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Factory Five Roadster Build Part 3: Suspension InstallOur Factory Five Roadster Suspension Finds Its Way to Our Frame From the August, 2006 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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Our Factory Five Roadster's... Our Factory Five Roadster's front suspension uses all new parts from several sources, but what's great about the FFR design is that you can easily use parts from a donor Mustang, optional parts from Factory Five's catalog, or any number of aftermarket sources (as we did). No matter what your budget may be, you can build your own replica any number of ways. Spend big bucks on an engine and go donor with the suspension, or put a simple carbureted small-block in it and go gangbusters with the suspension. Have it your way, as Burger King says. Things are moving along nicely with our build, even if we are juggling many subsections at once so they'll (hopefully) fall into place as we need them. Besides the many hours spent drilling rivet holes--compounded by documenting our work with digital cameras, written notes, online diaries, and so on--we've been on the phone getting our drivetrain and brake systems figured out. As we write this, our Technical Editor, Wayne Cook, is in California following the engine build, the brake parts are in boxes at the office, and the rearend is being built in Michigan. We've got parts coming from all over. In our second installment, we went to Michigan for the Factory Five build school with our project barely two weeks old. As soon as we returned, we got started on many of the early build steps, including drilling rivet holes, mocking up parts, and assembling the suspension. While the aluminum panels and frame have been drilled, we'll hold off on the installation of the panels as long as we can to give us access to the frame for fuel and brake-line routing, drivetrain installation, and more. We'll go over the aluminum panel fitting and drilling steps next month, and possibly start on the brakes or install the rearend, depending upon what we've got here on the shelf ready to go on the frame at that time. Stay tuned for that, but for now check out our suspension installation, including Factory Five's 3-Link rear suspension and tubular control arm upgrades. The Factory Five Racing (FFR)... The Factory Five Racing (FFR) frame uses the stock '87-'04 Mustang control arm as its lower arm (the upper arm is included with the kit). Because we wanted to run wider 9-inch front wheels, FFR suggested its tubular lower control arms as an option. They come complete with mounting bolts, the ball joint installed, and are powdercoated as well. On the Hunt for the Perfect Parts
While the Factory Five Roadster frame is designed to use late-model Mustang donor parts (brakes, suspension, drivetrain, and so on), let's face it, these cars are going on 20-plus years old. We're talking worn bushings, tired springs, and damaged parts from accidents. You might still find a good donor car at a decent price, but more than likely you'll want to choose your donor items individually. We're using a few donor parts from various years--spindles from a '95 Mustang, a fuel filler neck from a '92 Mustang, and so forth. Buying these parts individually isn't difficult. You can work with a local pick-a-part type salvage yard or you can go right to one of the Mustang-only salvage yards like All Mustang Salvage [www.ampperformance.com; (602) 437-0720] in rust-free Arizona, where we found many of our items. The rear mounting bolts require... The rear mounting bolts require a small amount of material removal or a washer to space the bolt away from the frame. We felt it was worth the labor to trim the bolts properly for the right fit. All Mustang has built several of its own FFR Roadsters, and has sold individual parts and pallets (everything needed to build a Roadster, minus the body) to hundreds of FFR customers. Of course, if your budget allows, there are plenty of Mustang aftermarket products to choose from, including performance brakes, control arms (front and rear), wiring, gauges, transmissions, engines, and more. Many of our classic-parts advertisers like Texas Mustang, Stainless Steel Brakes, and Mustangs Plus also carry late-model Mustang parts. So if you're considering building an FFR Roadster, you can still purchase many of the items you need from your favorite classic vendors you've come to trust for your other Ford projects.  The FFR upper control arm...  The FFR upper control arm is a multipiece part that is fully adjustable for camber and caster adjustments.  The arm mounts with its own...  The arm mounts with its own hardware to the frame.  We also snugged the arm's...  We also snugged the arm's adjustment sleeves and lock nuts to take out any slop in the control arm until we were ready for an alignment.  (Clockwise from upper left)...  (Clockwise from upper left) The upper control arm uses a Chrysler-style screw-in ball joint, which makes for simple servicing down the road. While we've heard that some people tack-weld the ball joint to the control arm to prevent the ball joint from backing out, we're optimistic that a generous helping of thread locker will do the same job.  Luckily, the editor of our...  Luckily, the editor of our sister magazine Mopar Muscle is just down the hall, and we were able to borrow his ball joint socket to properly tighten the ball joint to the specs in the FFR build manual.  We're sure there are alternatives,...  We're sure there are alternatives, but there's no excuse not to use the right socket when you can usually get these from parts-store tool-loan programs.  As a final check, we used...  As a final check, we used an automatic center punch to mark the ball joint and the arm. This way we can quickly inspect the ball joint to see if it is backing out on us.  The front suspension is slowly...  The front suspension is slowly taking shape, as the completed upper and lower control arm installation shows.  One thing we didn't think...  One thing we didn't think about until after the upper control arms were installed was how to seat the ball joint dust boot.  We read several tips on the...  We read several tips on the ffcobra.com forum, but in the end we simply used a pair of slip-joint pliers. The boot has an internal metal retaining ring that needs to seat in the groove of the ball joint. It takes a bit of patience to seat the boot, but you can do it without removing the arm.  Hindsight being what it is,...  Hindsight being what it is, these boots should have been installed before the arm went on the frame.  The FFR frame uses adjustable...  The FFR frame uses adjustable Bilstein coilovers for the front suspension even with the donor Mustang control arms. We opted for the 3-Link Deluxe rear suspension (a single upper arm and a Panhard bar), which includes a swap to coilover shocks in the rear from the stock late model Mustang coil springs.  This setup will give us fully...  This setup will give us fully adjustable ride height and allow for simple spring changes for track and street use. The Bilstein shocks come unassembled from FFR (remember, you're doing much of the labor here to save money). The shocks have a snap ring on them, and the coilover spring seat has a machined groove to accept the snap ring.  Once the seat is installed,...  Once the seat is installed, the coil spring is slipped over the shock and then the coil spring hat is installed. Finally, the shock's rod end and jam nut are installed to complete the assembly.  Note the tie-wraps to secure...  Note the tie-wraps to secure the coil-spring hat to the spring. This prevents the spring from unseating and upsetting the suspension.  Using a Heim joint or rod...  Using a Heim joint or rod end in any suspension component requires religious maintenance since dirt and moisture can easily enter the spherical end.  We came across these Seals-It...  We came across these Seals-It rod-end seals at the Hot Rod & Restoration trade show earlier this year, and thought they were the perfect answer for extended maintenance on rod ends for street use.  We ordered enough 1/2-inch...  We ordered enough 1/2-inch rod-end seals to protect our shocks and 5/8-inch rod-end seals for the 3-Link suspension. Installing them takes nothing more than ensuring you have enough room for their 0.047-inch-thick washer.  We had to trim the FFR aluminum...  We had to trim the FFR aluminum spacers by an equivalent amount to get the Seals-It product to fit, but we feel the bit of labor in trimming the spacers is more than worth it for the protection the rod-end seals will provide.  The FFR frame also uses the...  The FFR frame also uses the stock steering rack from a late-model Mustang, but again, you can purchase anything from a parts-store replacement (power or manual) to an aftermarket unit, powdercoated or chrome plated. We opted for a power rack from Flaming River. It uses a cast gear housing with a chrome-plated steel rack tube. This allows Flaming River to make racks of different widths but also gives the rack a bit of a custom look.  The rack comes with mounting...  The rack comes with mounting bushings, and the steel sleeves being installed here come from FFR to simulate the steel tubes found on a late-model Mustang crossmember.  The rack easily slides into...  The rack easily slides into place on the frame and is secured by bolts, washers, and lock nuts supplied by FFR.  With the front suspension...  With the front suspension complete, minus the spindles, which will be installed when we do the front brakes, it was time to break out the trusty torque wrench and go over all of the suspension mounting bolts following the torque chart in the FFR manual.  We also loosely installed...  We also loosely installed the tie-rod ends for now, mostly to prevent misplacing them in the garage, and greased the upper and lower arm bushings with a manual grease gun.  The rear shock mounting point...  The rear shock mounting point is drilled for both the stock-style Mustang shock (which is a vertical stud mount) and for the optional Bilstein coilover shock (which is a horizontal mount). Note our coilover is installed with Seals-It washers in the rear, too.  Since our axlehousing hasn't...  Since our axlehousing hasn't arrived yet, we'll simply bolt the rear suspension parts to the frame itself. When the axlehousing shows up, all we have to do is slide it under the rear and bolt up the control arms, shocks, and the Panhard bar. The rear suspension is based on the late-model Mustang design, and again you can use donor parts from one of these Mustangs. But since we opted for the 3-Link Deluxe rear suspension package, which is a step above the stock Mustang four-link, we got these sweet tubular control arms to install. They slide right into place in the frame and attach with their included hardware. If you're buying donor parts, be sure to get the mounting bolts as well.  The 3-Link setup uses a short...  The 3-Link setup uses a short parallel arm from the axlehousing to the frame for the upper link and a long Panhard bar for lateral axle location. AFCO, a huge name in suspension components, supplies both the upper arm and Panhard bar. These parts feature beefy 5/8-inch rod ends and are fully adjustable for axle location and pinion angle.  The upper arm attaches to...  The upper arm attaches to the frame on the right side of the axlehousing (if it were installed!), and the Panhard bar mounts between the frame on the left and the axlehousing on the right. Here we have everything installed and tie-wrapped out of the way. We can't wait for the rear axlehousing to show up because then we can install our brakes, wheels, and tires, and have a roller! Stay tuned for more next month.
 | Project Snake Charmer is finished and on the road Check out the diary for more! |  | We'd like to introduce you to Mustang & Fords' new project, Project Snake Charmer |  | We Go Back to School-and Like It! The Factory Five Racing Cobra Roadster Kit Car Buildup Series Continues At The Build School. |  | Our Factory Five Roadster Suspension Finds Its Way to Our Frame |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets its motivation from a Smeding Performance 427 |  | We install and prepare the aluminum panels for Project Snake Charmer |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets a Drivetrain Specialtists rear end for Project Snake Charmer |  | Our project becomes a roller with brakes, wheels, and tires |  | Project Snake Charmer receives an EFI based fuel system to feed the snake |  | Our Factory Five Racing Roadster recieves a Smeding Performance 427 Windsor and a Tremec Transmission |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets a new dash, pedals, and cooling system |  | Installing the Factory Five Racing wiring harness on our Project Snake Charmer Cobra Roadster Replica |  | We finish up the wiring and then turn towards starting the body on our Factory Five Roadster Project Car |  | Installing hydroboost brakes on our Project Snake Charmer Factory Five Roadster before painting |  | Project Snake Charmer Factory Five Roadster heads off for paint |  | Our Factory Five Roadster Begins the Paint Process |  | Our Cobra Replica's Almost Ready For Paint |
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