61 Falcon cruiser build

Yes, definitely do the Shelby Drop.

 

Thanks you the reply. I'm aware of the distributor woes. I've heard good things about that dui set up, I'm going to pick one up once I rebound from Xmas. How do you like your carb set up? Also the t5 is a must, that sounds like great cruising speeds. Thanks

 

That sounds like the thing to do, I will mark it out at the same time as changing out the shocks. I was also thinking about shimming the front shocks a little. Is that a bad idea to do with the Shelby drop?

Thanks

 

The Shelby Drop does not drop the car (well, maybe 9/16"). It relocates the upper control arm, from the stock location, so the inside tire on a corner tips inward, digging it in, rather than outward, letting it slip.

You will not need balljoint shims with a 1" Shelby Drop, only if you go farther (and there is no reason to do that on a street car).

You should be running your outer shock towers, as they are where the bumpstops are*. Instead of leaving them off, you can take 2-1/4" out of them, and then weld them back up. Toss 3/8" poly bump stops on after that, and you should be good-to-go.

If you run without bumpstops, you risk snapping the upper ball joint (which could mean your end), and/or punching the shock absorbers through the hood, or blowing them apart.

I recommend converting to Mustang-style shocks, and upper shock mounts. To those, you can easily apply extensions to raise them up, allowing you to have full suspension compression, with your new, lowered stance, without risking obliterating a shock.

For mild cruising, I recommend the KYB-GR2/Excel G.

For spirited driving, I recommend the KYB Gas-a-Just.

*They also provide support to the tower. They are in there for a reason.

 

Oh, and extend them up by 1-1/2 - 2".

 

Thanks gimpy, very useful info. When you say extend them 1 1/12"-2" do you mean where they are bolted to the top of the tower? This will help with full travel when the Shelby drop is done?