My uncle bought what is now my tbird new in 88. Now with over 225k miles I finally have the funding to do more major work on her. I’m sure I will be needing help with electrical issues but suspension and braking are first. A friend has done some engine work and resealed everything recently. Any recommendations for suspension replacements preferably upgrades would be really helpful. Lots of good looking birds out there mine will be there soon.
Jimi,
Awesome Bird, nice to have all of the history for it going back to the original owner. For suspension on mine, I replaced the front bushings with energy suspension bushings and replaced the factory shocks and struts with Koni STR-t's. these made a huge improvement in the handling. You may hear some out there say that energy suspension poly bushings are too stiff for the street, I disagree with that. They are perfect. The Koni's are much better than the KYB stuff that is available, don't go there. Here is some of my posts on my suspension rebuild. https://turbotbird.com/thread-front-susp...suspensionhttps://turbotbird.com/thread-suspension...suspension
1988 Turbo Coupe, Black/Black, 5 Speed, Moonroof, T3/T4, ported E6, 255LPH, Kirban, Stinger Exhaust, MGW shifter, K&N, Gillis valve, BP1.5, PIMPx, Koni's
1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL, 390 6V, Big Solid cam, Headers,3.89's, 4 Speed, Vast and fast
1960 Ford Starliner, 292 Y Block, 312 4bbl intake, headers, 3 Speed, slow and low
That's a cool car with a cool story to go with it. I would go for Koni or Bilstein for shocks/struts. Are you planning to lower the car at all?
As far as bushings are concerned I agree that poly is not too harsh for the street and I've been using it for years. I only like poly in locations where there is no rotational/twisting motion on the bushing. In the case of these cars that would be on the front lower control arms and sway bars only.
In the rear, when the axle moves a harder bushing limits the suspension's ability to move. Think about going over a speed bump on only the left side of the car. The axle needs to rotate slightly to respond to the load and a harder bushing limits that. A number of aftermarket performance companies make rear control arms for cars with similar suspensions that actually twist so that the bushing never sees that load. If you aren't looking to go that far I would stay would a quality rubber bushing.
02-13-2022, 06:23 AM (This post was last modified: 02-13-2022, 06:25 AM by jimicrash.)
Awesome thanks for all the help so far! That Koni setup is exactly what I’ve been hunting. I would like to lower it a little and definitely stiffen it up without a lot of electronics. Looks like I’ll be installing a turn signal switch on my days off this week. That should be the last thing on the inspection checklist. Legal Sunday driver coming soon!