/IMG-20190531-161550339.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CbhpcTN/IMG-20190531-161540164.jpg)
So lets do it right.
8.8" 3.27 LSD, 2003 Mustang GT axle, stock brakes, pretty calipers and adapting the hoses and brake line block.
(https://i.ibb.co/kyQs87j/IMG-20190530-152423248.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/d6LwnZy/IMG-20190530-152433976.jpg)
Ghetto as shag, but very secure.
(https://i.ibb.co/jy8N6B6/IMG-20190530-152439183.jpg)
Bubble flare :frown:
(https://i.ibb.co/LRSrPsB/IMG-20190530-152459612.jpg)
Made a hole to mount the block
(https://i.ibb.co/S58hYY6/IMG-20190531-131602732.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/SvD0hsV/IMG-20190531-131752271.jpg)
An inviting home
(https://i.ibb.co/p4t18fq/IMG-20190531-133115212.jpg)
See Ya
(https://i.ibb.co/pxXVNJ6/IMG-20190531-105449703.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/SfQ5f3d/IMG-20190531-105432294.jpg)
Hello (SN-95)
(https://i.ibb.co/VS1bqsv/IMG-20190531-105459016.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Z2CqrqR/IMG-20190531-105436885.jpg)
Master and Prop valve (93 Cobra and aftermarket Disc/Disc prop valve)
(https://i.ibb.co/Xx3X3HM/IMG-20190531-110840085.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/C2tDXv3/IMG-20190531-110846872.jpg)
Only needed to oblong 1 hole (and mash the strut tower a little)
(https://i.ibb.co/cbn1QVX/IMG-20190531-105418165.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/p1RYBwx/IMG-20190531-105854188.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/DLGzTxs/IMG-20190531-110908814.jpg)
New hotness
(https://i.ibb.co/k99kXtL/IMG-20190523-160351811.jpg)
Swapped SN-95 inner and outer tie rod ends, installed Steeda X2 balljoints and spring spacers, installed SN-95 spindles, and put my 18 tooth speedo gear back in. The 23 tooth gear I took out looked like hell, just like they talk about, it was torn the shag up.
Ignore the coilovers, they didn't stay
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/TmPeDTyYbQbo7vA47)
(https://i.ibb.co/RSbvBfD/IMG-20190531-161121582.jpg)
Reset alignment, and set in the new brakes.
They're the shiznit
(bonus: no gear oil smell, no diff noise, and the speedo was accurate again)
That was a lot of work! Nice job and enjoy the nice brakes.
Thanks, I did it in a day, but it was a pretty full day.
I dig it! Hoping to re-do my front end over the fall/winter this year ... we'll see what type of motivation I have when the time come though. Nice job.
Did you have any issues with getting your toe set? I had to shorten the SN95 inner tie rod end as the outers were bottomed out and I was still toed out.
I did not. I think it's due to the 99-04 knuckle moving the steering arm out further. What I did experience on the alignment rack, was a loss of over 1.5 degrees positive caster. Where before I was able to set +4.5 with the CC plates, now I max out at +3 and I lost some range in the realm of negative camber, though I was still able to set at -1.0.
Additionally, I had to roll my rear quarter panels. the 2003 axle I used was .5" wider overall.
(Background info: I have 1" spacers in the rear, and .3 in the front that I can't get rid of, because the center bore on my Fusion wheels is too small.)
Once I get some proper Mustang wheels in the neighborhood of +30 offset, my rubbing issues in front and rear should go away.
If it came down to it, you could get some axles from a '95-'98 car and take out some of that extraneous length. But you know this, I'm sure :)
I could, but wheels is better, because they'd be prettier than steel, lighter than steel, and spacers suck.
That may be the case. I used 94-95 spindles, which still move the steering arm out a small degree. I ended up cutting an inch off of the inner to make sure I had plenty of room whatever wonky alignment I may want in the future.
Do you have your camber plates in the "negative" orientation. Years ago, I put my MM plates on my V8 swapped car. I ended up having to slot the strut tower to get negative camber with the fox mustang control arms I used. I kept the plates when I parted the car out. I put them on this car, while sitting in the waiting room while getting my tires and alignment done, it hit me that I didn't have the plates oriented in the "negative" position. The guy aligning it had to flip one of the plates to get the negative camber I wanted. I didn't want much this go-around.
Unfortunately, with the 99-04 rear, he's stuck with the 99-04 axle shafts. The housing itself is wider by about 3/4". I pulled the brakes off of a New Edge my buddy parted out, and they all had the 94 part number. They were able to work with the longer axle shafts because the width of the housing was longer to match the added length.
If I would be satisfied with stock Mustang wheels, and didn't already have an 8.8 in the car, I would have considered a New Edge setup to fill out the wheel wells a little better.
My plates are in positive orientation, so I am aware that there's more Camber on the table, but I had everything I needed in this configuration before the job. I may swap them; it's nice having access to an alignment rack any and every day of the week.
Good catch....I forgot the '99 housing was wider too. Been awhile since I did any rear end work...
Wait...what did I just say... :P
I think you just said that you're a lot of fun on the first date!
Well, I've never blown up a rear end on any vehicle, can't say the same for girlfriends and wives past..
Keepin' an eye on preload....and...using good gear lube...helps to lengthen...the life....of those rears...
Err, umm, yeah. Where were we, now...
Nice work!!! I have had to do a few jobs twice as well. Not fun. I have thought about going 5 lug, but I'm pretty happy with my current setup for now.
I rolled the rear fenders and lessened my rubbing problem back there, and I flipped the CC plates to negative and settled on -1.25 for camber, which almost completely eliminated my front rubbing.
Research: the Fusion wheels I'm using are 17x7.5 with +44 offset. Bullitt wheels are 17x8 with +30 offset. Having correct center bore Let's me eliminate the rear spacers and solve my rear rubbing properly and permanently (with a net recess of 6. 5mm over 7.5 wide 44 offset wheels with 26mm spacers) , but actually sets me out around 1mm further in front (44 offset minus 8mm spacers for 36 effective offset, the Bullitt wheel is 30mm offset, plus 6.5mm additional width per side of the wheel) , which may make things worse in that regard. Somebody check my math. It might be time for me to face the fact that I'm just too low.
It might be worth trying with the Bullitt wheels. I'm assuming that you would be using the tires off of your Fusion wheels, and that .5" difference in wheel width might change the shape of the sidewall of the tire. Even then, 1mm shouldn't hurt you too much.
Maybe not now that I've gotten enough camber to clear the front fender lip. I'm not particularly attached to the Fusion wheels, they were just easy 17" 5x4.5 wheels to scrounge up when I was working at the dealer.
I just ran out and put eyes on my car since I'm fairly low.
The 96-04 spindles add 5mm more track width per side over my 94-95 spindles. I could probably get away with an additional 5mm and I'm only running like .8 degree negative camber. I don't know how low you are, but I'm at 25.25" to the top of the fender arch.
Since I think I've got the front about right, I've decided to get some extended studs for the rear, and use smaller 1/2" spacers. I'll deal with the issue of wheels when my budget recovers. I put 2 grand into this project, and I can't absorb the the cost of wheels (or freight). I just need to not destroy these tires. The first day after the job, before I rolled the rear fenders, I shaved cowboy fringe off the sidewall of the left rear. Had to pick it all off.
I kept browsing Facebook Marketplace and lucked out with my wheels. A dude had them listed for 200 and no one showed any interest. He later listed them for 100 and I stared at them for almost 2 weeks. He still had them and I came home with some SN95 wheels for 100 bucks.
Are you more, or less lowered than me?
(https://i.ibb.co/5nzvcc3/IMG-20190610-164053169.jpg)
It's really hard to say based on pictures. I think I might be slightly lower. I don't have a pic of a really comparable angle. These might show it. If you get a moment, try measuring from the ground, to the top of the wheel arch. I always measure right through the center of the tire. I'm at 25.25" in the front and about 25.5" in the rear.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47990880218_046dff878a_c.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47977722601_9fa4b6ed7d_c.jpg)
Those are probably the best I have to show the lowness.
Mission accomplished. Narrowing the rear track by 1 inch overall has restored the track width, and by proxy, tire clearance I had before I got started. All is now well.
Update: I can now brake hard enough to put the front tires into the fender liners, and front rubbing, though less, is still a problem.
Maybe some new struts would resist bound better enough to help with that, and I'll see how much I can machine off the front spacers before the center bore becomes a problem.
Welcome to the world of py, stock Fox-chassis suspension dynamics.
Research "anti-dive" options.
I'd be really interested in any recommendation you might have, Chuck. Maybe more than anyone else here.
My (performance) knowledge/info is getting kind of dated, honestly.
One of the bigger problems with the stock Fox rear suspension is the lack of "anti-lift". Under hard braking the rise rate at the rear of the car is pretty quick, and that transfers a bunch of weight forward, causing most Fox cars to look like they're standing on their nose in hard braking. Digging into the "anti-dive" geometry on the front of that car involves a bit of work, and I don't think it's done much anymore. I did the mods on the front of my car over 20 years ago.
The KB anti-squat traction brackets on my car are an older way to help slow down that rise rate, and keep the car from shifting so much weight forward when braking. He still is selling them, but you could probably also make something similar on your own.
Getting some stiffer spring up front would help too (I don't see anything other than stock springs listed on your build).
Thank you so much for doing this write up. I was coming in here to ask the question about the 5 lug swap. I installed a 2003 GT diff into my 88 thunderbird. I was able to install 94 rear brake hoses and match them to the turbo coupe rear brake lines. I also had to drill the diff to mount the brake distribution block.
On the front I am going to swap the inner and outer tie rods to SN parts but my brake set up I am using is 95 spindles and 99 dual piston PBR calipers. so 11" rotors but better calipers. I did some research and found that my master cyl has a 1" bore and the Cobra master cyl has a 1-1/16" bore. Should I be ok to run the stock master cyl from the Thunderbird with the SN set up since it was all running good with the turbo coupe brakes I installed a few years ago?
With the inner tie rod ends, you will have to cut roughly an inch off of the inner. The uncut inners are too long and you'll never get the alignment set correctly. I did a bunch of searching and found the Taurus outers suggested, but the taper on those are incorrect for the spindle. Hack off an inch and you'll be golden.
I did the dual piston PBR's on my TC, and the brake pedal is...lack luster. You'll probably have a similar experience. They stop well, but there's very little confidence in the brake pedal.
It's been a while, but IIRC, I've got an SN95 rack/inners and Taurus outers on my '94-'95 spindles. Fits like a glove.
Check Reply #2 for MC bore sizes:
https://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/index.php?topic=40210
I'll have to dig back through and find the part numbers. I may have used a different year than you did. The particular ones I used would have *worked*. The largest part of the taper was the same diameter, but the upper part was much smaller in diameter.
To anyone going back through my OP, "puppies" seems to have been installed by the system or an admin to cover up my bad language. *context*