Ride height on my 68 KR

[shelbydoug]

I will have to cogitate on this a bit to decide what I wanna do. Is it possible that this condition could arise from one of the accessory components in the rear suspension besides the springs themselves, like a bushing or such? Thanks again, Steve.

More likely the spring steel is just loosing it's temper on the one side.

I've seen this happen on the station wagons more then the Mustangs but they also will break either near the front eye-bolt or right under the axle from fatigue.


If you change out the springs, save the small bottom leafs with the date codes and engineering numbers on them and reuse them.

[Steve Meltzer]

I've measured this distance more times than I care to admit. It remains at a difference of three-quarter inches higher on the right. The car pulls a bit to the left when I brake, most of the time. I suspect that this is a problem unrelated to the ride height. Correct? Are the longer shackles readily available? Hard to replace for a pro? Are the ones that are available, original in their appearance? Thanks again, Steve.

[Steve Meltzer]

I am tempted to leave things as they are, as the car does not get driven all that hard. Sometimes." the enemy of good is better". s

[Bob Gaines]

I've measured this distance more times than I care to admit. It remains at a difference of three-quarter inches higher on the right. The car pulls a bit to the left when I brake, most of the time. I suspect that this is a problem unrelated to the ride height. Correct? Are the longer shackles readily available? Hard to replace for a pro? Are the ones that are available, original in their appearance? Thanks again, Steve.

I think the 3/4 of a inch difference is going to bug you more then the vast majority.I understand you wanting to strive for perfection. I however don't think that the ride height difference in this case is directly proportional to how much you car pulls to the left. Forget the shackle scenario because there is not anything readily available that looks stock or is practical to get the all the results you expect. I would dare say that a 3/4 of a inch longer shackle on one side even if made to look like a original would be much more noticeable if looking under the car and comparing the left and right.It will take some spring substitution in the back or re arching IMO. I think the re arching will be the more costly ,more time consuming and more need of someone experienced to oversee the total process so as to the end results you want. That is when you consider all of what you will have to do to make the leaf spring look concours correct as is your concern. At least compared to a concours prepare replacement as I previously mentioned. Less time and stress I think but the costs will still be significant non the less. There is no easy button or 1 800 number direct replacement here. Just my opinion meant to be helpful.   

[shelbymann1970]

Thanks guys! I did not do the work myself, although it was done at my house, by professional mechanic. I will check with him. I will also put a jack under the lower side which I believe is the left, but I will check this morning. Thanks again steve.

I don't think a side matters that they are installed on. I took my original suspension off of my 68 and detailed it out 16 years ago. I installed springs from a 302 68 coupe(GT350 car). The height on the front was level. Ditto for many cars I did a full resto on including my 70 GT350 vert. Good luck on this.

[Steve Meltzer]

thanx and I'lll keep you posted. I'd really like to drive the car so I may do so and then revisit this issue when I run out of things to do. Steve.

[TA Coupe]

I'm getting confused. You start out talking about the front end being off and then you start talking about the rear end so I don't know what you are trying to fix. Please clarify. Maybe I'm just getting to old 😕

       Roy

[Bob Gaines]

I'm getting confused. You start out talking about the front end being off and then you start talking about the rear end so I don't know what you are trying to fix. Please clarify. Maybe I'm just getting to old 😕

       Roy

re read post #7

[TA Coupe]

I'll refer back to my post number 1 which was never answered. He should load the front suspension and even add a hundred pounds and loosen all the bolts bounce it up and down a little, then tighten all the bolts and go from there. No cost, just an hour or two of time.

       Roy

[Steve Meltzer]

Roy, It is clear to me that I did not answer your first question as well as I might have. I'm sort of trapped in the middle here, as I asked the mechanic who did the work if he did what you said, and he said that it wasn't necessary or something to the effect that that sort of preloading did not apply to this situation. Not being an engineer, nor mechanic, I'm really unsure a bout what to do to test your theory. Thank you for your interest and again, sorry I did not answer better, earlier. Steve

[TA Coupe]

If one side is tightened with load on it and one side doesn't have load on it then it is possible to have some difference. How much I don't know. Here's some info from MOOG:

https://www.moogparts.com/en-gb/blog/tighten-bushing-bolt-on-vehicle-sub-frame.html

      Roy

[Bob Gaines]

If one side is tightened with load on it and one side doesn't have load on it then it is possible to have some difference. How much I don't know. Here's some info from MOOG:

https://www.moogparts.com/en-gb/blog/tighten-bushing-bolt-on-vehicle-sub-frame.html

      Roy

If the upper control arm and coil spring were installed with the support brace as per the shop manual then the front suspension would not be hanging as referenced in the link. In the case of the brace the suspension for all practical purposes would be preloaded. Hanging front suspense is bad news for many reasons as has been talked about in previous threads.