Here is a step by step to building a pair of roller bearing front coil spring perches for '60-'65 Falcons, Rancheros & Comets and '62-'67 Chevy II's.<O</O Actually they will work on any shock tower equipped Ford like Mustangs, Torinos, Cougars etc. Anyone who has ever owned one of these vehicles has experienced the annoying squeak when the rubber bushing in the original spring perch wears out. I replace the rubber bushings with two sealed bearings which will last forever, and dramatically free up the front end of the vehicle. Front to back weight transfer, as well as side to side weight transfer is enhanced, and the car just fells and handles totally different.<O</O <O</O The first step is a pair of new spring perches that can be had from any Mustang parts vendor for about $20.00 a piece. You can also use your originals if the shaft is in good shape with no wear. <O</O With a piece of angle iron placed inside the perch so it will not collapse, the rubber bushing and shaft is pressed out of the perch body. <O</O The shaft with the bushing still on it is then placed over a washer with an I.D. slightly larger than the shaft. The rubber will peel off the shaft when pressed through. You are left with two shafts.
The now empty spring perch body is then placed in a chop saw and the bottom third of the tube that held the perch is cut off. <O</O <O</O <OThe perch is then place in a small jig on the carriage of a lathe and a two inch hole saw on a drive mandrel is used to notch the perch body. <O</O <O</O </O
The perch bodys are de-burred and cleaned in preparation for welding. These sleeves are 2" O.D. x .120" and have 1/2" deep x 1 7/8" bores in them that allow the bearings to be pressed into them. They also have 1" x 1/2" notches in them that allow access to the shock retaining nuts. The sleeves are placed on the perch with the notches aligned to the shock stud holes in the perch and welded. They can now be painted. Here is the pained perch with the bearings pressed in.
The shafts are then placed in the perches and centered. A scribe is used to mark the shaft on the edge of the bearing. The shaft is then placed in a lathe and a .060" groove is machined in the shaft for a snap ring. The shafts are placed back in the perches and the snap rings are installed. Here is the finished perch with the studs and rubber pads installed. The Mustang/Falcon perches will fit the Chevy II's if the holes in the upper control arms are elongated about 1/16"of an inch.
Wow! I have none of those vehicles nor any interest in them (the ***le drew me in -- like WTF applies to all those?), but that's a fascinating mod. You're a true craftsman. Thanks.
as a falcon fan and a person. Who drives a ranchero daily... This mod RULES! I've had the front end rebuilt about 3 years everything is/was NEW! And it was quiet for about a year and a half and the squeeking began again! This would shut things up! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
great mod dude! years ago when i had mustangs that squeak would drive you nuts! never had one of my early novas squeak like the mustangs. can't believe somebody doesn't offer those as a upgrade. my cousin was a front end spe******t and did so many that the local ford dealer sent them all his way.
like asked above, will you do others. that project is beyond my ability (and equipment) but would be a nice upgrade
Nice tech, it's cool to do it yourself whne you can. For those that don't have the equipment or ability to do this, most of the Mustang parts suppliers sell roller bearing perches for about $150.00 a pair or Urethane bushed ones for $120.00. Pretty common part
interesting conversion.just my 2 cents for what its worth.ive been driving early falcons over here for over 15 years and have never had any squeak problems in various cars that i own and have owned in that area.as long as the spring perch has the rubber pads where the spring sits at the bottom (which are on all new perches now) and the rubberised insulator inside the top of the shocker tower is in good condition i have never had any problems. ive noticed that all the squeak problems come from the wear in the upper control arm shaft.the threads and or the bushes wear out and need replacing or constant re-greasing. over here in australia,our 60-65 falcons all had press-in upper control arm bushes (just like you all had in just your 60 model i think before they went to the threaded type) and work perfectly with no squeak.as you mentioned the mustang etc all have the same squeak problem.some 64-66 mustang guys over here have changed their upper arms for the falcon type with the press-in bushes just to eliminate this problem great conversion though,just thought i would also mention this concept as well.
i'd like to ask permission to link this thread at my www.JollyRodder.com website. i think for the ChevyII guy who have access to the proper tools would love to see this modification. the thread would be referenced as a H.A.M.B. tech thread with all proper credit to author etc... Thanks for the consideration, JR
smaller heavy wall tubing and cage needle bearings and or broze bushings would simplify the construction and elimnate the need for the clearance cuts to access the bolts.
Great work,awsome pictures on the job,and I can appreciate your do-it-yourself attirude!!Not everyone has that ***embly of tools,or expertise in doing the work and they are available over the counter!!! I have had my 65 Comet since spring of 67,never had any squeeks,still has original upper A-arm bushings,put zerks in when I put in ball joints at 45,000,well over 175,000 miles now!!!I had bronze bushings installed in the spring perches for about $50.00 about 12 years ago,when the car became a drag car to help free up the front end. ROY.
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