Shelby Drop

[RaeRae1]

Have any of you heard of the Shelby drop? http://www.ftw.com.au/content/view/152/50/
Since I have the entire front suspension off the 1969 cougar, it was suggested that I look into doing this. I am thinking it would be a good idea but wanted to know if any of you have done it, seen it done, or have heard any negatives about it. Less body roll is always a nice thing.

On a side note, I am also a little leary giving the body integrity of the convertible, but I am thinking this type of modification would not do any damage.

[RaeRae1]

Well, decided not to do the drop. After drilling the two holes and installing the upper control arm on the drivers side, I found an interesting problem. Seems one of the new bolt holes ended up on a seam/lip that is about 1/4 inch on the shock tower.

When I torqued the bolt down it ripped the washer apart and did a fun little number on the bolt as well. I could fix it with either using a flat washer and hoping for the best or welding a piece of metal next to the lip to create a flat surface. Neither option is worth it to me right now so I am just going to keep it as is and go with it.

[MagicRat]

Thank you for the tip. It can be annoying when suspension geometry is compromised by the factory for manufacturing / packaging reasons.

[RaeRae1]

Your welcome. I also had to make an adjustment to the zerks. Ordered repro upper and lower control arms. The upper control arms end up being about 1/4" wider than the originals (not sure why). They fit fine in the shock tower but there is a problem with the grease fittings. Since you are losing that room, there is basically no way you could get a grease gun on the fittings. So, here is the solution we came up with (there are fittings you can buy from Mustangs Unlimited that also correct the problem but they cost $40, this fix cost about $5 IIRC).

It annoyed me that you couldn't get something for this locally. The guy at the local Checker Auto said "You could either drill holes in the sides of the strut tower for access, or I have seen guys take a ball peen hammer and expand the space where the zerks are." Well, neither option worked for me..
Anyhow, to the point. I found your basic 90 degree zerk (1/8") fitting
and a 45 degree zerk (1/8") fitting and was determined to find out if the zerk itself could come out of the fitting... I found that if I used a pair of vice grips and an 8mm (yes, I actually used metric [eew]) socket to unscrew the zerk nipple. then, incidently the next fitting screwed right in the hole of the zerk nipple. Lastly, I picked up the long nipple and put that into the 45 degree. The key I found was that 8mm socket to unscrew the nipples, I had tried other items and quite a few standard sizes to no avial.


Here is what the finished product looks like:
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC_6295.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC_6298.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l.../DSC_6301a.jpg

[MagicRat]

Nice fix. And a nice, super clean undercarriage. !! No rust/dirt/oil/grease like on my classics!!

[RaeRae1]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Nice fix. And a nice, super clean undercarriage. !! No rust/dirt/oil/grease like on my classics!!

HAHAHAHA!! The no rust is merely an illusion. I sanded and painted the wheel wells while everything was out. The car needs desparate help with the undercarriage, including needing new torque boxes welded on both sides. We are going to drive it for a bit then probably going to have to do major overhaul of the frame. It sat on a dirt floor in a garage in Omaha Nebraska for 14 years.