[zeppenwolf]

How "hard" is it to take an 88 2.2L T1 Daytona and slap on the Shelby supension parts of an 88 ShelbyZ onto it?

To be honest, I don't think I'd do this myself, ("Sacrilege!!!"), I'd probably take the parts down to some mechanic and ask him to put them in; maybe get some new bushings... Don't get me wrong-- I love to work on my on Daytona, but I'm still at the stage where I prefer to do things that can be done with just a socket wrench and a bunch of patience-- ripping out suspension parts looks a bit scary. Or maybe I would somehow find the courage.... ( "Into the valley of death rode the 88 Daytona..." )

Anyway, my question is really this: How "Plug 'n' Play" are the CS suspension parts? Like, if I had a CS sway bar, would it just drop in? Or would I need to get the A-arms and a bunch of other stuff I don't quite understand as well? See what I mean?

Someone is parting a ShelbyZ so it's a timely question, but I've wondered this before, and I'll wonder it again... unless you 'splain it to me.

 

[GLHNSLHT2]

you need all 4 springs, front sway bar, and rear axle assembly, I wouldn't use the brakes off it, the 87-88 rear discs suck ballz. Been there done that. Anyway that's about it.

 

[Turbo Charger]

Changing the suspension is easy as long as your bolts aren't rust welded together. Of course you'll have to get it aligned after. It took me about 2 -3 hours to change the rear springs/shocks on my 88. Very straightforward job. Front isn't bad either just make sure your wheels are relatively straight before tightening the alignment bolts. Use a torque wrench.

 

[zeppenwolf]

Ok, guys, thanks, this has been bugging me for years....

you need all 4 springs, front sway bar, and rear axle assembly...

There's a strong implication there, but it's not utterly directly stated, that I can take the 88 CS sway bar and just pop it into my little 88 no frills model-- it's the same length, bolts, etc, just stiffer and/or thicker... Correct?

Also, the rear end part really surprises me; just goes to show, that's why questions are good, but I would have thought that Shelby would have played around with the trailing arms, the tracking bar... And I would have guessed that an axle... Well, hey-- it just spins! An axle is just an axle!

Or so I would have thought, but it looks like I was 180 out of sync. Am I reading that correctly?

Changing the suspension is easy as long as your bolts aren't rust welded together.

Ah, yes, well... Rust is something I've got in spades. Trust me, this is a little bit scary.

(I don't see a smiley over there who looks like he's petrified with terror or I would have stuck him in here. That could be a good addition to the smiley-palette)

 

[85daytona]

Why exactly do you want to do this? The rear springs are SUPER EASY just jack up the car by the body and you pull the springs out by hand...The fronts are HELL not worth it IMO for just changing to shelby springs...They aren't A LOT stiffer like eibachs and I wouldn't think they would help a whole lot. DONT put in rear shelby and leave stock fronts though as it'll screw up the handling. Over steer if I remember right??

Sway bar as far as I know will bolt right up with the correct bushings...

Think about why you want to do this and what do you want the car to feel like. I will tell you Eibachs are ROUGH not for a comfy ride...The difference between Shelby and non Shelby springs is somethings like maybe 30lb/in aka not a whole lot of difference I would think but I went straight from stock to eibachs.

 

[zeppenwolf]

Why exactly do you want to do this?

I'm not sure if that's a trick question, or if you think it would be a bad idea?

If Carrol Shelby made some alterations that he thought would improve handling, then, trusting his judgement, I figger those changes are good enough for me too.

But my first sentence asked how "hard" it would be to do this-- you say the front springs would be hell in all caps, and it doesn't take alot to convince me of that, for sure. So forget the springs. Maybe just the sway bar and call it a day. I still don't get what's up with the axle.

I will tell you Eibachs are ROUGH not for a comfy ride... [...] I went straight from stock to eibachs.

So I'm not the only one confused! The Eibachs gave you a rough ride, but you did it anyway. Why?

 

[85daytona]

Haha wasn't ment to be a trick question.I was just wondering if you planned to road race to car or what. Honestly I don't know if I would have changed to a stiffer spring if I would have known because for city driving on roads with plenty of problems its rough. I care more about power than handling as of now because the car is just a street/strip car only has to make your average turns nothing special...If I could do it all over assuming limited funds I would just stick with soft springs decent struts and shocks and get the shock and strut bars to stiffen up the body. I don't know about how much different it will handle with just replacing the sway bar...according to jonny tips for better handling
it will increase understeer which my 85 definitely doesn't need. Bushings I think are a main thing with fresh shocks and struts.

Bushings on the k frame are fairly easy to do along with tie rod ends and ball joints.
Suspension tightening through bushing replacement
I did them for the first time a few months ago when I did the konis and had to mount the springs on the struts which is the hell part. Prolly wouldn't be near as bad with better spring compressors though (rental from Autozone).

 

[85daytona]

So I'm not the only one confused! The Eibachs gave you a rough ride, but you did it anyway. Why?

Oh ya forgot to answer the question lol. I did it because I heard it was the best for handling and I thought thats what I wanted since I'm young and dun care as much about the so called roughness of it... In reality I have a lot to learn. I know in a few years I might get tired the extremeley rough ride of both my daytonas. The 85 is my first car and my DD so I'm learning from it but the 87 I just bought last nite and it came with konis and 2801's...

 

[patrickjengram]

If your suspension isnt completely shot, then the easiest modification that you can make to get an instant difference in the handling in the car is to upgrade your tires to a V or Z rated tire in the same size that you already have, or better yet, go to the next size rim up with a V or Z rated tire.

I took my '93 ES V6 off the showroom floor and changed the Eagle S-rated factory tire to a Bridgestone V-rated tire in the same size and couldnt believe the immediate difference.

 

[GLHNSLHT2]

If you put on the big rear axle/swaybar on the back and the big front sway bar on you really don't need the springs, but they will cancel out a bit more body roll or squat and dive. Case in point my 87 New Yorker. I have the big rear axle and big front sway bar on it. The thing corners totally flat. But with the stock SOFT springs I can engage the ebrake and give it some gas (it's an auto) and just about touch the rear bumper to the ground before the rear tires start sliding Oh and if I take the front sway bar off I can flick the wheel back and forth quick and hard enough that I can bounce the car off the bump stops on the front struts. I have a set of ShelbyZ springs sitting in the shop but I haven't decided if I want to put them on yet.

The rears are cake walk to put on. If you have the Shelby Springs installed on struts for the front then just swap struts, it's not that hard. Unbolt the outer ends of the sway bar and swing it down. Unbolt struts from spindle and the 3 bolts at the top and swap them out. Now of course you'll need an alignment after wards but you'll want one anyway to take full advantage of the handling you just gained. -1.5 camber in the front, -1.0 in the rear with the toe set at zero on both ends and you're golden. Car will corner like nobody's business. A good suspension with a great alignment will have you shitting yourself.

 

[zeppenwolf]

Well, thanks to everyone-- there certainly is alot to chew on in this thread...

...I heard it was the best for handling and I thought thats what I wanted since I'm young and dun care as much about the so called roughness of it...

Yes, well, as far as being young and naive, you and I probably have something in common.

Well, except for the "young" part. I mean... Oh, nevermind.

But I have to say, I'm sure I'm in the minority here, (and most forums about cars like this), but I care at least as much about handling as about acceleration. Don't get me wrong-- fast is great! But for me, going a quarter mile in a perfectly straight line, well... is that really "driving"? If that's really all you want, you can put three wheels on a jet rocket and sit on it...

But when I watch those rally racing guys on cable TV, and I see them go around a hairpin turn faster than whatever, and the car is nearly going sideways through the turn, well... For me, that's what "driving" is about.

LOL, hope I didn't start something nasty there!

Anyway, out of all the thoughts in this thread, I have to say that patrickjengram has some advice I find compelling:

...you can make to get an instant difference in the handling in the car is to upgrade your tires to a V or Z rated tire in the same size that you already have, or better yet, go to the next size rim up with a V or Z rated tire.

It might be an expensive option, but in another way it's also the easiest and the most immediate, in a way. Now, assuming access to a few JY's, this gets really intriguing.

In fact, I think this might deserve its own thread-- the concept seems pretty universally applicable.

Anyway, thanks everyone for bearing with me-- I'll figure this out eventually.

 

[GLHNSLHT2]

One problem with upgrading the tires. Without the big sway bars the car is gonna drag the sides of the car. Case in point, years ago we put koni's and Eibachs on a 85 Laser XE with 225/50 Dunlop SP8000's. With a good alignment you couldn't find the limits of the car on the street at all. We were going 120+ at full throttle through some sweepers that my GLH would skip and slide around on. But the car would lean so bad that on tight sharp corners it would drag the side exit exhaust! And it was tucked up pretty tight. Where my stock shelby Z with crappy Sensa trac struts would bounce up and down like a caddy but corner totally flat no matter the speed or corner. Those big sway bars do A Lot!