Heidt's Pro G Front Suspension - Canyon Carver! Part 1

16 The upper control arms are installed and checked for fit. Keep in mind this will all get disassembled and painted. You can have these pieces powdercoated for outstanding aesthetics or paint them yourself. Wash them with solvent and metal prep (acid etch) before primer and paint. You've got to admit, this is advanced Mustangdom with adjustable Heim joints and ways to tweak front-end alignment like you've never had before. You can throw those pesky alignment shims in the trash now.

17 Heidts 2-inch-drop spindles are installed next, tied to the upper and lower ball joints. Because this is mock-up phase, nothing gets cotter pins. However, when it's time for final assembly, never walk away to take a break. Tighten all castle nuts completely and install all cotter pins properly before walking away. This minimizes any chance of forgetting to tighten everything.

18 Ron has decided to go with the optional Wilwood 12-inch rotors with black four-piston calipers. This is the caliper support bracket. Ron uses Loctite 271 thread locker and torques these bolts to 140 ft-lb. The bottom bolt is torqued to 85 ft-lb.

19 We have all kinds of convenient tools for packing wheel bearings, but here's the real deal according to Ron Peter. Bearings should be washed in petroleum-based solvent and allowed to dry. Then, don some gloves and pack these puppies by hand, as shown. Massage these bearings until they're buried in high-temperature wheel-bearing grease. Coat the races with grease, but not the spindles. Bearings should sit on spindles with mounting surfaces dry.

20 Once the bearings are packed and installed, the seal is installed dry, then lubed. Here, the rotors have already been assembled.

21 There are a lot of schools of thought on how to install and torque bearings. A good rule of thumb is to seat the rotor and inboard bearing, then, insert the outboard bearing and spin the rotor. This seats the bearings and gives you some idea on fitment. If you can feel any resistance or rumbling, give your installation another look.

22 The spindle nut should be tightened while the rotor is being turned to both seat the bearings and distribute the grease. Tighten this nut to 25 ft-lb while turning the rotor, then, back off 1/2 turn and tighten again to 10-15 in-lb (that's inch-pounds) and feel for binding. Back the nut far enough to get the cotter pin installed. Make sure the cotter pin clears the dust cap.

23 The Wilwood caliper is installed while checking rotor-to-caliper clearances. You want equal clearance on both sides. Shims can be used to get the caliper properly centered.

24a Brake pads are included in the Wilwood kit.

24b They drop right in and are secured with this lengthy cotter pin.

25 Ron installs the Heidts steering rack, which is straightforward to secure using U-bolts included in the kit. Ron will need to determine how to route hydraulic lines once the engine is reinstalled.

26 Steering rack tie-rod ends are next. Where this gets tricky is getting the tie-rod ends correctly threaded to where you get toe in the neighborhood of alignment specifications. It's actually easier to do rack-and-pinion tie-rod ends than it is worm and sector steering. The main thing is to get the steering wheel and shaft at 12 o'clock with the rack centered and start there. The wheels should be as close to straight ahead as possible.

27 This 1-1/4-inch antisway bar is extra, but a worthwhile option because we can't imagine Pro-G without it. Ron lubes the urethane bushings and mounts the bar.

28 Sway bar endlinks can be tricky to set up and adjust. Heidts makes it easy via detailed instructions. First, you do a static adjustment to get started. Then, via road testing, you make adjustments.

29 You can set just about any type of engine on this subframe thanks to a variety of mounting brackets from Heidts. This mount is for a small-block Ford.

30 The completed mock-up should look like this. Once you have installed the Heidts Pro-G, you won't be able to imagine driving your Mustang with anything less. The Pro-G is a world-class racing suspension package you can use on the street because it's solid and sure-footed. Ron admits to feeling addicted to the drive. So will you.

31 A bird's eye view of our Heidts steering rack and subframe. Once installed, you have a blank sheet of paper where anything's possible.

32 These inner fender panels fit perfectly and, once painted, look like a factory installation. You can bolt them in or weld. The choice is yours.