Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

• Kats66Pny
• turq66
• tarafied1
• KBMWRS
• ITLRUN
• edgar
• JeffTepper
• GTA6T7
• Dennis Harrelson

[Dne']

I bought these struts in the beginning phase of my restoration. I found these do not fit a '67, but they do fit a '68! Long story short, I wound up buying new '68 LCA's  but wound up not using these! I find these to be interesting in Mercury's attempt to make a better handling, less vibrational steering for the '68 cougar.  I bought these off of ebay and coincidentally are for sale ;), but not officially.  I just wanted to write up something that I've learned over the past couple years. Maybe you have something to add to this thread?  The link adds a little bit more after the photos.
dne'

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

http://www.fordmercurycougarxr7.com/Other%20info/A%20close%20look%20at%20the%201967-68/index.htm

[johnpro]

Those are quite interesting.  Don't know that I've ever seen those strut rods.  My Cougar was a '67, and that was many years ago.

I just learned recently from OpenTracker that the '67 Mustang was a "one-off" year as far as the lower control arms and strut rods.  Moog is now producing a lower control arm for the '67, but they are expensive, because of the "newness" of them, and limited production of them.  Most '67 owners are switching over to '68 strut rods and lower control arms, when going to a performance suspension to keep the costs down.

That's what I just did on my daughter's '67.  I went with OpenTrackerRacing.com "Street" upper/lower control arms, OpenTrackerRacing.com roller spring perches, OpenTrackerRacing.com roller idler arm, StreetOrTrack.com strut rods, Moog inner/outer tie rods (with new adjusting sleeves), Grab-a-track 580 lb. front springs, 1" front sway bar, Monte Carlo bar, and export brace.

[ZFORCE]

I have a 67 Cougar and I posted on those articulating struts about 3 years back on the vmf, see link below:

http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/vintage-mustang-forum/558761-cougar-articulating-struts-vs-mustang-struts.html

So what exactly is the difference between the 67 LCAs and struts and 68 LCAs and struts on Mustangs?

[Dne']

Good writeup Zforce, kind of answers I was seeking, but with no conclusive answer eh! I personally wanted to use them cause they were different and would have definitly spurred converstation! I would never be racing nor diving into hard turns, so I"m not so concerned with the super best front end stuff, but did go with roller perches.
When I was finally bolting up my articulating struts to my '67 LCA's, they didn't bolt up! When I got my '68 LCA's, there is a significant difference between the two, but I went ahead with stock struts from a '68 mustang.  And these just wound up on my shelf!  I don't have a photo of the '68 LCA, but I know they're much wider at where the strut goes and where the sway bar bolts.

Just to come up with the idea from Ford/Mercury must have required significant engineers thought, not to mention actually manufacturing X number of parts. I would think they would have been kind of costly for the times, especially since a new car only cost a couple thousand dollars!

the bushing of the articulating strut is very hard rubber(maybe with age), I took one apart when cleaning, and it was more like metal than rubber! For a daily driver, I think they would have been just fine! and cleaned up and painted, a neat piece of history to be bolted to the stang/cougar.

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

[Jonk67]

I just learned recently from OpenTracker that the '67 Mustang was a "one-off" year as far as the lower control arms and strut rods.  Moog is now producing a lower control arm for the '67, but they are expensive, because of the "newness" of them, and limited production of them.  Most '67 owners are switching over to '68 strut rods and lower control arms, when going to a performance suspension to keep the costs down.

Just a tid bit, John at ORP turned me on to the LCA for '67 made by Moog being sold by Virginia Classic Mustangs for $50/ea., cheaper than some of the cheap repop stuff. I am installing these on my '67 so I don't have to remember later that I changed years and I had already modded my '67 strut rods to be adjustable via the Daze article with a few changes.

Those are interesting pieces Dne'.
Jon

[tarafied1]

So what exactly is the difference between the 67 LCAs and struts and 68 LCAs and struts on Mustangs?

The 67 strut rods are straight, much like the 65-66 but NOT interchangeable with 65-66. The 68 have a bend where they bolt-on to the LCA. They also have a smaller thread at the bushing end with a castle nut and hole for a cotter pin which 67's do not have. The bolt holes are the only difference I am aware of on the LCA.
67 strut rods & LCA

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

67 vs 68 "safety nut"

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

68 strut rods

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

68 LCA

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

[tarafied1]

Dne'
In your photo, the LCA looks like a 67, not a 68? 67's have the 4 holes so they can be used on either side with the "straight" 67 strut rod.

Stock articulating strut rods, '68 cougar

[johnpro]

Just a tid bit, John at ORP turned me on to the LCA for '67 made by Moog being sold by Virginia Classic Mustangs for $50/ea., cheaper than some of the cheap repop stuff.

That's not only interesting, but correct.  VA Classic has the Moog arms for $49.95, which is the same as the '68-'70 arms.

I wonder if this is a really recent development?   If the price of the Moog control arms are the same, I'm not sure, why people are switching o the '68 stuff, when going with aftermarket suspensions.

[ZFORCE]

Tarafied, NICE!  Finally cleared up the LCA differences between 67 and 68!!!  As for why people are switching from 67 to 68 LCAs, it can be answered in one word, ignorance.  Now that the info, maybe they won't!

[johnpro]

Tarafied, NICE!  Finally cleared up the LCA differences between 67 and 68!!!  As for why people are switching from 67 to 68 LCAs, it can be answered in one word, ignorance.  Now that the info, maybe they won't!

In doing some research, there does appear to be some ignorance, but only because this, indeed, DOES seem to be a pretty recent change.  As of December, 2008, no one could find Moog Lower arms for a '67, but could for a '65-'66 and '68-'73.  Even today, very few people seem to be selling the Moog '67 lower arms.  It appears that it's not even common knowledge amongst auto parts distributors.
 
Most of the places I looked, the '68-'73 Moog lower arm is half the price of the '67 one, still.