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MUSTANG II Spring installation

10K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Centerline 
#1 ·
I have installed all components of my mustang II on the front of my 47 chevy panel truck. I can't for the life of me find a set of spring compressors that do not interfere with the suspension parts. anyone know the trick to get these springs small enough to go inbetween the hats and lower A arm??
 
#2 ·
Can you try this? Remove the nut from the bottom A arm and spindle let it drop enough so the spring will stay on it and be up into the hat. With a floor jack slowly jack up the lower A arm until you can get the nut back on the spindle.

It would be advisable to wrap a nylon tie down around the spring to prevent it from flying out if it happens to come loose.

Vince
 
#3 ·
302-Z28 is pretty close to right.

But I have a couple of a questons.
!. do you have the engine in place and body on the chassis?
Without that weight to push down you won't be able to compress the spring when you put it in without some sort of spring compressor.

If the body is on and the engine an trans are in place try this.

You will need a floor jack. "a real one, not one of those little trolley jacks"
two long flatended pry bars. Those long tire irons that they use to change truck tires are perfect for this but pry bars or crow bars work.

For doing it the first time it is also a good idea to have a helper to run the jack.

block the car up just high enough so that the control arm can swing down and you can get a floor jack under it. Make sure it is setting SOLID. you don't want to knock it off jack stands when doing this.

Slip the top of the spring in the spring pocket, push the bottom of the spring in against the lower control arm and jack up the arm just a tad.

Slip one bar in through the spring about the second coil up so that the tip catches under the coil on the back side. This is with the bar pointing straight out from the car. place the tip of the second bar under the outside
of the bottom coil position it so that the coil will slid down it into place.

while your helper puts a bit of tension on the jack you want to push down and in with the top bar while slightly lifting the bottom bar to slip the coil into place..
Caution is recommended as it may pop out and bounce around but with a bit of patiance it should go into place.

when it is in place continue to raise the conrol arm to compress the spring and then put the spindle in place and put the nuts on the ball joints.

When I was doing front end work I installed a large number of springs in this manor.

The only other way I can think might work if you have a bare chassis is to make up a spring compressor using a piece of stout threaded rod and a plate that will catch the coils. Slip it through the hole that the shock goes through, place a few lubricated washers on it the then tighten the nut to compress the spring up into the pocket far enough to lift the control arm up and install the spindle. you have to remember that you have to get the plate on the bottom side out after the spindle is in place so it has to be up a coil from the bottom. probably two.

T

Assuming that you don't have the spindle attatched to the control arms here is what I would reccomend.
 
#5 ·
302/Z28 said:
Can you try this? Remove the nut from the bottom A arm and spindle let it drop enough so the spring will stay on it and be up into the hat. With a floor jack slowly jack up the lower A arm until you can get the nut back on the spindle.

It would be advisable to wrap a nylon tie down around the spring to prevent it from flying out if it happens to come loose.

Vince
that how I did my mustangII spring on my 50 F1 pu went in easily. Do Do something to prevent the spring flying out for safety. Ed ke6bnl
 
#6 · (Edited)
1947chevypanel said:
I have installed all components of my mustang II on the front of my 47 chevy panel truck. I can't for the life of me find a set of spring compressors that do not interfere with the suspension parts. anyone know the trick to get these springs small enough to go inbetween the hats and lower A arm??
Try going to Auto Zone and borrowing one of their spring compressors. They fit inside the spring and won't interfere with the installation. I've used this style (I have my own) on every Mustang II IFS I've installed and it works just fine

 
#10 ·
Darkman270 said:
Use the tool Centerline suggested it will work nicely.
Also to give yourself a little more room it sometimes helps to remove the bolt for the lower "A" arm, put the compressed spring in, then re-mount the "A" arm and finally uncompress the spring.
 
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