Updating my Bird!

Been putting in a lot of work to the bird over the last year. Had a really solid winter attacking the to-do's I had been putting off. Redid headliner, new visors, completely stripped and re-did gauge cluster repairing printed circuit board shorts, modified housings for better light spread and put LED's in, also did the tach resistor mod so my converted 302 now reads accurately on the oem 4 cylinder tach new steering wheel, a little bit of wire re-routing, fixed glass that fell off track and unglued from tabs all repaired now.. Still lots more.

Just acquired what I need to re-adjust the stance for this car. I have wanted to have a meatier tire in the back for a very very long time, grew tired of the non-functional "flush" look that is such a nuisance for speedbumps, ride quality, and since moving into the new house I can barely get it out of the driveway (builder deficiency, that is another topic I could vent for days about... maybe I'll make a post about it just because.)

So I finally bought some larger tires. I had been debating and still do about the wheel choice, I go back and forth between a lot of looks/options out there. 4 Lug will stay, so my options are limited. But I think having the larger tire on the rear will change the look quite a lot of the wheel so I'd like to see. I'm a super budget guy anyways, these tires are by far the best value for what you get (I rarely drive this car, only sunny days so I feel safe with a "budget" tire choice) and the springs were dirt cheap. I researched what I could about having a drop in the rear, but most of what I looked for is obsolete now. The 8599 is listed as a stock spring, but reading the specs on it kind of seems to be very similar to the obsolete M-5300-D. I think these are just taller. I figured for the price totally worth trying out.

The specs of the Moog 8599 springs taken directly from the Moog website:
Free Height 13.33"
Installed Height 9.5"
Inner Diameter 4.01"
Bar Diameter 0.59"
Spring Rate 249(lbs/inch)
Load 926 (lbs)

Moog 8599 Rear Springs $60 shipped

Energy Suspension 4.6101G (Black) rear spring isolators $30 shipped

Achilles ATR Sport 2 $154 shipped for the PAIR
275/40R18

Going in the car on Wednesday! I'm excited to have some tire sidewall give, and actual suspension travel again.. And be able to drive out of the garage fairly worry-free.. So many pro's.

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Sounds like you have been busy!

Let us know how it turned out.

Let us know how it turned out.

I certainly will be taking before and after photos and give some clarification on what this setup will do

Good news! The day was productive, AND successful. Sometimes those two words don't go together, but a good day for me. I even fixed a burned out fog lamp by knocking on it with my knuckle. Go figure. Magic..

Tires were mounted and balanced, they were able to get them done for me in a timely fashion without overcharging.. I actually rotated the tires and rims to the front that I have had on the rear of the car for quite some time. I was experiencing some good driveline vibration, removing the old wheel spacers I had solved a large portion of it but I still had some. When the job was done, I took the car for a spin and noticed right away above 50mph 80km/h that I was getting a very new shimmy shake in the steering wheel/front end. Painfully obviously unbalanced wheels in the front...! So those will be heading in for some refreshed balancing.. The driveline vibration from the rear seems to not be there anymore.. I didn't take the car up to highway speeds though so that's not ruled out entirely, but I know that the new springs raising the car has improved my pinion angle which was something else I knew may have been an issue from lowering it so much before.

Springs came out really easy, and the new ones went in not to bad. I needed to use a spring compressor because the brake line hose coming down in to the diff in the middle of the car was MAXED out.. I was scared I ripped it accidentally!! Luckily was only for a moment I stressed it and after a good visual and physical inspection was all good. I had purchased a new set but ended up re-using the spring isolators already in the car, they looked in great shape. So I will sell the ones I used to recoup some of the money back I didn't need to flip my quad shock at all, and my shocks were an appropriate length. All inspected and appear to be in great shape.

The 275/40R18 tires on the 9" rim fit nicely. I use a 5/16 spacer on the rears and it fills the wheel wells very nicely. They clear the quad shocks by 1-2". I would still like it to be a bit lower but with a bit more time and some more fuel in the tank it should settle down right where I want it. It matches the front very nicely now which is just what I was looking for. I wasn't sure how high the new rear springs would bring the back end up, but I'm very satisfied with them. They drove pretty nicely too, no more jarring ride.. I feel like they are actually pretty firm for a "stock" spring.. I love them. They are making me reconsider spending the extra dough for adjustable control arms because they just feel great and I think I really like the look of them. It's a very different feel in a good way, and a new look for the car that I feel is more appropriate..

So anywho! To summarize, having the meatier tire with the decently sized 18" wheel definitely helps fill out the wheel gap that I think most TBirds suffer out there. No rub on my test drive, I do have my fender rolled. I'm pretty happy with this setup so far, this could stay for a while. I'm digging the aggressive raked stance.. For anyone else considering this spring, this is what it will do for you!

Here are some pics!

Before new tires.. Very skinny, small sidewall, and the 01 GT rear springs make the car sit lower than in the front which is a sucky look.. Could not get out of driveway at this height without some pre-assembled ramps I keep.
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Springs side by side comparison. New ones are Moog 8599 old ones are I was told 2001 GT springs. Green tag reads EAR XR3C 5560-EA which after a quick google search told me these are 2001 GT base model springs. The Moog springs seemed a little heavier gauge steel vs the GT springs.
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New springs installed..
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Workshop
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Here is how the Achilles 275/40R18 mount on the 9" wide Cobra R replicas. I know different tire manufacturers can have very different actual mounted widths for the same rated width tire..
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And after a quick spin to the watering hole! Left a couple great looking 11's out there too.. Tire tread leaves a good pattern
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Resting back in her nest.. The car rolls in and out of the garage ramp free now. Game changing! So much less hassle. Thank goodness..
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Looks good!

Very nice!