Suspension upgrades |
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va2ir
New Member Joined: 17-April-2012 Location: my car Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Posted: 04-October-2016 at 6:09AM |
Good day. Ian here from Montreal.
We did about 2000 miles in the Torino this season, Carlisle and the show in NYC. Uncle Paul beat on my car twice, and it survived! But in NYC he called it a "floatuh" - floater. And he;s right. I changed the front and rear shocks to 96 crown vic touring shocks from Monroe about 10 years ago. I added a factory rear sway bar off a cougar XR7. Ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, have all been changed to new. Steering box could use some improvement. I can turn from 11 oclock to 1 oclock with very little feeling. Aside from that, it is what it is when I bought the car in 2000. Springs could be original from 73. I don't know. In any case, I'd like some RECOMMENDATIONS on what owners have done to beef up the handling of our cars. Springs? From what model/year? Shocks? Which manufacturer and for what car. Steering box? Addco sway bars? Poly bushings? I did see an interesting article about a cross member for lincolns, that bolted to the torque box, then to the center engine member, and then to the front rad support. Let's try to keep this thread on topic and not go too far off the track. thanks You can reply to me off list va2ir at securenet dot net
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californiajohnny
Moderator Group Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14609 |
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I boxed my rear lower control arms,poly bushings throughout, oem 1 1/8"front bar,addco 7/8" rear bar
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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gnrlee01
Senior Member Joined: 04-August-2013 Location: iowa Status: Offline Points: 345 |
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i too would like to know what to look for or where i can get a direct swap out for a steering box that will make my steering wheel more responsive. driving my girlfriends corvette has made me realize just how sloppy and unresponsive my steering wheel is compared to hers.
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74 gts 460/auto with factory sunroof
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72FordGTS
Admin Group GTS.org Admin Joined: 06-September-2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 5846 |
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What is your car now? A '73 Torino? Do you know what suspension package you have from the factory? What are you goals for the car in terms of ride and handling?
The coil spring thread is overwhelming to many, but there is tons of good info there on what springs to use. I'd suggest a more performance oriented shock, Brillstein's, Monroe Severe Duty shocks or KYB's. Addco is the only aftermarket source for sway bars and they offer the biggest front and rear you can get for our cars (1 1/8" front, 7/8" rear). If you have a lot of slop in your steering, check your front end first. Make sure that you don't have any worn parts. The stock steering boxes on these cars are slow and over boosted. You can get a quick ratio Ford box from Lares. My preference is for a Saginaw quick ratio high effort box, but it is a little bit more work to swap if your car doesn't have a Saginaw box in it now.
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Vince
1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car GTS.org Admin |
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gnrlee01
Senior Member Joined: 04-August-2013 Location: iowa Status: Offline Points: 345 |
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mine is a 74 gts with a 460. currently i have a brand new set of front and rear coil springs that i ordered for a 76 torino station wagon with a 460 and a/c. i have not installed anything yet, because i am in the slow process of gathering all the various parts i want first, before beginning any tear down. i have a front sway bar on the car, i am ASSUMING that it is a 1-1/8 bar, based on the fact that mine is a 460 car, but i have no rear sway at all.
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74 gts 460/auto with factory sunroof
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72FordGTS
Admin Group GTS.org Admin Joined: 06-September-2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 5846 |
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Your car likely has a 15/16 sway bar, which was standard for most Torinos in 1974 with the base suspension. The 460 engine option made no difference on the sway bar size. If you car has heavy duty suspension, then it would have a 1" front bar and a 11/16" rear bar. Bigger bars were available for police package Torinos. The 1 1/8" bar was only used on the Elite in 1974.
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Vince
1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car GTS.org Admin |
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gnrlee01
Senior Member Joined: 04-August-2013 Location: iowa Status: Offline Points: 345 |
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ahh...ok. thanks for the info and correction.
you guys that have boxed in your control arms, when you were welding on them, were they previously galvanized, or just painted from the factory?
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74 gts 460/auto with factory sunroof
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TV 2M8O
Senior Member Joined: 20-September-2006 Location: Southern Ohio Status: Offline Points: 2052 |
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Just painted steel.... and here's a link to the HOW TO thread.
GOOD LUCK
Edited by TV 2M8O - 05-October-2016 at 12:28PM |
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TV 2M8O OUT JOE 1976 Gran Torino S&H season 2-4 Clone Project Blog: http://tv2m8o.blogspot.com/ |
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va2ir
New Member Joined: 17-April-2012 Location: my car Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Hi guys. hope you had a good winter.
So I got all my parts together and started on the rear end left side. Got the lower arm off, after cutting the bolts, cleaned it up, boxed it in, pressed in new bushings, then the fun started on reinstalling. I installed the front bolt, but the axle end was off by an inch. So should I be raising the car from the frame first and then support the axle? Theoretically, if both the frame and axle are suspended, nothing should move. Now working on the upper arm (dog bone). Have to keep the shells of the bushings. Again bolts seized tight. No room to get a cut off wheel in the frame pocket....so I hope the sawzall will cut the bolt. ANy other ideas? I have no access to a torch nor plasma cutter. Thanks Ian R. Have a good time in Carlisle for those that are going.
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72FordGTS
Admin Group GTS.org Admin Joined: 06-September-2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 5846 |
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I would try to save the OEM hardware if possible. Have you tried PB Blaster? You can usually buy a mapp gas torch with an O2 tank pretty cheap from a hardware store. They get a lot hotter than a propane torch, might be enough to loosen the nut. You could also try a nut splitter, which would at least save your bolt.
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Vince
1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car GTS.org Admin |
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Big Bird
Senior Member Joined: 25-August-2013 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 4194 |
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Sounds painful. |
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"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy 1979 T-Bird 2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds? |
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