looking for Fox body Race suspension parts

[Trackfast]

Building a 90 coupe and really have no clue what to purhase. Need parts.

 

Thanks eric

[BigKeyserSoze]

Look up an outfit in either Texas or Oklahoma called Open Track Connection. They set up my fox, and it runs great. Or call Maximum Motorsports. Don't use anything from Griggs, as their customer service 100% totally sucks, and I don't think much more of their parts.

[Trackfast]

I'd really like to start with some used parts and see if tracking the Fox is really the direction I want to go. If you know of any that would be great. Maybe a little direction from someone that has a good set up now would help to.

[99cobra2881]

Post up in the Market section here, and over at corral.net Lots of Fox mustangs over there.

[UBR]

I have a Fox I've been running in American Iron for the last 5 years. Check out our fb site in my sig. It was a built car with full Griggs ($$$) suspension when we bought it. I'll second the comment above about Griggs. Service sucks. Wouldn't help at all with spring rates, ride heights or trouble shoot their torque arm issues. I think their stuff is OK, but most of it is gone now on our car.

 

Maximum Motorsports has great stuff for the Fox/SN95 (to clarify, the Fox will be in body only. Nearly all the race parts are based off SN95 parts) So does Agent 47- (Corey at A47 is a NASA racer). Maximum support is amazing. I had a lot of brake issues at nationals this year. I run a MM master cylinder. I had replaced every component in the brake system including their MC. I finally called their tech line on Friday afternoon. In 15 minutes I had talked to tech, the president and had the personal cell phone of their brake engineer. Problem turned out to be calipers from another manufacturer. Saturday after the finals race I got a call from the engineer asking how it worked out. And he knew the final problem wasn't their part.

 

Two comments. For your first car, I'd strongly suggest buying a built car. Foxes can be picked up pretty cheap. Then you can concentrate on learning the car and driving. It will also be MUCH cheaper than building one from scratch. I'd be cautious about buying used race parts. Some are probably fine, but racing wears things out and breaks things. You need to know what you're look at and what to expect.

 

Next, I'd strongly suggest a newer Mustang (S197- 2005+) They are 8 years old now and you can pick up some used built cars for a nice price. We have and race both. See our team site in the sig. Both cars are very equal in lap times now, but it takes a lot of effort to make a Fox fast and almost no effort to make a S197 fast. The Fox has zero OEM suspension parts on the car. Our S197 has about half the OEM suspension on the car. Finally, depending on your driving style, the Fox can be a hand full. They are short and narrow compared to the S197 and generally are twitchy, tail happy cars. I like that, but some don't. Our S197 is an incredibly smooth stable platform compared to the Fox. It's all in what you like. If you consider a S197, Steeda has a lot of nice parts for them. Their web site is street based, but they make some great race parts. Our S197 is a former Steeda factory supported car and we still get a lot of help from them.

 

Just my 2cents, but we were in your place 6 years ago and now have a 3 car team (adding a Spec Miata for next season)

 

j

[Trackfast]

I have a Fox I've been running in American Iron for the last 5 years. Check out our fb site in my sig. It was a built car with full Griggs ($$$) suspension when we bought it. I'll second the comment above about Griggs. Service sucks. Wouldn't help at all with spring rates, ride heights or trouble shoot their torque arm issues. I think their stuff is OK, but most of it is gone now on our car.

 

Maximum Motorsports has great stuff for the Fox/SN95 (to clarify, the Fox will be in body only. Nearly all the race parts are based off SN95 parts) So does Agent 47- (Corey at A47 is a NASA racer). Maximum support is amazing. I had a lot of brake issues at nationals this year. I run a MM master cylinder. I had replaced every component in the brake system including their MC. I finally called their tech line on Friday afternoon. In 15 minutes I had talked to tech, the president and had the personal cell phone of their brake engineer. Problem turned out to be calipers from another manufacturer. Saturday after the finals race I got a call from the engineer asking how it worked out. And he knew the final problem wasn't their part.

 

Two comments. For your first car, I'd strongly suggest buying a built car. Foxes can be picked up pretty cheap. Then you can concentrate on learning the car and driving. It will also be MUCH cheaper than building one from scratch. I'd be cautious about buying used race parts. Some are probably fine, but racing wears things out and breaks things. You need to know what you're look at and what to expect.

 

Next, I'd strongly suggest a newer Mustang (S197- 2005+) They are 8 years old now and you can pick up some used built cars for a nice price. We have and race both. See our team site in the sig. Both cars are very equal in lap times now, but it takes a lot of effort to make a Fox fast and almost no effort to make a S197 fast. The Fox has zero OEM suspension parts on the car. Our S197 has about half the OEM suspension on the car. Finally, depending on your driving style, the Fox can be a hand full. They are short and narrow compared to the S197 and generally are twitchy, tail happy cars. I like that, but some don't. Our S197 is an incredibly smooth stable platform compared to the Fox. It's all in what you like. If you consider a S197, Steeda has a lot of nice parts for them. Their web site is street based, but they make some great race parts. Our S197 is a former Steeda factory supported car and we still get a lot of help from them.

 

Just my 2cents, but we were in your place 6 years ago and now have a 3 car team (adding a Spec Miata for next season)

 

j

 

 

Thank you for the Post! I had all intentions of buying a built car. However I bought back my Coupe from my brother to keep it in the family. I bought the car to drive in 1998 I drove for 8 years and sold it to my brother. The motor has some problems now but I went ahead and bought it back. The car has always been a DD / Drag strip car. It has a 380 RWHP motor which needs an overhaul but will be decently cheap. I got into the Road Racing scene about a year ago with CHump Car racing with a friend with a Fox Coupe. I then was hooked. I ended up having access to 1999 BMW M3 and put about 600 laps in at the new Atlanta Motorsports Park in that car. I had intentions of buying an M3 but I ended up buying the Mustang back.

 

I plan to drive it on the street some and track it as well. I am interested in going fast but probably not going to race wheel to wheel in the near future. I want to get some parts like coil overs and other things that wont brake the bank right off. Eventually build it into something real cool but to begin with I just want to be safe and have some fun with my first mustang I ever bought.

 

Any suggestions? Cool FB page I just liked it.

 

Eric Bowman

[realspeeddan]

Where are you located?

[Trackfast]

Where are you located?

 

 

Chatsworth Ga

[UBR]

Hey Eric,

 

I saw you were checking out our race team site.

 

So you have a car with sentimental value that you want to track. Where to start? First thing is remember the saying, "Don't put anything on the track that you wouldn't push off a cliff." Racecars are racecars. I've had or crewed on many. You can't be too attached because they will get messed up eventually.

 

Biggest bang are going to be suspension and brakes. All the aftermarket parts we have are based on SN95 spindles. If you haven't upgraded for the 5 bolt wheels, I'd start there. There are quite a few good brake packages that will bolt right on those spindles. You may be able to pick some up some used ones on RacingJunk.

 

Going to a full coil over and good shocks will do wonders for the suspension, but it's a big jump from the stock parts. After market K-frame and A-arms will give you a good foundation to bolt on the adjustable coil overs. Many of the aftermarket suppliers sell kits with the right parts in them. If I were spending the money, I'd buy the best double adjustable coil over struts you can afford.

 

For the rear, you'll need lower control arms, panhard bar (or Watts) and something to keep the rear axle from rolling. We made a custom 3 link, but that has a bar coming through the floor pan. If you want to run in TT or PT, that usually isn't allowed. There are several torque arm setups out there and I know some guys are having great success with them. Again, don't skimp on the shocks. They are what will let you tame the suspension. There are many double adjustables out there.

 

An adjustable rear sway bar should finish it off.

 

Are you planning on putting a cage in the car? The Fox unibodies are getting old and they weren't the stiffest thing to start. A decent cage will tie it all together and give you a stable platform to work from.

 

That should get the car competent and give you something to develop you car and setup skills. I like the old Fox bodies too, but they take a lot of work to make as fast as a new Mustangs.

 

Drop me a note on our Team site if you want any help or specifics on what we do.

 

j

[Trackfast]

Wow. Thank you so much for all the input. I will be I touch for sure.

[UBR]

Hey ED!

 

Did any of your front suspension make it through the wreck? The pics look like the rear took the impact. You might have a customer for your K-frame and front suspension goodies.

 

Eric,

 

Ed ran a Fox for a long time until earlier this season when he backed it into a wall and totaled it. Ed came out of it OK (thanks to good safety bits), but the Fox was a throw away. And he's out east, somewhere closer to you.

 

He's building a Frankencar S197 like ours now. (S197 with a pushrod 302 based drive train)

 

j

[Trackfast]

I will be interested in some of his parts. Thanks UBR!

[edhunter]

Hey ED!

 

Did any of your front suspension make it through the wreck? The pics look like the rear took the impact. You might have a customer for your K-frame and front suspension goodies.

 

Eric,

 

Ed ran a Fox for a long time until earlier this season when he backed it into a wall and totaled it. Ed came out of it OK (thanks to good safety bits), but the Fox was a throw away. And he's out east, somewhere closer to you.

 

He's building a Frankencar S197 like ours now. (S197 with a pushrod 302 based drive train)

 

j

 

Eric, unfortunately I didn't have much left after the wreck that was usable... 3 of the 4 corners of the car were damaged, so the only parts that were not were the RF suspension pieces. The pieces I had were all modified anyway - lengthened MM lower arms and modified for shocks not struts, as I was running a home-brew SLA up front. The brand new MM k-member was bent, the shocks were destroyed, even bent the 900lb coilover spring. The rear arms and shocks, axle housing, panhard bent. I do have a pair of SN95 spindles and a pair of racecraft 2" dropped spindle w/ hubs that I'd sell. The racecraft pieces are really nice - the LF one needs to be replaced or rebuilt, but the RF one is perfect. These were on the car when I wrecked it.

 

Jim, you may not have seen this pic, as the LF of the car hit the wall first, then as the car rotated the wall ate on the LR and RR of the car.

 

 

But this is why safety equipment is of paramount importance, even if it's a part time track car... A bad decision on my part during the heat of a race, then I was along for the ride... Thankfully I walked away without injury, and the only car I damaged was my own. That would not have been the case without the safety gear....

[UBR]

Ed,

 

That picture makes me hurt. I think the pic I saw before was mostly the rear. Didn't realize you got both ends that bad.

 

j

[Trackfast]

Unreal! God spared your life for sure. I will get with you on the parts tomorrow

 

Thank u!

[BigKeyserSoze]

Ed, I'm glad you walked away. Not to be morbid, but what was your "bad decision"?. I make plenty of mistakes in life, but don't want to make them all, and I always try to learn from the disaster of others.

[DavidSim]

That looks nasty, I am glad to hear you are ok.

 

I too am wanting to upgrade my 86 Fox GT, which I have used on the track for some fun, your experience and picture(s) are certainly an eye opener for me.

 

Regards to you, and all.

[marshallmosty]

Here's a video of Ed's crash.

http://vimeo.com/41460840

[Trackfast]

Oh wow. Thank God Ed is alive.

[marshallmosty]

Eric,

First establish the budget and make sure you have your driver gear taken care of. Then focus on the CCR safety bits for the car. Find a good cage builder that can build a good cage out of 1.75" .120 wall DOM tubing. Add some additional bars if you can (rear kicker bars to the upper rear control arm mounting points really help triangulate the cage during a side impact. If you can spare the passenger footwell, also consider a Petty bar.

 

For go fast goodies, spend a BUNCH of time talking to others that have FOX Mustangs to find out what they do to make them fast. It,s not easy.

 

Here,s my "hit list", in the order I'd do it...

 

1. Front suspension (Agent 47, Griggs, or MM). Do SLA if you can build your own (like Ed Hunter). Griggs has a nice SLA, but it,s pricey. Agent 47 is owned/run by an AIX guy (Corey Weber). Definitely do coil overs if you can't afford SLA. Run a decent shock package (Konica DA,s on the cheap end, AST, Moton, Penske).

 

2. Rear suspension Needs to be either 3-link (home brew) or a torque arm. Use either a Panhard bar (cheaper) or a watts link (not cheaper). Advantages of most Watts kits are they allow for easy adjustment of rear roll center. The only Panhard bar setup that can change the rear roll center height is the Griggs piece, but you have to change the axle side bracket and run the adjustable frame mount.

 

3. Brakes... 13" if you want to run 17" wheels and 14" if you want to run 18" wheels. Everything will be based on SN-95 hardware (front control arms, hubs, rear axles, caliper brackets). You should be able to get by with the stock Vargas 1-piston rear calipers from a 94-04 car with better pads. Front calipers need to be a nice 4-piston type to get max pad life (Stoptech, Wilwood, PFC, etc). Pads are personal preference. I run PFC 01's in the front and the PFC "Z rated" in the rear.

 

Speaking of brakes, you need to consider if you will use ABS. ABS has a HP/TQ penalty. You can choose no ABS (best HP/TQ ratio), 94-04 ABS (.25 less HP/TQ), or the 05 FR ABS system (.5 less HP/TQ). Personally, I run the FR ABS from a 2012 BOSS in my FOX.

 

4. Engine... Run a car/ballast weight between 3000-3200 for best balance of power/weight. If you run super light, you can get away with a 302 based motor with alminum heads. If you want to run 3000+, you will need some form of a striker motor to get the power out of it at you need.

 

5. Aero... Splitter, wing, diffuser, side skirts. Several different folks to source this stuff from, or build your own. You will need to adjust spring rates to compensate for the aero.

 

 

 

Good luck. Welcome to the crack pipe. My phone number is in the back of the rules if you want to pick my brain.

[edhunter]

Ed, I'm glad you walked away. Not to be morbid, but what was your "bad decision"?. I make plenty of mistakes in life, but don't want to make them all, and I always try to learn from the disaster of others.

 

At turn in to 10, the nose of car washed out and went wide. You can see how far off the apex I was in Marshall's video. I dropped the L side tires in the sand at track out, which pulled to car to the left. I caught it about the time I left the sand trap, then hooked it when I tried to get it back on track. The ground is pretty rough there, the car was bouncing around. Should've gotten out of the throttle and should have kept it in the dirt 'til I got it slowed down, then back on track. I remember thinking "don't hook it... "

 

[Trackfast]

Thanks Marshall.... I am talking with Ed and he is being very helpful. I will take all of everyones advice that I can. I am sending all the info that I can to the guys that are helping with the build. Hopefully will be visiting Ed in Va pretty soon

[snakebit]

Eric,

As I mentioned in my email I have a few parts that you might be able to use in your build.

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=91694

 

I'll make you a good deal on the Fays2 watts link, Griggs torque arm, and MM lower control arms. The crossmember for the torque arm is still welded in my car, so that's the one additional item you'd need. I also have a pair of SN95 front control arms that aren't listed that I would be willing to part with, If you're budget won't allow you to go with a tubular K-member.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

John

[Trackfast]

John. Thanks for your post. I'm buying a package deal from Ed and will be making a trip to Virginia to pick it all up. I'm very new to all of this and don't know exactly what all I will need. I am sure there is a bunch of your parts that I need as well. I will ask Ed what all of your parts will work good with what I'm getting from him

[Wesley D.]

I have access to a full suspension for a fox body. Griggs SLA with drop spindles, k-member, Koni's w/ Wilwood sl6 front brakes (w/2 piece rotors), 8.8 rear end w/373 gears and limited slip, Wilwood 4 piston w/ 12 in rotors with Afco coil overs, torque arm and panhard bar. I also have access to a Wilwood pedal set with master cylinders and remote reservoirs. Parting out a complete race car build. Many more parts available including a full cage that would have to be cut out. Fire system, Accusump, fuel cell, Sparco steering wheel and quick release, collapsible steering column, Autometer gauges, 347 Boss block w/ Victor Jr. heads and supercharger intake w/ Vortech supercharger w/ intercooler and blow off valve plus all piping (600 plus to the tire), Fluidyne radiator, MSD, Aeromotive 1000 fuel pump, torque thrust wheels and 315 Hoosier R6's.

 

Call Wes if you need anything.

540-580-6857