Next step in this journey was to install the front suspension, brakes, and steering rack.
Hurricane uses standard Mustang II front spindles. They make their own lower control arms in house - mine were powdercoated black along with the frame.
QA-1 adjustable coil-over shocks for the front also.
The hardest part of this step is measuring and cutting down the steel spacers that go on either side of the lower control arm heim joints that attach to the frame brackets. It took a few tries to get it right.
Next came the brakes assembly. But first, storytime again. Before I started this project and I had not yet ordered from Hurricane I was at Texas Cobra Club spring meet one year hanging out in the parking lot, talking to other cobra owners. Steve and Mike from Hurricane Motorsports were there. People were always going on off me "when are you gonna order your cobra, Bobby?" I kind of joked in front of Mike and Steve: "Well I don't know, I haven't even gotten to drive Hurricane's demo car yet." Kurt "BigDaddyFrog" Curole, from southern Louisiana, in his cajun accent said, "you ain't nevah drove no hurrycane befo? - well din, lets go jump in mine!". He tosses me the keys. Kurt's is a home built first generation Hurricane, with a 350 SBC but we'll forgive him for that. So I get situated in the driver seat, Kurt in the passenger side, I fire it up and ease out the parking lot, onto the freeway service road. I'm being nice, gently getting up to speed and he yells "Step on it!!" So I stepped on it! Ran through the gears down the long straight service road, and as we are approaching traffic up ahead at the intersection, he yells over the side pipes and wind noise: "OH YEA, I forgot to say dee brakes don' work too good" ... uh, what?! I hit the brakes, yeah he was right. I had to stomp down with both feet to reel it in!
Now I don't know if all first generation Hurricane's brake were this bad, or his were just not so good, but it was an eye opener. The first generations used a standard Wilwood petal assembly that hangs down from the top of the footbox, not power assisted. The second generations have floor mounted pedals of their own design. I heard later from other owners that the standard brakes were not the best. The standard caliper is some GM variety, I'm not sure what. At any rate I didn't want to have to deal with weak brakes (more on this brake issue later on).
So when I ordered my kit from Hurricane I upgraded to the biggest Wilwood brake rotors and caliper I could get inside a 15" wheel. Yes period-correctness for me mandates 15" wheels only. So Hurricane ordered for my kit:
Wilwood Forged Dynalite Big Brake Front Brake Kit (Hub) - Part No.: 140-10440-B
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-10440-B
This includes:
- Wilwood Hub Part No: 270-10442 for Mustang II
- Wilwood Ultralite 12.5" vented Rotors - Part No: 160-5843
- Wilwood Forged Dynalite 4-piston Calipers - Part No: 120-6816
- All hardware, bearing, seals, etc.
The spindles were bare metal so I treated them to a few coats of POR-15 gloss black paint. That stuff is nuclear-proof.
So next up is steering rack installation. Russ (double-rr) recommended replacing the cheap rubber rack bushings that come standard in the Flaming River Rack with better urethane bushings from Energy Suspension. So I heeded that advice and ordered these:
Energy Suspension part no. 4-10103R - Rack & Pinion Bushings 1984-04 Ford Mustang
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/4.10103
Simple installation, but the brass (or bronze) sleeve was not included so I source one from elsewhere:
Next after installing the rack into the frame was cutting the threaded ends to length. Hooo, that was scary. I measured about ten times, cut once. I left a nut threaded on so when I threaded it off it would rough clean the cut threads before sanding the ends smooth.
And thats it, all done on this end!
PARTS LIST:
Wilwood Forged Dynalite Big Brake Front Brake Kit (Hub) - Part No.: 140-10440-B
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-10440-B
Energy Suspension part no. 4-10103R - Rack & Pinion Bushings 1984-04 Ford Mustang
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/4.10103