Welcome to the forum and throw some pics of your new convertible at us.

Sounds like it is time to go through the entire suspension and replace worn parts, bushings, springs and shocks etc.

As to your direct question regarding shocks, remember the adage you get what you pay for. When I redid my suspension, I went with Koni adjustable shocks. Another quality shock would be Bilsteins.

Do a search and you'll have plenty of reading information and recommendations not only for shocks but other related suspension components.

John

 

Thanks, John! Very good points taken. She's a solid old ride- paint and interior are tired, but she runs great with a

289, auto. I will take some time and peruse the forum, for sure. Here's a couple pics from last week- she looks better in pics than in person, for sure. The best part about the car is that my nieces, nephews and fiancé love it!

 

Nice and fun looking ride. Have to ask, what part of Alabama? I'm in the Fairhope/Silverhill area. There are numerous Alabama VMF members here.

John

 

Downtown Fairhope! School Street, though I usually keep her in my shop (with a bunch of other money pits) over off of Gayfer Extension.

 

Nice ride!

Shock do absolutely nothing to support the weight of the vehicle (and load). That is all done by the springs. Shocks dampen the spring action so you only bounce once and not like a rubber ball bouncing down the road. Sounds like it's time for new springs AND shocks.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I agree. In doing a little more research, I see that I have the same sag that a lot of them do. The rear springs are likely original!

 

First mis-conception = when people say it drives like an old car meaning they will not drive well by design.
These cars drive great when everything is fresh, but when the suspension gets to the point you are showing, they drive badly.
That rubber being worn out means all the other rubber parts are worn out, so I agree with the recommendation to replace the suspension.
Total suspension replacement is actually cheap and easy on these cars because they were designed for the homeowner to do it.
Moog front parts, Bilstine shocks, have the steering connections replaced while you are at it, ensure there is no slop in the box, make a couple of proven adjustments when re-assembling everything (due to radial tires vs the bias ones the car was designed with) and it will drive like it was intended matching modern cars.

First question = will you, or do you have someone that wants to work on the car?
NOTE: Very rare alignment shops will work on it for fair rates, 99% just do not want to deal with something they were not trained on. If you find an old grumpy bearded chain smoker in the back that does not want to talk to customers, you will have hit gold.

 

First mis-conception = when people say it drives like an old car meaning they will not drive well by design.
These cars drive great when everything is fresh, but when the suspension gets to the point you are showing, they drive badly.
That rubber being worn out means all the other rubber parts are worn out, so I agree with the recommendation to replace the suspension.
Total suspension replacement is actually cheap and easy on these cars because they were designed for the homeowner to do it.
Moog front parts, Bilstine shocks, have the steering connections replaced while you are at it, ensure there is no slop in the box, make a couple of proven adjustments when re-assembling everything (due to radial tires vs the bias ones the car was designed with) and it will drive like it was intended matching modern cars.

First question = will you, or do you have someone that wants to work on the car?
NOTE: Very rare alignment shops will work on it for fair rates, 99% just do not want to deal with something they were not trained on. If you find an old grumpy bearded chain smoker in the back that does not want to talk to customers, you will have hit gold.

Thanks, Lee! Yes, I can probably do it myself. I'm certainly not gonna build a motor but I can replace stuff and do the basics, like carb, starter, alternator, etc. and I have a buddy with a lift- he runs on cold beer. I have been wowed about how cheap the parts are. I have a couple old Land Rovers and that's a different story, altogether!

I often tell people that this old Mustang has probably been the most reliable car of any in our extended family since the 80's. It has never let me down. I'd literally take it on a 3 hour road trip tomorrow.

 

I agree with the above regarding the suspension.

If I were you, I'd start by putting the car on a lift or jack stands and taking a look at the structure underneath and particularly the rear frame rails. So, the rear leaf springs have shackles at the back that bolt to the rear leaf spring and also bolt to the rear frame rail. Before you get too deep in replacing your rear leaf springs, verify the frame rails are solid. If they are, replacing the rear springs and shocks is a 1 out of 5 on the easy-to-hard scale. If the frame rails are not solid, this goes to a 4.5 on the same scale.

On the front springs and shocks this is also a very doable home project. Like a 2 out of 5. The only tricky part (and potentially dangerous) is using a spring compressor to remove the old springs and install the new ones. Having the right spring compressor here will really help.

Also...as neither of these projects are hard...if you are not comfortable doing them, it wouldn't break the bank to have it done at a shop.

 

You sound like you know what you want to do and have the knowledge, skills, space, and motivation to get it done. Don't know how much classic Mustang experience you have, but having someone nearby, like @subpar63, is a plus!

A Mustang convertible full of pretty ladies....you're on the right track!

 

Awesome picture!
That's the kind I like to see. All 4 seats filled with smiling people out for a cruise.
Ulless you already know and all is good, when you get it up in the air look very closely for rust in the inner rails and torque boxes.
It might just be the way the pic was taken but im a but concerned that the door to quarter panel gap is closing up under the weight of the people in the car. If in good condition the gap should not visually change when loaded vs unloaded.
Happy travels !

 

Don't go cheap on the springs- don't buy anything but Eaton Detroit springs. A VMF member did an extensive investigation and write-up on springs a few years ago and some foreign springs use melted beer can metal for their springs.

 

I went through the front and rear suspension on my 67 coupe a couple of years ago. The rear end was sagging badly so I replaced the rear leaf springs myself with Eaton Detroit stock height but slightly stiffer springs and replaced the shackle bushings.

On the front, I replaced the idler arm, strut rod bushings and tie rod ends. The tie rod ends and strut rod bushings were completely gone. I did not replace the upper or lower control arms or the ball joints. My dad and I replaced those years ago and they have hardly any miles on them.

I replaced all four shocks with Monroes. I know, I'll get flamed for the Monroes but so far, the Monroes have been fine for my weekend cruiser. Totally different handling car after replacing the above items.

 

I went through the front and rear suspension on my 67 coupe a couple of years ago. The rear end was sagging badly so I replaced the rear leaf springs myself with Eaton Detroit stock height but slightly stiffer springs and replaced the shackle bushings.

On the front, I replaced the idler arm, strut rod bushings and tie rod ends. The tie rod ends and strut rod bushings were completely gone. I did not replace the upper or lower control arms or the ball joints. My dad and I replaced those years ago and they have hardly any miles on them.

I replaced all four shocks with Monroes. I know, I'll get flamed for the Monroes but so far, the Monroes have been fine for my weekend cruiser. Totally different handling car after replacing the above items.

Good info, thanks! I definitely need to look at the front end, as well.

 

Beautiful car, beautiful family 😊

On shocks… buy once/cry once. You won’t believe what a set of Bilstiens will do for your ride quality and control.

 

OK, so I went to my shop and took some pics of where the rear springs bolt to the frame rails. Though dirty, they seem to be pretty solid. I sprayed the bolts pretty well with WD-40 in anticipation of removing them in the next week or two. I also attached a pic of the data plate- not sure how to decipher it but there it is.... I am also adding another pic of the car from the
side- you can how low it sits- the top of the tire wouldn't clear the wheel well if you were to pull it straight off the hub, if that make sense. It's about an inch too high. Definitely think I need springs.

 

Those spring eye bushings are shot. Maybe originals

 

Definitely.

 

 

WD-40 is not your friend when it comes to making it easy to remove nuts and bolts. I personally like to use PB Blaster, but others will chime in for Liquid Wrench, ATF/Acetone mix, etc. Just about anything other than WD-40.

Those frame rails look good to me, too. No flakes of rust holding the metal together.

 

Vin decode:

5F08A268353

5 = 1965
F = Dearborn Plant
08 = Convertible
A = V8 289 CID 4V
268353 = Production Sequence

Data Plate decode:

76A = Convertible w/Standard Interior
X = Vintage Burgundy (Exterior)
29 = Palomino Vinyl interior trim
22H - August 22, 1964
24 - Jacksonville DSO
1 = Rear Axle code 3.00:1
6 = Transmission Code - C-4 Automatic

1965 Mustang Data Plate Codes (onlymustangfords.com)

John

 

Welcome, looks like a fun project!

 

Cool pics, welcome to VMF. An A code vert, very nice. Definitely looks like you are in need of a suspension overhaul. Personally I'd be looking at Eaton leafs and coils from National Parts Depot. For shocks a lot of us are using Bilsteins, Koni's are als highly recommended. For front end suspension parts, if you wanna stick to good quality stock type upper and lower control arms talk to John at Opentracker Racing. It's not just racing parts but high quality stock parts too. John won;t try to up sell you either. Look at the Arning drop, it lowers the upper control arm 1" and 1/8" closer to the firewall. It improves steering geometry and helps to allow for a more modern wheel alignment. Opentracker has those specs on their website.

Pick up a couple bottles of red vino and invite @subpar63 over for a drink, he'll bring ya up to speed. And probably drink all your wine 😂.

https://opentrackerracing.com/

 

Cool pics, welcome to VMF. An A code vert, very nice. Definitely looks like you are in need of a suspension overhaul. Personally I'd be looking at Eaton leafs and coils from National Parts Depot. For shocks a lot of us are using Bilsteins, Koni's are als highly recommended. For front end suspension parts, if you wanna stick to good quality stock type upper and lower control arms talk to John at Opentracker Racing. It's not just racing parts but high quality stock parts too. John won;t try to up sell you either. Look at the Arning drop, it lowers the upper control arm 1" and 1/8" closer to the firewall. It improves steering geometry and helps to allow for a more modern wheel alignment. Opentracker has those specs on their website.

Pick up a couple bottles of red vino and invite @subpar63 over for a drink, he'll bring ya up to speed. And probably drink all your wine 😂.

https://opentrackerracing.com/

Lord, have mercy! So I have to order parts, hide them from my old lady AND buy other men wine? What kind of club is this??? 😂

 

Dont forget to ck the bushings on the front spring perch (between the bottom of the spring and bolts to the upper control arm)


ken

 

And I thought my ass was sagging.....

 

Buy bilsteins. If you change the rear springs buy new flanged locknuts for the ubolts. I changed my front springs years ago before auto parts stores rented spring compressors. I used 2 steel flats and 3/4" allthread. Rent the spring compressor. I put big block rated springs on the front. I also added an export brace that runs from side to side in the engine compartment. It runs right in front of the distributor. It's just added support for the body of the car.

 

Front - Bilstein front shock for 64-66 Mustang - Street valving

Rear - Bilstein rear shock for 65-73 Mustang, 60-65 Falcon, 67-70 Cougar & 62-65 Fairlane

Amazing shocks for the money. Direct bolt into the stock location. Progressive/digressive dampening, modern feeling, not harsh. Everyone loves them that uses them.