Independent Rear Suspension: A Dream

"claramag, Mustaco Master" (claramag) 12/02/2014 at 13:50 • Filed to: None

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We all want to do grand things with our cars. It's in our nature as oppos. Every single person here has a list of mods or projects floating in their minds, just waiting for that perfect chance to leap out and become reality. You can have a great car to show for it if you're responsible, financially well off, and clever about it, and are able to prioritize your life like an adult.

I am none of those things.

A couple of years ago I made the sound and mature decision to impulse buy a 2003 Cobra Terminator IRS to swap into my DD beat to crap v6 Mustang. My father's friend's brother ('s mother's friend of a friend of a friend...) ran a Mustang performance shop in San Antonio, nice enough dude, set up Cobras for the 1/4 mile. One day he called my father and told him of spare IRS lying around, and if his gearhead eldest would be interested for $400. "WHAT A DEAL" slightly younger me yelled in ignorant joy, "now I can have outrageous positive camber on all four corners! Look alive stance nation!"

So dad and I bring it home in his town and country and get to work. An hour in we've got the SRA dropped and the IRS alligned underneath. Stuff's looking good, we're cracking smiles and cracking beers, dreaming of fancy pants suspension set ups until we take a look at realize we're screwed. Here's why

These are typical ford mustang axles. Look outside, point at a Mustang, and I bet you every dollar you got in your pocket one of these is tucked underneath. Two control arms on the pumpkin, two to hold the springs, and two shocks, as KISS as can be.

This...is not as simple. Ford did, IMO, a great job packaging an IRS into a log axle's home and reusing the mounting points of the regular axles, but engineering is full of little compromises and here is no exception. You see the little buggers behind the shocks, the fixed tie rods? Yeah those don't bolt up to the frame without a specific bracket. Mister 'nice enough' forgot to mention that

"NBD, I can make this work" I call my hookup at the local Ford dealer and we begin the search. By the end of the day we've found literally the only pair of brackets left in the tristate area, leftie in West Texas, rightie in Oklahoma. I whip out the ol trusty Visa, hand my numbers out like condoms at a college sex ed seminar, and call it a day.

Couple of days later and it's Christmas in summertime! "It is Christmas in summertime!" I declare as I shred the wrapping to my new saving graces. I open up the left package and observe the beauty of an immaculate left mounting bracket, no scrapes, no wear, it'd just been sitting in a warehouse for years. I open up the right package and observe...the beauty...of another immaculate left mounting bracket. It would seem a certain Oklahoma Ford dealer employs the sort of people you'd expect to meet in Oklahoma.

Compounding on top of this crap salad are little details of crap toppings and crap dressing on an otherwise rancid metaphor. The larger brake calipers prove too big for my 15" rims, the passenger half shaft's metal spinny thing falls apart when you give it a mean look, the brake lines don't match up, and I swear half the gear oil just grew legs and walked away. Now realizing I've purchased a rear end nothing short of cursed I take responsibility and bite the bullet of my mistakes, following the only logical course of action at this point in time.

"Hi hello I was calling about the 2003 Cobra Terminator IRS you put up on Craigslist for $500?"

Why tell this story now? I want people to learn from my mistakes. Impulsivity has it's advantages, but automotive work needs care and patience as much as passion. Do your research, know what you're getting into, make your mods count. And if you screw up? Find some sort of benefit from it even if it's just a little bit of profit.

Speaking of, anyone looking to purchase two IRS left mounting brackets?

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 13:52

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I'm still waiting for the public release of the hovercar kit for my Fiat.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 13:55

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So you're saying I shouldn't try and convert my Fiat Panda to RWD with an LS swap?

McMike > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 13:58

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Honey, could I get some help bleeding the rear brakes?

Sure, do you want me to come down down?

No, you can come down in a few hours.

T5Killer > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 13:58

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I have done the swap on a friends 02 GT and would love to put IRS in my 95 Cobra. It is a big job if you have never done it before and yes fabbing brake lines and the brackets are a PITA.

gawdzillla > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 14:01

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just that center diff itself i seold on fleabay for 400

i sold it for more in parts

and please let me know if that "performance shop" has another pullout for 400 lol

04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 14:02

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Good story, however I'm very confused as to why and how you ended up on this state anyways.

There are literally tons of IRS swap write-ups, and hundreds of IRSs floating through SVTPerformance at any one time. I've swapped multiple GTs over and from the point of gathering parts to install only takes a couple of weeks at the most. Maybe you thought it was a simple swap (which realistically it is you just don't have all the parts) and got disheartened, but the IRS swap is literally the easiest major component swap you can do. Swapping a trans or motor would be more difficult given the ECU and everything else involved.

claramag, Mustaco Master > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 12/02/2014 at 14:04

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Only if you want to convert your social life and sanity to nonexistent

claramag, Mustaco Master > gawdzillla 12/02/2014 at 14:06

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The gears and diff seemed alright, but there was just too much bad juju on an already unwise purchase. I'd've considered keeping at least the LSD if I hadn't ended up buying a 7.5 someone dumped WAY too much money into

claramag, Mustaco Master > T5Killer 12/02/2014 at 14:06

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Don't bother calling any Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas Ford dealers for parts

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > McMike 12/02/2014 at 14:06

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Huehuehue. I'm putting exactly that under a formerly hotchkiss equipped car. On purpose.

claramag, Mustaco Master > 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. 12/02/2014 at 14:11

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Youth, fierce independence, and impatience. Plus I found a 7.5 someone dumped a solid grand into and was selling for 275. Probably should've put that detail in the story.

claramag, Mustaco Master > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 12/02/2014 at 14:17

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Yeah those'll be public as soon as these are

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 14:20

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"The larger brake calipers prove too big for my 15" rims, the passenger half shaft's metal spinny thing falls apart when you give it a mean look, the brake lines don't match up, and I swear half the gear oil just grew legs and walked away."

This is why you go with inboard brakes, brah. Also, a setup with real U-joints on the half-shafts, and all the brakes hooked up with rubber, brah. If it leaks, you can just blame it on britishness, brah. Jaguar makes the best IRS to put in a Ford. Brah.

#SOON

#Iamsoterriblyfucked

T5Killer > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 14:23

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I am in NM and our local Albuquerque Ford parts dept is pretty good.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > McMike 12/02/2014 at 14:31

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Loose translation of the German: check this drawing out, bitch. Because an E-type is innovative and shit, the whole thing is in one bigass lump. The rear suspension can be popped off if you just yank a couple bolts. Bitch.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > claramag, Mustaco Master 12/02/2014 at 14:35

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My sanity went while trying to get the exhaust off the worlds rustiest Nissan Micra so I'm halfway there.

McMike > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/02/2014 at 14:51

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Right. I just hate bleeding the brakes, there is only room for one hand at a time up there.

Lift rear end of car

Feel for bleeder screw

Loosen bleeder screw

Put down wrench and feel for screw with hose.

Spit out brake fluid that dripped in your mouth.

Attach hose.

Bleed

Remove hose

Wipe brake fluid off cheek

Feel for screw with wrench.

Repeat for second side.

There is no access panel for the rear brakes in a S2 convertible.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > McMike 12/02/2014 at 14:59

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I ran across an online "get your car questions answered" site where somebody was trying to access shocks and asked about access, and the master mechanic to end all master mechanics (allegedly) told him to go for the access panel. Him: but... there isn't one...?

HURR

PS9 > McMike 12/07/2014 at 19:06

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What kind of satan worshipper would design a suspension system like that?!!