The car is a 1967 Mustang GTA 390.
Great car. Looking to improve the handling for daily driving and occasional track.
If I could get it to stick to the corners half as well as it accelerates, it would be over the top.
Any suspension suggestions/ good web links?
Early Mustangs could handle BUT you needed a bit of luck. The Big Block cars are very front weight biased, the leaf springs are light and cause a little skitter upon acceleration.
Look for info on SCCA and Trans Am cars. A LOT of Mustangs were very competitive in those circles. Camee Edelbrock has a sweet Early small block car that is awesome on a road course.
In reply to SVreX:
If you've ever watched this guy drive a CP early Mustang, you'll know his stuff works:
http://www.maierracing.com/
They carry suspension and body components for early and late model Stangs.
One of the simplest things to do to help weight ddistribution on those Mustangs is to replace teh cast iron intake manifold with an aluminuim one. You can shave over a hundred lbs off the nose. Move the battery to the back and another 50 lbs goes away.
Dropping 150 lbs can make a huge difference and make it easier to set up the suspension.
Much better! 
GTA means slushbox, right? The 390 is a heavy engine, so watch for that. Otherwise it makes great power.
As for suspension/handling, most early Mustang racers were small blocks, but the same parts/theories still apply, just watch the weigh on the nose.
Aluminum heads/intake are worth over 150 Lbs on an FE motor, food for thought.
I thought you'd like that better, P71!
Yes, it's a slushbox.
I should have noted something else....
....he's an ORIGINAL OWNER!!
Hmmm...that's a tough call seeing as he is the Original Owner.
Some KYB's, a Monte Carlo/ Export Brace, sub-frame connectors,sway bars and stiffer springs would do pretty good.
Why is it tougher if he is the original owner?
I know Griggs has parts for classic Mustangs, but couldn't tell you anything about 'em. (the parts, that is)
SVreX wrote: Why is it tougher if he is the original owner?
I'm guessing it's tougher if it's a "matching numbers" type car.
SVreX wrote: Why is it tougher if he is the original owner?
It depends on the Owner. Sometimes it's better to maintain rather than modify.
If I had owned a car for 40 years, it would be a part of the family.I (personally) wouldn't stray too far from how it came originally, if that were the case.
Before he starts to modify it, ask him to run a Marti report, it will tell him everything about his car. If it's a low production or highly optioned car, I would take that into consideration. I forget the cost, but it would be worth it.
I have zero problems with resto mods, and someone taking a basket case and making it their own, but "if" a car is original, and "if" I were an original Owner I would at least think about altering it.
If its a real GTA, one owner and in any kind of good condition, most mustang club type people would tell you to preserve it just like it is. Thankfully you came here for advice instead
. I used to be heavily into early mustangs before the prices started getting stupidly high for even basket cases. With a 390 the first thing you need to do is loose some weight on the front end, and shift some to the rear as was already mentioned. There are tons and tons of parts available for first generation mustangs to make them faster than any sane person would want to actualy drive them, and a decent supply of parts to make them handle well, depending on how much you want to spend. IMO the hardest problem to solve with handling on 1 gen stangs, as well as with most sixties fords, is the recirculating ball steering system
. I know that there are some rack ∧ pinnion conversion kits out there, I have no personal experience with them, but some look a bit to home brewed to me.
The simplest and most usefull modifications for better handling that I have found are 1) rebuild the suspension with all poly bushings; also I've seen a conversion for the lower spring perch bushings that replaces the bushings with roller bearings, I haven't tried it yet but I will on my next old ford project 2) the stiffest front springs that you can live with 3) export brace, monte carlo bar, front and rear sway bars 4) lower the upper control arms Shellby GT 350 style, make sure your shock towers are in good condition too 5) If your car has P/S make sure the reaction valve is set up correctly, and don't even think of using the aftermarket P/S cyl drop bracket to make headers fit, find headers that will fit with the cyl properly mounted;ask me how I know 6) good tires, preferably on 16" wheels, but 15" can be made to work. 7) Hopefully your car has disk brakes up front, I don't know how you can make a BB car stop on drums, SBs can barely do it. There are a number of different options for brake conversions if you need to go that route. 8) you woul be amazed at the difference in over-all driving experience that a good steering wheel can make, my favorite oem ford wheel is the "sport" steering wheel that was used in early seventies gran torinos and F100 sport trucks. Lastly, I've never owned a BB stang, but I hear they have a bit of torque you will probably want something to keep the rear axel from winding up, there are reproduction Shellby style over the axel traction bars available from a few different sources.
There is alot of other high dollar stuff that you can do if you just want to throw money at it, a lot of it probably works too, I never had that kind of cash to trow at my cars, but using the furmula that I just mentioned, I was able to make a 'stang, falcon and torino all handle respectably, aside from the crappy steering system.
SUBFRAME CONNECTERS!
it's the first thing you should do, because a stiff chassis allows the other parts to work as they should...
+1 for Torsional Rigidity.
The very simplest and cheapest and most effective thing you should do right now (it was already mentioned by HappyAndy, but I think it needs emphasized) is lower your upper control arms. In reality this does very little to lower the car, but that's not the point. What it does do is vastly improve the camber curve of the front suspension, which in stock form is backwards from what it should be.
Second, if your car has power steering and you really care about handling, ditch it (if you can still steer it with that big block). When it's in perfect condition it still has an inherent slop built in that makes precision steering impossible.
You don't need the high dollar stuff to make it handle. My '65 handles like it's on rails, and here is what I have done to it:
On my car, these changes produced handling that outclasses the rest of the car, so IMO anything more wouldn't help much. I plan on softening the suspension a little, as I have amost no suspension travel. Nice on flat curves, but jarring on northeast Ohio roads. I'll probably go to something like 550 front springs and 175 rears.
Great info! Keep it coming.
Yes, it is a real numbers matching original owner GTA. It's been dry docked for a lot of years, and they are restoring it now.
The only changes that will be made to this car will be bolt-on mods only. There is ZERO chance they will do any changes that cannot be un-done.
But I've got a redneck boy here with an overpowered straight line shooter who is interested in making it turn. I'm all for giving him all the ideas I can! (win a convert!)
He's already expressed an interest in autocrossing!
Cool.
Just curious, is it a Coupe or Fastback?Color?
Ask him to look into a set of Magnum 500 rims, IIRC, they are now made in 16".Period style with a larger diameter and tire choices.
It would be a good story for a Magazine.
Know any such magazine that might be interested?
Actually, they are at the start of the restoration- expect it to take through the summer. The father is technically the owner, the son is a co-worker of mine. Son (in his 40's) remembers driving it when he first learned to drive. They are doing their own wrenching- part of why I like them. Would GRM (or Classic) be interested in an article that followed them through the process (and perhaps consulted them for appropriate improvements)? I'd read it.
Its a coupe. Green with a black stripe. He's even got the original hubcaps in the trunk.
Very similar to my father's car except his was a manual.
We auto-X'ed it a lot (3 drivers) back then. Unfortunately the main things that will make it handle better are not easily reversible.
Good strut tower bracing will help and as mentioned check the condition of the strut towers. We managed to tear several of the spot welds loose on the car.
Although it's very expensive I think the Revelation Racing Supplies parts for early Mustangs are fantastic: Watts link rear, front strut stuff, rack and pinion conversion and huge brakes. If I were to build an early Mustang and cost was not an object that's the direction I'd go. If cost were a concern..., well, the Global West stuff is still pretty damn cool. And for really cheap, don't forget the Shelby mod!
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