North American Turbocoupe Organization

Full Version: '84 TC coil over suspension rebuild
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Hello,

I have recently acquired an 84 TC with 250K miles and am working towards finishing the fuel system rebuild to get it running again. The next step on my list is to rebuild the suspension and brakes, I have sourced my brake rebuild parts already. I know that direct fit performance parts for the TCs are uncommon and that you usually have to interchange it with other Foxbody parts. This leads me to trying to find interchangeable parts to start the rebuild with, what models should I be looking for to best replace front and rear shocks/struts, springs, (would not mind a coilover conversion as long as it does not require to much fabrication) bushings, sway bars and maybe control arms. Is there a company that makes a kit that would cover most/all of these needs in one stop or will I need to shop around and grab from a few different places? Currently shock/strut wise I was looking at KYB Excel Gs and monroe coil springs. Please advise!

Thank you!
BullMoose, welcome to the forum and that's a nice looking 84 you have there. Let me start off by saying I have an 88 and I changed over pretty much everything that you listed, BUT, I am not 100% that your 84 is different than my 88 as far as suspension goes. for mine I installed Mustang SN-95 Koni shocks and struts, the rear shocks required an aftermarket bracket to mount them as they are shorter than my stock 88's, can be bought here https://tbirdcougarparts.com/ . The front control arms were rebuilt with new Energy Suspension SN-95 Poly bushings and sway bar bushings. Here are the links to my front end rebuild and some of the part numbers I used
https://turbotbird.com/showthread.php?tid=36227
https://turbotbird.com/showthread.php?tid=36228
https://turbotbird.com/showthread.php?tid=36229
https://turbotbird.com/showthread.php?tid=36028
https://turbotbird.com/showthread.php?tid=36092

If you are looking to replace your rear springs, I found that Moog CC821'a are a perfect fit and sit about a 1/2" lower than stock. Stock 87-88TC's had the largest sway bars at 1 5/16", find one of those to replace yours. I did originally use new KYB front struts, but ended up swapping in the Koni's. I did not like the way the KYB's felt, they were a little too wallowy for me.
Welcome to the forum! I have a full coilover conversion on my 88 which includes tubular front control arms and tubular upper and lower control arms in the rear. As Kuch pointed out, I also used the rear shock mounting bracket for the SN95 shocks. The front tubular control arms are also for a SN95 mustang; non-offset from maximum motorsports. The only "fab work" I had to do was drill out the tie rod holes on the steering knuckle to install a SN95 bump steer kit with my manual rack but as I recall there wasn't any fab work with the actual suspension install. The rear wells took a bit of "massaging" to fit the coilover spring but it's been fantastic for the 3 years I've had them. One other thing to note is that if you do go the coilover route, caster camber plates (a few places sell them like maximum motorsports) are highly recommended; both for adjustment capability and strengthening the shock tower mounting area.
Thank you both for the information you have provided. I think I will definitely be following in Kuch's footsteps. I will also update if any thing needs to be done different for my model!
I have thread on here somewhere about my suspension rebuild on my 84. Everything went awesome and was sharp tight and well damped. Except two issues. Front end came “loose” after a thousand miles or so. I think it’s the KYB struts falling apart, I also regretted using KYB strut mounts instead of the adjustable caster camber plate upgrade. Second, I had seemingly incurable binding in the rear upper control arms after rebuilding them. The solution was to swap them for CHEs.