Building the best front suspension

[turbomopar87]

Ok, well i bought a parts car 87 Shelby Z for the nose, and decided to pull off the whole front suspension and k frame and power steering and build it up really good. I wanted to know what others have done to there k frame to make it better.

I already have struts and spring waiting to be put on. I have Koni Struts for up front, the adjustables from FWD-P. I aslo have the Eibcah springs from FWD-P. I think they lower about 3/4".

I was planning on buying a front anti-sway bar from polybushings.com, should i go with a 1 1/4"?

Since its all out, were should i go for a new power steering rack?

I also plan on putting some new brakes on, should i do the slotted/drilled ones that FWD-P sells?

And the main thing, i have heard of people strengthening their k frame up, should i give it a try, or just clean it up and paint it as is?

Any advice & tips would be helpful, i'll be starting soon and taking my time on it, and getting it in the car around the end of summer.
Thanks
Kris

[turbovanman²]

Ok, well i bought a parts car 87 Shelby Z for the nose, and decided to pull off the whole front suspension and k frame and power steering and build it up really good. I wanted to know what others have done to there k frame to make it better.

I already have struts and spring waiting to be put on. I have Koni Struts for up front, the adjustables from FWD-P. I aslo have the Eibcah springs from FWD-P. I think they lower about 3/4".

I was planning on buying a front anti-sway bar from polybushings.com, should i go with a 1 1/4"?

Since its all out, were should i go for a new power steering rack?

I also plan on putting some new brakes on, should i do the slotted/drilled ones that FWD-P sells?

And the main thing, i have heard of people strengthening their k frame up, should i give it a try, or just clean it up and paint it as is?

Any advice & tips would be helpful, i'll be starting soon and taking my time on it, and getting it in the car around the end of summer.
Thanks
Kris

Yes, replace the bushings with Poly bushings, massive difference. You have the right suspension combo. You need to measure the sway bar before you order the bushings for it. You probably have the 1 1/4 but you never know, someone could have swapped it out.

I honestly don't know if the drilled rotors are worth it, I have the 11 inch on my van and there so much better over the 10 inchers. If anything, get some good pads, EBC or Hawk and you can install a larger bore MC.

For the K-member, clean it and then weld up all the seams-if you look, there just welded up in small increments. Also weld the nuts that hold the rack down. Before I welded mine, I would drop the member and it would ring, after welding, it would thud. Also, weld up your front K-member mounts on the car, there again just spot welded.

Replacing the rack wouldn't hurt, god knows how many miles you have on it now and with the K-member out, its really easy. Make sure to get the rack with new inner tie rod ends and buy new outers also. While your at it, replace the ball joints with Moog items.

[TurboBlue]

I have the 11 inch on my van and there so much better over the 10 inchers.


Were those off of a Grand Caravan ? if not , which was the donor vehicle ?

[turbovanman²]

I have the 11 inch on my van and there so much better over the 10 inchers.


Were those off of a Grand Caravan ? if not , which was the donor vehicle ?

My set up, 2nd Gen K-member and cast control arms, 91 and up car knuckles and the R/T 11 inch front brakes.

You can use the 1st Gen Grand 11 inch setup but you need to install the smaller bolt pattern hub, use an earlier Shelby Z setup then you can use your existing control arms just use the Z knuckles and brakes.

[turbomopar87]

Yes, replace the bushings with Poly bushings, massive difference. You have the right suspension combo. You need to measure the sway bar before you order the bushings for it. You probably have the 1 1/4 but you never know, someone could have swapped it out.

I honestly don't know if the drilled rotors are worth it, I have the 11 inch on my van and there so much better over the 10 inchers. If anything, get some good pads, EBC or Hawk and you can install a larger bore MC.

For the K-member, clean it and then weld up all the seams-if you look, there just welded up in small increments. Also weld the nuts that hold the rack down. Before I welded mine, I would drop the member and it would ring, after welding, it would thud. Also, weld up your front K-member mounts on the car, there again just spot welded.

Replacing the rack wouldn't hurt, god knows how many miles you have on it now and with the K-member out, its really easy. Make sure to get the rack with new inner tie rod ends and buy new outers also. While your at it, replace the ball joints with Moog items.


I was actually thinking about buying a new front sway bar from PB.com, but wasnt sure. I think the shelby Z came with the 1 1/4 already, is this correct? Would it really be to any advantage to spend another $200 on a new sway bar?

I am definatly gonna weld up those seams on the k-member, and i will see if i can do the ones on the car too.

Thanks man
Kris

[GLHNSLHT2]

hehe been down this road before. Throw out the stock kmember. Go down to the j-yard and find an 89/90 setup with a 5psd. The dual pivots is so much better it's not funny. Get the bushings for the a-arms from Johnny. With the koni's and eibachs and the dual pivots Johnny's sway bar won't work. It'll hit the control arms on either kmember I think but the later kmember for sure. I was working on a solution with him last summer but have decided to modify my stock bar (same diameter anyway) at this time to have end links.
Anyway the ride with the new kmember is far and above better than the old setup. The car also sits 3/4" or more lower with the new setup because more weight is transfered to the springs rather than the binding rear stub strut setup. Anyway this is my experience with my 87 ShelbyZ.

[turbomopar87]

i thought of going to that set up, but i wasnt sure if i wanted to.

Today i took apart everthing, k member, a arms, sway bar, etc. I am going to get new a-arms as of right now, and a new power steering rack & tie rods.

I had no luck finding ANY daytonas in jy's around here....and NO ONE around hewe letrs you take off your own stuff, so getting an 89-90 k member would be expensive.

Will the 89 bolt right up no prblem?
What if i just got the whole 89 setup...k member, a arms, knuckles, and brakes and all, and just put my konis and a new rack on it? Would it bolt right up and i'd be all set?

[turbovanman²]

Will the 89 bolt right up no prblem?
What if i just got the whole 89 setup...k member, a arms, knuckles, and brakes and all, and just put my konis and a new rack on it? Would it bolt right up and i'd be all set?

It will bolt up, all you need is the control arms and use your knuckles. I seem to remember something about drilling out the rack mounting holes as the 89's are bigger!

[turbomopar87]

Ok, so what if i did this...

Got an 89 k member, control arms, sway bar, and dics brakes and calipers, the whole set up. Then i put on my konis and eibachs. Are the konis gonna match up right? I think so, but maybe they bolt to the knuckels different?

Sould i be able to buy an 89 power steering rack for this and fit it in my 87 shelby Z no problem?

[turbovanman²]

Ok, so what if i did this...

Got an 89 k member, control arms, sway bar, and dics brakes and calipers, the whole set up. Then i put on my konis and eibachs. Are the konis gonna match up right? I think so, but maybe they bolt to the knuckels different?

Sould i be able to buy an 89 power steering rack for this and fit it in my 87 shelby Z no problem?

It all bolts up, use your Koni's, they fit all year cars except Omni's.

Yep, use the 89 rack, no issues.

[turbomopar87]

awesome your the man, thanks alot.

gary donovan just parted his 89 shelby daytona and said i can take the whole unit, k member, a arms and brakes. I am gonna grab that soon, and weld that baby up and buy a new power steering rack and throw it in, hopefully in the next 2 weeks.

[BIGBRUDDA]

VANMAN :D I have an 89 shelby crossmember/knuckle/brakes setup. BUT NO A ARMS!:eek: I wanna install it on my 86.:thumb: Should I go find van arms or regular ones and brace -em?:eyebrows:

[turbovanman²]

VANMAN :D I have an 89 shelby crossmember/knuckle/brakes setup. BUT NO A ARMS!:eek: I wanna install it on my 86.:thumb: Should I go find van arms or regular ones and brace -em?:eyebrows:

89 has the dual pivot setup so you need to find the stock stamped 89 A-arms. I think the dual pivot stamped are pretty beefy but I haven't really seen them?