1966 FE Galaxie Rear Suspension Advice

[Diogenes]

Over the winter, I plan on going through the 9in, replacing bearings as I believe the pinion bearing is in dire need of replacement. I believe the rear suspension may be the culprit here, so I plan on replacing parts in the rear suspension. Currently all parts in the rear suspn. are stock, except for the add on sway bar, which has brackets installed through the lower control arms.

I am looking to buy the Spohn pieces, upper, lower, and panhard bar. The problem is my current sway bar will not work with their lower control arms (and I don't want to surrender an arm and leg for other mfg kits).

Question: would it handle nearly as well/just as well with all new Spohn pieces minus the sway bar? Or, should I replace the lower control arm bushings and box the OEM arms and re-install, allowing me to keep the sway bar.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[TorinoBP88]

First make sure you have a 9" and not a 9 3/8".

[machoneman]

I don't get why the sway bar or the new lower control arms can't be rigged to work with Spohn's parts. That said, I'm not sure one would want BOTH a Panhard bar and a sway bar on a coil-sprung rearend. 

Mustang related but still a worthy read:  https://www.americanmuscle.com/everything-about-mustang-panhard-bars.html

Over the winter, I plan on going through the 9in, replacing bearings as I believe the pinion bearing is in dire need of replacement. I believe the rear suspension may be the culprit here, so I plan on replacing parts in the rear suspension. Currently all parts in the rear suspn. are stock, except for the add on sway bar, which has brackets installed through the lower control arms.

I am looking to buy the Spohn pieces, upper, lower, and panhard bar. The problem is my current sway bar will not work with their lower control arms (and I don't want to surrender an arm and leg for other mfg kits).

Question: would it handle nearly as well/just as well with all new Spohn pieces minus the sway bar? Or, should I replace the lower control arm bushings and box the OEM arms and re-install, allowing me to keep the sway bar.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Diogenes]

First make sure you have a 9" and not a 9 3/8".

Yeah, I figured this was an issue as well, but figured once I got into it the bearings used on the carrier would help identify it. Are there any external features that will help differentiate the two?

[Diogenes]

I don't get why the sway bar or the new lower control arms can't be rigged to work with Spohn's parts. That said, I'm not sure one would want BOTH a Panhard bar and a sway bar on a coil-sprung rearend. 

Mustang related but still a worthy read:  https://www.americanmuscle.com/everything-about-mustang-panhard-bars.html

Thanks for the great link/info. Maybe I'll remove the bar altogether.

The handling improved once I installed the sway bar, but all the other pieces are stock and a bit worn.

[machoneman]

Kevinstang wrote up this marvelous 9" Ford passage 14 years ago....and it's still good.

http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm

[machoneman]

Your welcome but....

Note that based upon the car's use, having both may not be advantageous.

That said, as a former SCCA slalom racer, I learned long ago your car will tell you what it wants. Don't be afraid to experiment with back-to-back changes (if you can do so with even new parts). Keep in mind leaf spring cars 'use' the leafs as more or less panhard bars to keep the rear in left-to-right horizontal check. Here, a sway bar keeps the car's body from 'tipping' over in hard turns.

A coil sprung car on the other hand absolutely needs a panhard bar of some type to locate or center the rear AND prevent body lean. But, even Ford's panhard IMO is too short in horizontal length compared to true road-race cars...and there is a good reason for that. A longer bar even if new pivot points are needed is better.

Again, experiment if you can.

 

I don't get why the sway bar or the new lower control arms can't be rigged to work with Spohn's parts. That said, I'm not sure one would want BOTH a Panhard bar and a sway bar on a coil-sprung rearend. 

Mustang related but still a worthy read:  https://www.americanmuscle.com/everything-about-mustang-panhard-bars.html

Thanks for the great link/info. Maybe I'll remove the bar altogether.



The handling improved once I installed the sway bar, but all the other pieces are stock and a bit worn.

[VikingsFan]

I've got a '66 Galaxie with the Spohn rear end setup and I think it's a pretty dramatic improvement over the stock system.  I haven't run a rear sway bar though, and I did change the factory springs for some from coilsprings.com that were 20% stiffer and +2" at the same time I installed the Spohn components, but for me the difference was night and day.  I should note that I did re-bush and dial-in the rear end with factory components prior to this swap, but that didn't have nearly the effect I was looking for.  The rear end was still loose and soft, even with fresh set of factory height springs.  If I recall, Spohn had a sale around Christmas, and I waited for that to save a few $$$
Hope that helps!

[Diogenes]

@VikingsFan

Thanks for your input, it's nice to hear your experiences with your 66. We have some winding state routes around here, and I've been able to hammer my Galaxie through some fun turns with my current set up, but it sounds as if the Spohn set up is an improvement. As Machoneman states, though, it would be nice to experiment with the sway bar along with the Spohn setup, although it will be nice to get the smoother ride back by eliminating the sway bar.

[AlanCasida]

I have the Spohn control arms on my '66 Galaxie with an AddCo rear anti-sway car. I built some brackets out of flat plate and bolted them to the lower control arms by drilling two 3/8 holes through the control arm and bracing both sides with tubing. It seems to work pretty good. It just so happens that I have my car up on jack stands right now so I took a few pics. Also, if you are thinking about just boxing some existing control arms I still have the ones I boxed in that I'd probably sell. They have poly urethane bushings in them too. When I built those there were no poly bushings available but through doing some research I found that 92-Camaros had the same dimensions for the lower bushings. Since there were no uppers available I got a Camaro lower are and shortened it to match the OEM Galaxie upper and boxed it in.   

[Diogenes]

@AlanCasida

Great info and photos--thank you. Did you run the car with the Spohn pieces prior to installing the sway bar (if so, did you notice differences)? Were you concerned with drilling the Spohn lowers arms for bar installation (compromising the strength?).

I may be interested in your lower arms--what are you looking to get for them? I'm in NW Ohio. The upper I will probably just buy the Spohn piece, but I'm still reviewing the options. I like your install on the Spohn lower, but strength/durability concerns me--what do you think?

Again, thank you for the great first-hand information.

[cjshaker]

If you're not aware, Alan has run his Galaxie in Drag Week several times. His car runs in the 11's and then he drives it hundreds of miles to the next drag strip, where he runs 11's again....then does it again and again. I'm pretty sure he's proven the durability of anything on his car

[Heo]

As the lower arms see compression under load those holes do not
weakening the arm that it matters

[AlanCasida]

@AlanCasida

Great info and photos--thank you. Did you run the car with the Spohn pieces prior to installing the sway bar (if so, did you notice differences)? Were you concerned with drilling the Spohn lowers arms for bar installation (compromising the strength?).

I may be interested in your lower arms--what are you looking to get for them? I'm in NW Ohio. The upper I will probably just buy the Spohn piece, but I'm still reviewing the options. I like your install on the Spohn lower, but strength/durability concerns me--what do you think?

Again, thank you for the great first-hand information.

I did not drive it any with out the sway bar on it after putting the Spohn lower controls arms on. I was a little concerned about drilling holes in them too but I think bracing it up with tubing around the control arm made up for that. Although I don't road race the car or anything I was getting 1.60 60ft times with it at the track with 10.5" slicks on the car along with pulling the front tires off the ground(albeit VERY briefly) so I think they are still sturdy enough. The main reason I went with them over my boxed units was when I put my slicks on they were real close to rubbing the front of my wheelwell and I needed a way to move the tires back and it helped in adjusting my pinion angle.
 There is another company called Pmt fabrication that sells tubular control arms for 65-74 Galaxies that has an option for a rear sway bar. The lowers are rectangular, more like the originals and the sway bar bolts directly to them from the side. They look real nice. Had I found them sooner I might have went with them.  Here is a link:
https://pmtfabrication.com/product-category/ford-2/1965-74-ford-galaxie

[AlanCasida]

If you're not aware, Alan has run his Galaxie in Drag Week several times. His car runs in the 11's and then he drives it hundreds of miles to the next drag strip, where he runs 11's again....then does it again and again. I'm pretty sure he's proven the durability of anything on his car

Thanks for the comments, Doug. You are too kind.