[Prayers]

I have a 1969 and was replacing balls joint and strut rods. I got the Scott Drake LCA and Adjustable Strut Rods.
1. There is no instructions with the strut rods. Do they need bushings or not and if so what type?

2. The holes to the LCA are wider than the bolts provided for the adj. strut rods and the original Strut Rod bolts do not go trough the Adjustable strut rods.
WHAT TO DO???
Thank you

 

[groho]

Powder coating does that. Use a rat tail file and clean off and open the hole for the new hardware. Its ok.

 

[Prayers]

It’s the hole for the LCA……
the LCA has 1/2” bolt holes, where’s as the new Adj. Strut Rod bolts are 7/16s. They provide 7/16s nylon nuts. But is that adequate to keep tight in a 1/2” hole???

 

[image98]

I have the Scott Drake adjustable strut rods for a 66, but have not installed them as of yet. To answer your question 1) No bushings required or used. 2) I would hog out and open up the holes on the strut rods to 1/2" to match your lower control arms.

 

[DonP]

I don’t like the looks of those bolts. I’d probably return them. But if you want to use them I’d consider getting some partially threaded 7/16 grade 8 bolts with the shank (or shoulder) the depth of the strut rod. (Like the stock bolts). Once torqued down I don’t think the strut is going to move on the LCA. But even if it did it would probably be to the front of the larger holes in the LCA and stay there. Maybe mark the 2 pieces to see if it moved. Then retorque the nuts after driving a bit

 

[66Ccode]

If I were you I would send them back and talk to shean at Street or track..Another item that need to be put on the SD do not buy list..

 

[Prayers]

Yeah DonP, I agree. I was gonna replace them with grade 8.
I purchased them through Holley who bought SD.
They can’t answer the question as well and the Tech had no look containing SD. Their gonna look into it and call me today. Hopefully there’s a logical explanation.
I really like the look of the Adj Strut Rod and it was at a good price.

 

[Westmus]

Find a piece a thin walled tube that fits outside the bolts and inside the holes in the control arm. Cut 4 rings and call it "problem" fixed. Aftermarket parts seems to always only be 95% right, the last 5% are DIY work..

 

[66coupe289]

It looks like the metal on the end of the strut rod that bolts to the lower control arm is about as wide as factory. If that is the case I would drill out the 7/16" holes in the strut rods to 1/2" and use the old strut rod bolts. The engineers designed it for a 1/2" bolt, i would not go smaller.

The new strut rods will have zero "cushion" for the load. Do not rely on torqueing a 7/16" nut to keep the bolt centered in a 1/2" hole.

 

[Prayers]

Understood- I don’t have a drill press, just a drill, bits and step bit.
The strut rod is 3/8s thick.
What would be preferred.
Thank you

 

[Woodchuck]

I'd grab the strut rods and take them to a machine shop, with 4 1/2-20 wheel lugs of the appropriate length, and have the holes resized and the lugs pressed in from the top and use a flat washer under new self-locking nuts on the underside of the LCA.

 

[66coupe289]

Understood- I don’t have a drill press, just a drill, bits and step bit.
The strut rod is 3/8s thick.
What would be preferred.
Thank you

Buy a 1/2" bit. It will be $7 well spent. A hand drill is okay as long as you can hold it reasonably plumb.

Thickness is not what I meant. By width I meant the flat dimension across the face with the holes. My concern would be to have roughly the same amount of material from the edge of the hole to the side of the bar.

 

[Shaun @ Street or Track]

Our 68-73 Strut Rods use 1/2" hardware. Oh, and they are made in the USA.

 

[LeeFred]

^^^^^^ There's your answer right there. Send back the typical substandard Scott Drake garbage and go with a vendor who makes quality parts for our cars, and who is an active member here who answers questions and uses his own parts on his vehicle. If scott drake cheaped out on the bolts, what else was manufactured on the cheap side?

 

[rusty1161]

^^^^^^ There's your answer right there. Send back the typical substandard Scott Drake garbage and go with a vendor who makes quality parts for our cars, and who is an active member here who answers questions and uses his own parts on his vehicle. If scott drake cheaped out on the bolts, what else was manufactured on the cheap side?

This, and the added time, frustration and nuts, bolts, tools, grinding, drilling doesn’t add up to savings $50. How much is your time worth?

 

[LeeFred]

This, and the added time, frustration and nuts, bolts, tools, grinding, drilling doesn’t add up to savings $50. How much is your time worth?

Just did a price comparison. The scott drake adjustable strut rods and LCAs cost about $512 not including tax and shipping. The SoT adjustable strut rods and Opentracker LCAs are $550 excluding tax and shipping. I included Opentracker LCAs because SoT doesn't list a stock-type LCA on their website...just the tubular ones. Unless the OP got a real good price on the scott drake stuff, the advertised stuff is only $38 less than the better quality parts that are out there. That's not counting the time chasing down correctly sized hardware and trying to find instructions.

 

[TB350]

And if you have any questions or concerns Shaun is right here to back up his product v "Paging Scott Drake!" Lol. kip

 

[66coupe289]

If price is a concern, there is always Rosehill Performance. About $310+/- delivered to the door.

Rosehill Performance Parts

Site about ford Mustangs , 5.0, seats, tech, restoration, 9" third member, horsepower

www.rosehillperformanceparts.com

 

[ophthos]

Our 68-73 Strut Rods use 1/2" hardware. Oh, and they are made in the USA.

I got them and they rock. No fitment issues. Send back the Drake ones and get these. Can't go wrong with anything from Street or Track.

 

[GradyStang]

If price is a concern, there is always Rosehill Performance. About $310+/- delivered to the door.

Rosehill Performance Parts

Site about ford Mustangs , 5.0, seats, tech, restoration, 9" third member, horsepower

www.rosehillperformanceparts.com

Or you can even make them up yourself for about half that price...

DazeCars, Home Made Mustang Adjustable Strut Rods

The step by step prosess of building adjustable strut rods for a classic Mustang

dazecars.com