Street or Track Mustang Front Bilstein Coilover System

Having had excellent results and customer feedback from our conventional style tubular control arms and Bilstein shock absorbers, we wanted to take things to the next level and offer even more control to our customers.  Using the same race winning geometry as on our conventional tubular control arms we specified a couple of different Bilstein coil over shocks and designed our coil over system.  Used by OEM’s such as Porsche and Audi, Bilstein also has a long street use and racing history. This is the perfect shock for such an advanced coil over system for your Mustang and classic Ford.  

A quick benefits list of our coil over system compared to a conventional spring/shock arrangement would be:

• Easy ride height adjustment.  Our shocks feature a threaded sleeve, simply rotate the adjuster with the supplied wrench to raise, lower or cross weight the car.  No cutting springs, no guessing.
• 50% better motion ratio allows use of lighter springs and more shock motion for improved control.  An improved motion ratio also has the side benefit that the forces directed through the spring and into the chassis will be lower.  Less tower flex and chance of cracking.
• We've designed our system to feature super easy spring/shock removal.  The entire spring/shock assembly is held on by 1 bolt on the top and 1 bolt on the bottom.  No spring compressors, no swearing.
• Heim bearing shock ends further reduce bind found in the original suspension. This transmits road forces directly to the spring & shock allowing it to do what its designed to do and get the tire back on the road quicker for more control and better handling.  Other systems on the market that use rubber or polyurethane shock bushings will bind during regular suspension travel and when the strut rod is used to move the lower control arm to set caster.
• Our upper mount installs from the underside of the tower and does not require the stock spring seat to be removed.  Spring & shock loads are distributed into our aluminum spacer ring and spread around the underside of the tower, just like the stock spring.
  
  

Not satisfied with just picking an off the shelf shock that fits the space, we worked for a full year computing motion ratios, wheel rates, sprung and un-sprung weights, critical damping and a massive list of other variables to design our own proprietary Street, Sport and Race shock & spring combinations specific to the 65-73 Mustang and other vintage Fords.  We do NOT use a standard 'off the shelf shock' that simply fits in the space and 'sort of feels right'.  Each shock and spring package is designed based on the vehicles weight and intended use.  Alongside the year of math, shock curves and shock dyno time we drove many, many street miles and 100's of laps on our favorite racetracks for a real world 'seat of the pants' validation of each combination from us and a selection of test customers.

The 3 shock valving & spring combinations available for our coil over system are:

Street
We feel that this combination rides as close to a modern production car as you are likely to get from your classic.  That was our goal and we feel we've met that.  In fact even our shock tuning engineer was blown away at how nice our 1966 Mustang coupe test car drove down a bumpy, twisting Michigan road!  Choose this system if you want a smooth yet responsive ride from your classic that you can drive for hours and hours without feeling beaten up.  Due to the lighter spring rate used, this is also our recommended setup for dual purpose street or drag car.

Sport
We worked really hard on this package to design it for all those dual purpose street or open track cars out there.  This package gives a smooth, crisp, controlled ride on the street but can also handle bouncing off the curbs and slick tires at the road course.  Choose this system if you like carving around bends, on/off ramps and/or open tracking/autox. 

Race
For our race setup, the shock gets switched for one with a Schrader valve to adjust/set nitrogen pressure.  With a shock inflator gauge like #LON50473 and a tank of nitrogen from your local welding supply store, this enables the customer to change gas pressure beneath the dividing piston.  Choose this option for a dedicated track car.  Our hired 'butt dyno' driver lapped 3 seconds quicker in his 1965 coupe when compared to times using his highly modified conventional front suspension setup.  The stop watch doesn't lie.  This valving can also be built into a Bilstein shock without the Schrader valve should you not wish to have the option to tune gas pressure but still want the race setup. 

Double Adjustable
Set the rebound and compression at #1 and you have our Street valving, set both at #5 and you have our Sport valving, both at #10 and you have our Race valving! Feel free to play anywhere in between to tune the ride how YOU want. This all aluminum shock body w/spring is 1.6lbs lighter than our standard steel bodied Bilstein shock assembly and features ride height adjustment threads on the body instead of a separate sleeve. The aluminum body will lower un-sprung weight and shed heat quicker for longer lasting high performance.

Select valving under 'Options' in the drop down menu's above.

Double adjustable shock shown

All of the shocks used in our coil over system will give many, many years of service.  When the time comes, the shocks are completely rebuildable/serviceable by us or any worldwide Bilstein rebuilder.  You can rest assured that your investment in this system is one that you can easily maintain and enjoy for many years.

Now available with the 'Shelby Drop' built in!

Our standard shaft can be used in the original holes or in lowered holes. Standard shaft control arms will include our laser cut steel Shelby Drop jig for you to drill the lowered holes if you choose. Don't want to drill holes but want the benefits of the Shelby Drop? Easy, select 'dropped shafts' from our options list and we'll delete the drill jig and swap out the shaft for one with the drop built in! All our steel shafts are CNC machined and then plated to not only be strong but look great!

Select this upgrade under 'Options' in the drop down menu's above.

Shaft Mounted Bump Stops

Below you can see our optional shaft mounted bump stop conversion.  This NASCAR spec. progressive durometer bump stop installs on the shaft of our Bilstein shock and replaces the stock bump stop.  This enables you to remove the outer spring tower cover and bump stop allowing a slightly lower ride height. 

The stock bump stop is extremely hard and has a tendency to upset the handling of the car.  The progressive nature of this bump stop slows down the impact when the suspension bottoms out, minimizing the unsettling nature of the impact.

Select this upgrade under 'Options' in the drop down menu's above.

Precision Ball Joints

Another exciting optional upgrade we offer to our coilover system is these high precision ball joints. These precision ball joints offer the precision of a spherical bearing with the misalignment range of a ball joint. Their rugged steel housings will withstand impacts that can destroy other ball joints. Plus, even if you manage to damage the joint, they are fully rebuildable. The alloy steel ball studs are process coated for low friction and long wear. You will feel the difference in smooth travel and easy steering effort.

Watch the video under the video tab then select this upgrade under 'Options' in the drop down menu's above.

Coilover System includes:

• Tubular .156 wall TIG welded upper control arms with replaceable adjustable length chromoly heim bearing pivots, steel/CNC machined cross shafts and easily replaceable Moog screw-in ball joints.  Shipped with the front bearing 3 turns further out than the rear. This adds approx. +3 degrees of positive caster to the spindle when installed before having to shim the front bolt or shorten the strut rod. More or less is easily possible by simply adjusting the bearings in or out. Our shop '70 Mustang easily runs +7 degrees of caster with our Tubular Lower Arms & Strut Rods.
• Control Arms and ball joints are compatible installed in stock all the way down to 1-3/4" lower holes.  1" drop template included.
• Tubular .156 wall TIG welded lower control arms with replaceable chromoly/Teflon lined mono-ball inner pivots and easily replaceable Moog screw-in ball joints.
• A pair of our Adjustable strut rods.
• Your choice of Street, Sport or Race valved Bilstein shock absorbers and matched Hypercoil coil-over springs tailored to your year vehicle.  Spring and shock assemblies comes pre-assembled complete with thrust bearings.
• Optional double adjustable shocks available under the drop down menu below. Set the rebound and compression at #1 and you have our Street valving, set both at #5 and you have our Sport valving, both at #10 and you have our Race valving! Feel free to play anywhere in between to tune the ride how YOU want. This all aluminum shock body w/spring is 1.6lbs lighter than our standard steel bodied Bilstein shock assembly and features ride height adjustment threads on the body instead of a separate sleeve. The aluminum body will lower un-sprung weight and shed heat quicker for longer lasting high performance.
• Lower CNC machined billet shock mounting brackets.
• Upper laser cut, TIG welded shock mounting brackets.
• Upper CNC machined billet stock spring seat adapter rings - Installs over the stock spring seat negating its removal.  No need to drill out the spot welds and hack up your car.
• Laser cut engine bay cover plates - Covers the hole for a clean look in the top of the shock tower that the stock shock used to go through.
• Hardware required to install the system.
• Spanner wrench to adjust ride height.
• Detailed instructions.

Applications:

• STCO6566 fits 64-65 Comet, 64-65 Cyclone, 60-65 Falcon, 65-66 Mustang, 64-65 Ranchero,
• STCO6773 fits 66-77 Comet, 67-73 Cougar, 66-71 Cyclone, 66-71 Fairlane, 66-70 Falcon, 68-71 Montego, 67-73 Mustang, 66-71 Ranchero, 68-71 Torino. 70-77 Maverick. STCO6773 also fits XA XB XC and XD Australian Falcons

Notes:

• Alignment required after installation.