So, after seeing Mark Allin's 914-6 GT, decided to go home a grab the wrenches. Next step will be the suspension rebuild. First step, drop the rear suspension.

Here the car sits until the front and rear suspension are removed. Then what's left goes off to be media blasted and primed. Sorta looks sad after the 914-6 GT, but I remember what Mark's car looked like a couple of years ago - about the same.

Here's a close up of the control arm bearing and the shims that go under the bearing (next to body). I take these pictures so I'll remember how to put it back together.

Here's what you see from under the car as you remove the control arm bearing.

picture at random

Will, shots look similar to the ones that I took when I took my suspension apart. You know what they say, 'A picture is worth a thound words'. I've set up a personal web site on my lap top to document the disassembly of the 2 cars I'm working on.

How do you move the car without suspension on it?

didn't someone (brad?) just load the car onto a flat bed truck sitting on the pan? or maybe there were tires underneath it for cushion??

For $300 I purchased a steel body dolly with casters. Will post pictures when I move the car onto the dolly. So here's the stuff I was going to post yesterday before burnout caught up with me. When you remove the control arms, first you must remove the cable to the parking brake and the hard line and rubber hose to the brake. Here's a view of the parking brake cable end secured by pin with small clip. Easily removed with a screw driver.

Here I have inserted a small scribe into the end of the clip.

After this clip is removed, there is another clip up where the cable is covered by a small rubber boot. This is a semi-circle clip and again is easily removed with a screw driver. Here I have partially dislodged the clip.

After this clip is removed you need to slip the rubber boot over the end of the cable and then you can feed the cable back through the bracket.

Well that pictures sucks, getting the macros into focus is a bitch, especially when you cannot see up close like us old folks.

Next move up to the brake hose and find another clip that is easily pushed off with the blade of a screw driver.

Then using a flare nut wrench, remove the hard brake line and the hose can be worked back out. By now the parking brake cable and brake lines should be disconnected. Here's what you should have. Next step will be disassembly of the rear suspension. Sand blasting all parts, powder coat all parts, replace all bushings, etc. and them assemble with new suspension goodies from High Performance House.

Here's a close up view of the various clips and what's left of the rubber boot on the parking brake cable.

Ok, so now we move to the front of the car. First item, remove brake lines. Again you will find the clip that holds the hose to the hard line into the brake caliper: removal is easy.

Here's a better shot from the back of the clip. After this clip is removed, use the 11mm flare nut wrench on the hard line and hold the hose with a 17mm wrench and the brake lines are off. My plan is to drop the entire front suspension as a sub-assembly and then disassemble, sandblast (media?) and then powder coat, and replace tie rods, etc. before reassembly. Also, I have located a new stripper in Massachusetts that uses baking soda - the real big advantage being the soda media does not generate any heat: Tango Classics, check them out at www.shelbymustang.com. Will post more tomorrow as progress allows.

How do you remove the large stub axle nut with control arm on the ground? Did you loosen it before removal? Or can it be spun off with an impact wrench? It is torqued very tight as I recall.

Just did mine with an impact wench..FYI

If you have a lame inpact wrench (cheapie), it won't take the nut off with the suspension removed. I use a big cheater bar and loosen the nut prior to removing the suspension. This way you still have the car's weight and even the e-brake if they work. Then drop the suspension and it's all downhill.

That nut posed no problem at all. However the 8mm bolt (hex head) at the front end of the torsion bar cover (the one up inside the cover) was a real bear. Had to borrow a long shaft hex driver from the local Porsche dealership since none of my drives would fit. So, here's the front suspension on the ground.

Next, I removed the brake calipers, brake discs and tie rods. The sterring rack was removed by removal of the tie rods. The tie rods were completely shot, and the struts were useless, you could easily move the shaft up and down with almost no effort.

The front end of the torsion bar, after removal of the adjustment bolt and cover, had the strangest gasket I have ever seen, this really was a moldly remnant of the gasket, it was just mold and mildew in the former shape of the gasket.

Here's the date code on the strut housing: 30-8-73. I assume this is a build date - August 30, 1973. What do you think?

The last time I did a front suspension and needed those "gaskets", Jason at Paragon Products was one of the few people that knew what I was asking for. He stocks them despite the fact that they don't appear in the online catalog. They are actually made of foam. Jason is one of my preferred vendors. Great guy. Give him a call.

Paragon Products web site

I found the old email.

Thanks Mike, I couldn't figure out what that "gasket" was made of. Wow, this board is the universe of 914 information.

this is a great thread with perfect pictures. dropping the whole suspention in one piece. DOH!!! i hate to these type of threads get buried

Kevin,

You can copy and paste the link in the notepad section of your "My Controls" page.

Another thing I like to do is email the page link ("Email this topic" link at the bottom of every thread) to myself with a descriptive title so I can store it and easily search email subjects and reference the link later.

The ONLY thing I would have done different:

I would have broken the struts free from the ball joints while everything was still in the car. Then lightly slid them back onto the ball joints with the pin just barely holding them on.

The reason: I use the tension of the torsion bars to help "pull" down on the ball joint while supporting the strut (normally with a floor jack under the rotor or some lug bolts) I jack the rotor up until the car starts to rise off the stands and then hammer down on the control arm (they will not dent easily). This give me the torsion bar tension/weight of the car and my hammer going against the ball joint. I dont use pickle forks. Their is a nice flat spot right next to the sway bar tabs that you can hit down on without damaging anything.

I have to use this method on cars with new ball joints. The pickle forks ALWAYS ruin the rubber boot.....and I dont want to replace them twice.


B

Amen! And its a real PITA if there's nothing wrong with the balljoint.
I have *tried* your method Brad but there isn't much room to swing a BFH under there between the arch and the strut.
I hang my head in shame -I resorted to the fork and wrecked the balljoint (took some major twatting with a big hammer even then )

Turn the strut away from the car (turn the wheel to the left if working on the drivers side strut) It doesnt always work.. but 9 times out of 10 mine comes loose for me. Much much easier trying to break it free while it is attached to the car than trying to do it off the car. Same goes with the big nut on the stub axle in the rear. Easier to break it free when it is still on the car. I even knock the rear bearings out while the control arms are still on the car.. it holds it better than a vice can.


B

Thanks Brad: Yeah I'm still trying to break the lower ball joints loose from the struts, got the tapered wedge bolts out with no real problem, just can't separate the two pieces, the ball joints are shot anyway, so I guess the BFH and pickle fork will be next. Suggestions for separating the control arms from the axle? Also, Brad when you get a chance I sent you a PM today.

Well, the next step in the restoration has a connection to Jeff Taylor of Monster.com fame. Seems Jeff has a real thing for Shelby Mustangs. Started a business know as Tango Classics to store and restore his Shelby collection. The business offers media blasting with soda and the quote was very reasonable. So the car goes here next. Couple of shots of Jeff's Shelby collection.

That GT 350 Hertz is one of my personal favorites. To think you could go down to Hertz rent a car in 1965 and rent this car by the day. Story goes a number of rented cars went straight to the track and back. Urban myth? Another view of shop.

Another small shot of the collection. Also a couple of Corvettes (Jeff drives a 58 Vette as more or less his daily driver, go figure?) The bug under the tarp is his wife's 1965 VW - totally restored. They wouldn't let me take the car cover off.

Final shot - Ford horse power!

Bill, I don't think it's an urban myth. My dad was a drag racer in the 60s. He had a 64 Plymouth Belvedere factory lightweight (aluminum doors, hoods, fenders, bumpers, no heat, every other seat spring removed...) he would see those cars at the track. I guess the hot ticket was to rent one then bolt a roll bar in, race, then remove the bar and return it to Hertz. I love those cars! I saw a rare white one in Hermosa Beach when I lived there. I didn't know about the white ones till then.

We had a factory paxton supercharged 1966 GT350H up until about two years ago. We sold it to our neighbor who has a pretty good collection of restored Mustangs and at least one Pantera. I was always surprised at the attention that car drew. We bought it purely as an investment, I have never been much of a muscle car guy. I didn't shed a single tear when it went away - although I still see it a ton.

Well, as ole Shel said: "The GT 350 was a clapped-out race car when it was new." Would you believe these cars are going for $50,000 and up now? Remember, the interior sported a Ford Fairlane instrument panel and the interior finish was to typical Ford levels. However, I did always think a Bullitt replica would be fun to play around with!