Lifting a Mustang

[UrbanRedneckKid]

So, I'm getting this car for free. You can call it a Mustang if you want, it's not in my opinion. 98 Ford ''Mustang'' V6 auto convertable, 246k mi, and the right side was ran down a rock or pole.

I wanna lift it, make a prerunner style ft bumper for it, and put some monster tires (235/75 or 31x10.5) under it. Tire size will depend on how high I can get it.

Any ideas on lifting a car? I was thinking of just fabbing up some spacers for between the struts and body and out back just using my stock TTB coils.

I'm not going to put any money into this, unless I really have to. So no elaborate schemes, just some stupid simple ideas if ya got em.

 

[racinranger]

with the mcpherson front end your not going to get more than say 2'' lift without serious steering and travel problems. If i were going to take on something as obsurd as this, I would make lower control arm drop brackets and bolt them down/weld them to the K member and make a spacer of some kind for the strut, or find a longer strut/drop the strut tower. for the steering your going to have to make extensions for the TRE's there are offset rack bushings that can get the rack lower by about a half inch. Altho there made to lift the rack on lowered cars. In the rear your looking at a triangulated 4 link. you can most likely get some longer springs and get a few inches out of without serious problems. Otherwise you'll needing to make control arm drops for the rear but i doubt the torque box's are going to like you, and will prolly rip off without reinforcment. For the rear you can prolly use TTB ranger front shocks that are longer as the mustang us's Pin top rear shocks. Another thing to worry about is the slip yolk in the trans idk how much lift it would take to rip out the slip yolk or cause driveline vibs?

idk that covers it pretty good........I would use the sawzall liberaly to make room for tires and lift it 2'' or so and keep the fab to a minimum.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

its 2WD, just cut the knuckles and extend them to "lower" the spindle. simple and cheap. gusset the crap out of the welds and dont drive it on the street its the same way some manufacturers lift IFS 2wd trucks (granted their knuckles are a cast one-piece design).

 

[racinranger]

how is cutting the knuckle really going to help? yea you can space the strut mount up but that will just lesson the down travel to within the factory ball joints limit. I dont see how he would cut off the actuall spindle from the knuckle to lower it and be able to re attach it in any way that would be feasable. wicked im normally with you 100% but for the first time i dont think that will work.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

it depends on how much lift he sets the knuckle up for and what the factory ball-joint angle looks like. ill admit its been a while since ive been under that generation of mustang, but im sure the factory set up isnt anywhere close to maxing the ball joint out...meaning he should have some room to play with.

if nothing else, a cut/lengthened spindle combined with a lower control arm drop like you were suggesting would be easy enough.

 

[racinranger]

lol they look the same as every fox body from 79-2004. not EXACTLY the same but the k member/arms/spindles/struts are interchangable and so forth. i remember jacking the car up alot for the tire to leave the ground thats what prompted me to say 2'' lift springs with no other real mods besides a spacer in the strut. after that its gona get dicey, just dont drive it on the road

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

What if i was to just fab mounts for the lower C-arms under the k-member, then bend and reinforce the c-arms for a better ball joint angle, then just fab 3'' spacers for the struts. I think that would give about 4'' up front.

Is it possible to bend and reinforce tierods? The rack would need to be moved alot more than half an inch.

And, I wanna be able to drive it on the street, as crazy as it sounds.

 

[racinranger]

i dont think anyone is gona tell you to drive it on the street. So i'd keep that idea to yourself and off the board.....lol. I've seen TRE"s bent and then extensions threaded on before on IFS trucks. So i'd say yes then say i dont want you to kill yourself. but the other stuff should be pretty simple fab drop mounts like any ifs kit and then some knuckle extensions ALA toyota lift, like the balljoint spacer. but for the strut.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Why would anyone want to put big tires under a car?

It isn't gonna happen. I'm sorry and I'm not trying to be mean. You don't realize how much lift you would actually need to clear 235's. Not only that but, you will need to open up the wheel wells.
It would actually be easier to put a straight axle under the front of the car.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Why would anyone want to put big tires under a car?

It isn't gonna happen. I'm sorry and I'm not trying to be mean. You don't realize how much lift you would actually need to clear 235's. Not only that but, you will need to open up the wheel wells.
It would actually be easier to put a straight axle under the front of the car.

1- the car is a free POS
2- I own a recipricating saw, and after takin the roof off my old B2, am not afraid to trim a fender or 4.
3- that just cost to much...

Either I take the car for free and have some fun with it or it goes to the crusher.

 

[mikej83]

Why would anyone want to put big tires under a car?

isnt that kind of an ironic statement from a guy with a pic of a 4x4 pinto? haha...not that the 4xpinto aint cool, just sayin......

 

[mikej83]

heres what i would do. mustang is just over 101 inch wheelbase. fullsize bronco is just over 104 inch wheelbase. find some rusted out fullsize(take your pic, millions of em), hack the mustang fenders, do a body swap. might need a little time with the good old blue tip, do some cuttin, some weldin, who knows, might even work. if it doesnt work, all your out is some time and a couple hundred bucks on some bronco with a rusty body. part out the drivetrain, get your money back. I think it'd be fun or, if you find one for a decent price, '91-'97 explorer 2 door sport is just over 101 inch wheelbase

 

[Tony Raine]

i vote for big tires + sawzall = go have fun. hell, just take the front fenders off, and chop up the back. leave suspension as-is.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

heres what i would do. mustang is just over 101 inch wheelbase. fullsize bronco is just over 104 inch wheelbase. find some rusted out fullsize(take your pic, millions of em), hack the mustang fenders, do a body swap. might need a little time with the good old blue tip, do some cuttin, some weldin, who knows, might even work. if it doesnt work, all your out is some time and a couple hundred bucks on some bronco with a rusty body. part out the drivetrain, get your money back. I think it'd be fun or, if you find one for a decent price, '91-'97 explorer 2 door sport is just over 101 inch wheelbase

That's not a bad idea at all... I'm liking the exploder idea, Around me the full size frames rot out with the bodies, though most rotted exploders here have solid frames.

Isn't the Mustang wider than an Exploder though?

 

[mikej83]

yup, but not by much..explorer is just over 70 inches wide, mustang just under 72 inches wide...who knows, maybe the subframe on the mustang will sit just outside/inside of the explorer frame, you bolt/weld them together, or just cut out your subframe, and make some steel body mounts of some kind.