I was checking out this article and saw this board mentioned.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/suspension-articles/485692-fox-thunderbird-rear-control-arm-upgrade-pinion-angle-check.html
Too bad he didn't show side views before and after...
....lol
yeah, it would have showed how those Mustang lowers shove the wheel forward in the fenderwell.
I put Southsides on both of our BB Birds and they moved the rear forward a full 1 inch.
I fixed the problem tho.:D
The difference in length between the Lakewood lowers and and Factory lowers was a 1/4". Not sure where the 1" figure comes from, but I'll get you a pic. :)
nice article.
has anyone on here ever boxed in the stock control arms?
Yeah, he's a member here ;)
Nice write up Mike
Here's a close-up of the rear wheel location. It's an "after" shot so you guys would need to tell me if the axle is unusually forward.
Such a beautiful writeup. And those are some clean snowflakes!
Mike; Glad to see it worked out for you. ( well written article by the way) I got to thinking about what happened to my cars.
Since you used the the factory mounting point on the rear, the before and after rear end location is not very different as shown in your pic.
However, if the rear attachment point is moved (i.e. Southside lowers) , then the shorter Mustang lowers move the rear end centerline forward more due to the geometry of the setup. (see photos below)
That's good news that the Lakewoods worked out for you.
Alan
before with the stock Southsides:
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/TRXsatincenterpolishedcapandwheel.jpg)
After with mods:
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/tccltrx5.jpg)
This is what I had to do. I stretched the lowers 3/4 in. and notched the spring seat area because I did not want to cut my coils so I could lower the spring pad and run 28 inch tall tires without the 4 x 4 look. This mod moved my rear back to the stock location and I got to re-use my factory TC uppers. (boxed of course)
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/Southside01.jpg)
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/Southside11.jpg)
Thanks for the compliments on the pictorial. I try to make it so you don't have to read. :)
Alan, can I use your wheel shot for my article? I'd like to address the possibility of a shortened wheelbase when using some Mustang lowers.
Nice write up. Could always go CHE too.
Sure, no problem. As mentioned in the above post, buying CHE lowers would be the easiest solution.
Here is one of the Gray Bird with un-modified Southsides as well.
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/GrayBirdHouse3.jpg)