This is a great one here.. Got a weird ass mustang style independent front suspension, and a rear leaf spring which does not accommodate much for room. We gota bag this thing down on the ground and there is no other way around it. Prepare to get your hands dirty.
The front coils are in a very particular situation. This setup allows clearance for only the radius arms as well as a sway bar. Otherwise it is quite empty under there. It is likely possible to just remove all factory components and go with a mustang II style IFS, but what would be the fun in that?
Removing the coils are basic, and there is plenty of room for tools to get this out and get the bag brackets started.
To begin mounting your air bag brackets you will want to first mount the air bag and bracket together so you can easily mock the hardware to the new location. It is going to be important to find the correct position of the lower bag bracket that will accommodate the entire bags travel. Similar to what’s seen in the picture below:
Front Air Bag Installation Early Thunderbird.
Custom Air Ride suspension system for thunderbird IFS,
This guide provides you with a good understanding of the process for which to air bag your thunderbird.
For chassis components or air management hardware please reach out to X2 Industries at the link below:
You can also check out the system they have to offer here:
Shock placement requires a bit of creativity, and greatly depends on the wheels and overall tire diameter. For a good idea as to what others have done you can certainly check out our general shock relocation documentation as well as the proprietary placement of the 1958-1966 Thunderbird shock location once the bags are installed. (pictured below)
The rear link kit is quite basic and uses a modified weld on triangulated link kit. The pictures below give you a great idea of placement. When readying your rear suspension for the link kit frame brackets (after marking your hub center and deleting your leaf springs) be prepared to plate the dual layer construction of the frameless chassis. Each mounting point needs a platform of no less then 3/16 to 1/4 plate steel. This will insure your mounting points are very strong.
Lining up the link bars once the plated areas have been added is a piece of cake. Our inner link bars are built to accommodate the shorter clearance seen under the rear. Outer links bars give a very close to factory mounting point.
Also keep in mind if your looking for that super low look be prepared to do a bit more work. As seen with the black car above, trimming and boxing clearance into the trunk will be required.