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Shelby drop and lowering spring

Well...if you buy SD, I'd probably buy reverse eye. Then again, your car probably has weight in the rear than my car. The other option is if you buy them from someone like John at ORP I'm positive he would work with you.
 
Patrick Stapler said:
Well...if you buy SD, I'd probably buy reverse eye. Then again, your car probably has weight in the rear than my car. The other option is if you buy them from someone like John at ORP I'm positive he would work with you.
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Good point, I did get the majority of my front suspension from John.


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I'm not really a burnout/straight line guy. Again, if you haven't, I would highly recommend a call to John or Mike Maier. Either of those can get you hooked up. All of my stuff is from John, but I have visited and toured Mike's place and can say both have very very good products.
 
Patrick Stapler said:
I installed Drake Mid-Eye leafs on my '66 GT replacing the OEM GT leafs. I loved the stance with the OEM leafs. I also installed Del-Alum bushings front and rear of the leafs. The SD leafs raised my car almost an inch in the rear. In fact, I ended up having to install 1" blocks on the rear just to get the rockers back level front to rear, which is where I wanted it. Wish I had gone with reverse eye. Don't car for the blocks as they tend to get in the way of adjusting the rear shoes and aren't ideal for track conditions.
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Your original springs could very likely have weakened and sagged due to age. This is why one has to be very careful when making comparisons from one set-up to another. Some mid-eye springs are also made with a fifth leaf to stiffen them to control wheel hop, etc. New springs also need to settle in. Some drop more than others in this process.

Also, not all cars are created equal. Is the rear fold down still in it or has it been replaced with a light weight shelf? Changes like this can dramatically affect the rear weight and the ride height too from one car to another with the exact same suspension set-ups.
 
67stang said:
Just to add: so I have been slowly improving the beast and the front is done. So with the rear I have added new shocks only. I don't do a lot of burns outs: number one just causes issues, but number two I have wheel bounce!! On certain pavements. So would you get leafs or cal tracks first. If I got new leafs then got cal tracs would the cal tracs just stiffen the ride anyways? Meaning do I need to get leafs and cal tracs? Or would new leafs most likely get rid of the wheel bounce. Just seeing if I really need both.
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You don't need to go to the extent of Caltracs just to control wheel hop. Good stiff leafs can do the job alone. Caltracs purpose is to launch the car hard and straight at a drag strip by preventing spring wrap and torque loss. If the strip is not in your plans I wouldn't suggest going this way. It's not necessary. If you do, you need to install them with the new springs as the Caltrac system replaces the front spring eye bushing with a solid aluminum piece that needs installed before the spring gets put in.
 
Horseplay said:
You don't need to go to the extent of Caltracs just to control wheel hop. Good stiff leafs can do the job alone. Caltracs purpose is to launch the car hard and straight at a drag strip by preventing spring wrap and torque loss. If the strip is not in your plans I wouldn't suggest going this way. It's not necessary. If you do, you need to install them with the new springs as the Caltrac system replaces the front spring eye bushing with a solid aluminum piece that needs installed before the spring gets put in.
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I did email John and he suggested mid eye. FYI: I do have back seats.


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CalTracs will plant the car for sure but really only needed for hard launches. If you don't plan on any serious launches or drag racing they would be over kill. A good set of springs might be all you need. Like Terry suggests, my 67 has Grab-A-Track 5 leaf mid eye springs and Grab-A-Track gas shocks. It hooks as good as the tires will let it with no wheel hop. I have run it at strip too. I have 275/40/17 tires and they are not enough! Anyway, CalTracs are great peices but probably more than you need. I also have a complete ORP front suspension.
IMG_4297a.jpg
 
tarafied1 said:
CalTracs will plant the car for sure but really only needed for hard launches. If you don't plan on any serious launches or drag racing they would be over kill. A good set of springs might be all you need. Like Terry suggests, my 67 has Grab-A-Track 5 leaf mid eye springs and Grab-A-Track gas shocks. It hooks as good as the tires will let it with no wheel hop. I have run it at strip too. I have 275/40/17 tires and they are not enough! Anyway, CalTracs are great peices but probably more than you need. I also have a complete ORP front suspension.
View attachment 30650
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Nice ride love the EVEN/lowered stance on your car. So I'm obviously leaning towards the mid eye like everyone suggested. Keep you guys posted.




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I had to cut half a coil off of the 620 lbs springs I got from ORP. The front sat higher than I liked.
 
Horseplay said:
Give me a day or two. I have it up off the ground on stands right now.
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It's so strange my friend just put in reverse eye on his fastback from summit and it sits 13 3/8 from the bottom wheel well edge to the center hub. My current configuration is near 14.

What does your sit at?
e9fe2a3502927fc59def6251fbe0cdba.jpg



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67stang said:
It's so strange my friend just put in reverse eye on his fastback from summit and it sits 13 3/8 from the bottom wheel well edge to the center hub. My current configuration is near 14.

What does your sit at?
e9fe2a3502927fc59def6251fbe0cdba.jpg



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So now I'm really on the fence mid eye or reverse eye....... because sitting at 13 inches would be perfect


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Horseplay said:
You don't need to go to the extent of Caltracs just to control wheel hop. Good stiff leafs can do the job alone. Caltracs purpose is to launch the car hard and straight at a drag strip by preventing spring wrap and torque loss. If the strip is not in your plans I wouldn't suggest going this way. It's not necessary. If you do, you need to install them with the new springs as the Caltrac system replaces the front spring eye bushing with a solid aluminum piece that needs installed before the spring gets put in.
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I have no plans for me at the drag strip.

Prior to installing Caltracs I had wheel hop - after installing the Caltracs, no wheel hop
 
3175375 said:
I have no plans for me at the drag strip.

Prior to installing Caltracs I had wheel hop - after installing the Caltracs, no wheel hop
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Your leafs are/were not stiff enough on their own. Simple as that. Craig's 429 powered car has no hop no Caltracs. Each car will be different with all the variables considered but Caltracs are an extreme solution for the street that will obviously work. So will a good set of leaf springs. Like 5 leaf mid-eyes. ;)
 
67stang said:
It's so strange my friend just put in reverse eye on his fastback from summit and it sits 13 3/8 from the bottom wheel well edge to the center hub. My current configuration is near 14.
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Had an unplanned work trip to the East coast and just got home last night. Will put the wheels back on and take a pic and measure ride height today/tonight. Sorry for the delay.
 
3175375 said:
I have mid eyes in the rear that about 15 years old. 700 lb springs up front that are about the same age.
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I wonder why then that you had wheel hop. I've had the 4 1/2 leaf mid eyes from Mustangs Plus since 2004. No wheel hop, ever. Added the Panhard bar in 08 to stop the side to side movement of the rear. No traction bars at all.

Before I restored the car, it wheel hopped all over the place on old springs and those old style ladder bars.
 
Sorry for all the dumb questions: but is there a difference on leaf springs between Scott drake, grab a trak, and Opentracker? Because some companies are easier to return products if not satisfied. Because I'm actually leaning towards reverse eye and hoping it will sit 13 inches from the bottom wheel well lip to the center of the hub. I'm at 14 now with old original leafs.


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