Robert's build thread 17 white convertible GT PP

[zx2reme]

Looking good. I ran into all the same issues you did installing my suspension pieces. The Steeda sway bars utilize regular bolts like stock, so I felt your pain with loosening/tightening a bit at a time. I also had the same issues removing the top spindle bolts. I just loosened the nut to where it was just past the end of the bolt then hammered on the nut; no mushrooming. The cool thing is, I never had issues with it as I removed them later. I did the same on my wife's when I lowered hers; ironically, hers came out way easier. Maybe it was because I knew how hard to hit it and wasn't as nervous about breaking stuff. Can't wait to see more.

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[cgreen5150]

Not yet, I still have the stock shift mechanism and reverse lockout. I will probably have that for a long while longer, as I spent way too much money on my car this year. I've only got 1600 miles on the thing and I've already blown the bank account. Time to pump the brakes for a bit!

I understand completely. My wife and I bought a 40 year old farm house and I've been dumping money into it instead of my Mustang....damn priorities!:doh: If you can sneak it in, grab a Steeda Tri-Ax Street Short Throw shifter. Huge improvement for a little $$$$. Your car is looking great by the way!

 

[cgreen5150]

And yes the spindle bolts are a pain in the ass!

 

[robertwsimpson]

Looking good. I ran into all the same issues you did installing my suspension pieces. The Steeda sway bars utilize regular bolts like stock, so I felt your pain with loosening/tightening a bit at a time. I also had the same issues removing the top spindle bolts. I just loosened the nut to where it was just past the end of the bolt then hammered on the nut; no mushrooming. The cool thing is, I never had issues with it as I removed them later. I did the same on my wife's when I lowered hers; ironically, hers came out way easier. Maybe it was because I knew how hard to hit it and wasn't as nervous about breaking stuff. Can't wait to see more.

Nice! good to know that I'm not the only one. I was watching sway bar install youtube videos and poking around for instructions while I was working on mine to see if I could find something that would tell me what I was doing wrong. I was all ready to recommend that people just get the steeda bars because of this one bolt, but after I got the right tool, it was SUPER easy. The brackets are way beefier looking than the steeda ones if that counts for anything... I'm sure they both work just fine.

I understand completely. My wife and I bought a 40 year old farm house and I've been dumping money into it instead of my Mustang....damn priorities!:doh: If you can sneak it in, grab a Steeda Tri-Ax Street Short Throw shifter. Huge improvement for a little $$$$. Your car is looking great by the way!

Do you mean just the shifter or the race shifter mechanism? I like the idea of just the shifter, but not sure if it's worth it in the long run?

And yes the spindle bolts are a pain in the ass!

so true, brother, so true!

 

[cgreen5150]

Just the street shifter. The race shifter is great but probably overkill for most street driven cars in my opinion. The street shifter is so much nicer than the stock piece.

 

[robertwsimpson]

hm interesting. I will definitely keep that in mind! Thanks for the tip!

 

[robertwsimpson]

So, today was the day to do the rear suspension work.

Got my most important tool! 5AM requires lots and lots of coffee!

Here's all the stuff that went on the car this morning.

Subframe bolts out with Steeda subframe alignment sleeves in place. So, something I discovered: I should have gotten the sleeves for use without the BMR kit. Since I have a convertible, I didn't use the front support brackets, and now the front sleeves are too short. Hopefully I won't be able to hear these things rattling around in there while driving. Only time will tell!

Old vs new springs and sway bars. Not a humongous different by the looks of it. Again, the sway bar advantage will come from moving the mount points closer to the fulcrum. The springs are shorter, but not as drastic as the front.

Spring height difference...

almost everything out

So, for SURE, you want to take everything out and do each complete side at a time. Someone had mentioned maybe leaving the camber kits and the sway bars for last, but do everything. Take everything all the way apart. It gives you so much more room to work with. I couldn't imagine doing the camber adjuster bracket without having the subframe lowered. This made it so much easier!

So yeah, the subframe bolts can DEFINITELY cut new threads if you're not careful. They come out with the threads they've already cut still on them!

Straight pipes????? Ended up taking the exhaust off for clearance after trying to get the sway bars off with the mufflers still there. Note to self, just do it at the beginning rather than struggling!

ALL OF THE THINGS ARE RED!

Overall, this was a straight forward install. It took me about 6 hours, but I took my time, took breaks, had my son with me from time to time, and the convertible bracing cost me at least an hour (stupid bolts never want to go back in). Everything went much smoother than the front, but I don't want to be back in this area again any time soon.

Everything is set and ready to go get an alignment and put her through her paces!

 

[robertwsimpson]

tool of the day was definitely my alignment pry bar. I got a set with some others in it for this job, but this was a lifesaver. Aligning the subframe to put the bolts back in was a snap (well, not a snap, but this definitely helped!)

If you're going to do this job yourself, make sure you have one of these!

 

[robertwsimpson]

Since I had my convertible's bracing off again, I figured I would snap a couple of photos of how I got it out of the way of my Borla exhaust. I stuck it in a hydraulic press and straightened out here:

You can see how straight I got it here:

it was a small adjustment, but that's all I needed to get the pipes to clear. I also used a couple of washers to space the rear down, but I forgot to take photos before I finished. If anyone is thinking about getting coupe exhaust, this seems to work really well, and it's super easy. The borla pipes DO have an extra bend in them that some don't, but anyway, that's what I did!

 

[robertwsimpson]

All buttoned up, ready for an alignment on Monday!

Happy weekend everyone!

 

[robertwsimpson]

Did the alignment today. Unfortunately, the rear left would not go as far out as I wanted, so I had to leave it at -2.0... to preserve some dynamics until I can get back in and readjust the Steeda camber adjuster, I definitely strayed away from the specs that I was given. Front and rear is set to -2.0 deg of camber, front is toed in 0.05 and rear is toed in 0.1. I totally forgot to print the after sheet, but that's about where it's at. I'll be checking it again in a week or 2 to see if things have changed.

Aligning this thing with camber and toe front and rear was an absolute BEAR. Not fun at all... especially after 2 weekends of work to get it all in.

I just want to drive and enjoy my car for a while!

Here are the before measurements:

 

[96MUSTANG06]

Great looking Bay Area build! Hope to see you and the car at a local event sometime...

 

[robertwsimpson]

Yeah I keep waiting to see an event in the area, but so far, nothing. I'd definitely be game.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Put the mustang on the alignment rack to double check my work before I torque everything this weekend. Everything was exactly where I stuck it!

And someone asked for a side shot, I can't remember who.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Installed my Steeda jacking rails last night. Everything went on amazingly easily. The rails are seriously quality pieces, and probably way too strong for the job they are doing, which is perfect. I'll try to get some photos next time the car goes up in the air.

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