I'm getting pretty close to having some serious (to me) horsepower under the hood and have already had wheel hop issues with my relatively weak 390. Have been considering some suspension mods for some added strength, control and adjustability. I'm wanting to go with an adjustable coilover setup and possibly a 4 link keeping the existing lower control arms. Maybe a triangulated 4 link to eliminate the panhard rod, or a parallel setup that with either the panhard or a watts link. I have no plans to tub or back half the car. Has anyone been through any similar mods that can maybe shed some light on the pros and cons or usefulness of such an endeavor? Also curious, if I were to run into any suspension upgrade components, what years might use the same parts? Seems like the Galaxie frames were very very close from '65-'67, did it run later than that? And would any T-bird, Crown Vic or other models share any of the rear suspension components?
If this was my car and I had the body off the frame. I would do a mini tub to it now. You can not get much meat under those wheel wells.
My 65 Galaxie frame needed work and we sold the car before doing any of those mods so I can not help much there.
You could always put in an aftermarket 4 link and panhard bar.
Good luck with it.
I contend that you don't need a new system, you just need to replace the rubber at all points....or use poly bushings instead of rubber....your choice.
I agree^^^^, poly bushings, along with boxing in the open channel stock arms using flat stock of similar thickness to what the arms are made of, to prevent flex. The factory 3-link with panhard is a well thought out system, with good bushings and minor mods it will be just as good as any aftermarket 4-link would be....but a lot less hassle and cost.
Wheel lip trimming/minitubbing/ frame clearancing for bigger tires while the body is off would be a smart move.
If you can find another Galaxie frame, and rob the upper link and brackets from it, I beleive the factory higher performance models had a 4th upper link, just like the 3rd link but on drivers side...i know most of the GM's were that way...you might look into that.
Looks like I just don't flog the car often enough. I've made a few changes over the last several months that apparently have helped quite a bit. I tried it out again since posting the question and it doesn't seem to want to hop anymore. False alarm!
Oops, didn't mean to mislead anyone, but the car is together. I just found that pic on the web and posted it for reference to show the stock setup. Seems like Ford did a good job on it way back when.
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