i know this isnt the stang forums, but you might have more knowledge than me.
looking into a set of struts and curious to the differences in these different model qa1 struts.

H2001 1979 – 1993 Mustang 5.0
H2002 1994 – 2004 2” Lowered Mustang 5.0, including Cobra
H2003 1994 – 2004 Mustang 5.0 and 4.6, including Cobra

H2002 - 2" lowered. does this mean the strut is 2" shorter overall, or just the piston?
what is the difference in the 79-93 strut as apposed to the 94-04 strut?
any help to decipher the difference would be a great help.
thanks!

 

not a ford man myself, but I have some knowledge from a buddie's car...

the foxbody struts(79-93) are comonly used in lowered 94+ cars, as they bolt in the same, but are shorter(roughly 1-1.5" iirc). The H2002 would be 2" shorter over-all, same travel but 2" shorter.

I'm guessing you're asking this about a mustang install? - since you pm'ed me about the vari-shocks, I'm just checking what you're doing. - Mustang struts will not fit our cars w/o machining the spindle thickness down, plus the top mount is longer and skinnier than ours. Also, a 2" shorter mustang strut would still be atleast as tall as our factory struts. However, our struts can be installed on a stang spindle with just a shim, but the strut plate or the rod would have to be machined to allow the larger diameter. The thread length would still be short, thus either further machining our finding the appropraite caster/camber plates would need to be addressed.

 

What would be the benefit to swapping mustang struts to a third gen or vice versa? Not a flame, just wondering if there is a valid reason and I could learn something.

 

id really like to put a set of adjustables up front on my camaro.
i can get the spindles machined. ive actually got a mustang shock and a camaro donor strut here im playing with.
i can get a bushing made to fix the different diameter in the piston rod.
i have a buddy who runs a fab shop and could cut the spindle and make some bushings no problem.
id really like to get those varistruts off your hands. please..........

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id like an adjustable coilover strut on the front of my car for varying conditions, and the coolness factor of course.
ive had the best luck with worn out stockers, but my car is just too fast now for the short shut down areas of our local tracks, and the front end reallly nose dives when you get on the brakes. i didnt have this problem with 90/10's, but im not fond of the way my car acts on the street with them.

 

I don't know what kind of budget you are on, but Spohn sells a "Pro-Drag" Front Coil Over System.

 

i have the coilover kit, but it uses a stock front strut.
thanks!

 

the only thing you're worried about is the adjustability? Tokiko 9 ways are like 150ea from thunder racing, bolt-in it stock replacement.

as far as figuring out heights, check monroe's website. You can look up the strut pn according to the vehicle, then check the specs(ext/comp height, travel, etc)

The custom coupe I mentioned to you in the PM is being worked the other direction. We're using '99+ mustang spindles in a full tube chassis(all custom fabbed) '68 mustang coupe. We needed shorter struts than foxbody stang length(we're laying this thing in the grass)to get our travel right, so we mocked up around an f-body strut. Now, he's gonna buy the vari-struts, but since they make an f-body length in a mustang mounting version we'll just use those. Eliminates the need for a spacer on the spindle, bolts right into our caster/camber plates, and is in current production.

I too don't like 90/10's. I'm not a big fan of them even for drag race. They tend to keep the front end up, resulting in excessive air-flow under the car. I have a set and may try them on the factory suspension class car I'm putting together, but I'm not a fan. - Also, the same buddy who has the '68 stang has had 3 lakewood 90/10's lock-up on his '02 stang. They had a decent amount of daily driven miles on them though. - On that note, don't buy the strange adjustables either. He's on his 4th set in less than 8k miles total. The first 2 started making a clunking noise within a week or two of install, the 3rd set lasted about 10 months. They wouldn't warranty them because they base thier 1 year off the initial buy date. They're a welded body, non-rebuildable. His brother now owns/runs an internet parts sales company, so he gave him a new set for christmas. We're gonna try putting some travel limiters on it so that the strut doesn't have to pick up the spindle/etc on launches and see if that keeps them alive.

 

the 1979-1993's ride shorter than the 94-04's. i think if you put fox body springs on you will drop ~1 inch or so. i am a half stang guy and i have a 96.

 

H2002 qa1 # is a 94-04 spec part that is 2" overall smaller. its 1" shorter than a fox strut. the regular h2003 strut is longer than a fox strut.
this is all comming from qa1.
a fox strut has a body length of 9.3875 inches, where as a sn95 2" lowered strut body is only 8.50 inches.
same price, same spindle fitment.

tokicos are only adjustable to the stiff side. they go stock to firm, or id already have a set.
they arent valved for drag racing.
thanks for your help.

 

Hmmm, This is an interesting thread. I always wondered what it would take to get the Mustang strut to work in a 3rd Gen. Not for strut choice but for Airride airstruts. They dont make them for the 3rd gen but do for the mustangs.

 

if you cut your spindle and made a bushing for the top, i dont see why they wouldnt work. i have noticed the advertising says it will automatically lower the ride 2", though.
they are down to a grand a set. i remember not to long ago they were 1200-1500, respectfully.

im in this too late to go back, but i wouldnt have bought the entire spohn coilover kit if anyone was to use a mustang strut.
my coilover sleeves are almost useless. im going to have to get a spacer machined to jack up the sleeve, or buy a set of mustang coilover sleeves.
id buy the strut towers from spohn, then a strange strut, and a coilover kit for a mustang.
oh well. its only going to eat me another hundred bucks.
LOL.

 

stage 20, I happen to have a set of stang coil over sleeves that I would trade for those f-body sleeves.......

 

any pics? are they strange, or a different brand. not that im picky, but i know some brands out there are yellow.
ill give you a defineate answer on the trade tomorrow after i speak with strange about the deminsion of their strut BELOW the spindle mount.

QA1 mustang struts WILL NOT FIT, to anyone following the thread. on a 88 model spindle anyway.......
they have a piece of shock that extends below the mounting surface that will interfere with the casting of the spindle. the tie rod arm is in the way, as well as some meat on the spindle where the knuckle rests. you may be able to cut it, but i wouldnt feel safe about it.
ive checked into a fox strut which is 4 1/2 inches from the center of the bottom bolt hole to the end of the shock, and also a 94-04 shock which has less below the mounting bracket, but still comes in too long. just over 2"
the strange may work if there strut below the mount is the same deminsions as stock. it will only require minor trimming of the spindle.
this may have been a waste of time for me, but its been an experience.
if i cant get any solid info, ill just order a strange strut and have to pay shipping or a restocking fee.

 

has anyone ever used a mustang strut on a camaro succesfully?

 

not to my knowledge. im in the process. dunno if its a wash yet or not.

 

they're the steeda ones and they're blue, I've got the complete kit with the torrington top hats. I got it cheap enough I was gonna figure out using them on my factory suspension car, thus your sleeves would be better for me anyhow. - I live down in the Ft Myers area, so about 5hrs south of you, to far to drive, but not horrid shipping for either of us.

- I have access to two new strange adjustables so I could get a measurement. I could also ship you a junk set(take-offs), my buddy is on his 4th set of the strange adjustables in just over a year and less than 6k. They all started making a clunking noise, the first two sets within one week of install. We're gonna try putting some limit straps on it with this new set and see if that helps.

Have you thought about using a mustang spindle? They fit larger ball joints(same size as a mid 70's chevy, Moog K6141) but would also allow the use of rack & pinion steering w/o a loss of turning radius. Not sure about fitting our hubs/rotors, but possibly re-drill the ford hubs to 5x4-3/4 and run some fwd chevy hat type rotors........

 

will the stang spindle fit?
ive thought of the mustang spindle, and i for sure would like a rack that turns decent. i dont want to have to buy another set of brakes for up front.
they dont give away drag brakes anymore. i cant believe how the prices have gone up over the years. metal is up, so it really doesnt suprise me.
i called strange today and got the measureents for the struts... .but my car isnt with me, so not much i can do right now.
do you have a junk strut you can ship me?
ill gladly paypal you for your troubles!

 

We're using the 99+ stang spindles on the 68 project, so I can check them out and get some measurements, maybe some pics if needed. I'm interested in this myself, as I have three 3rd gens that I'm working and the rack oriented spindle would be nice. - I'm headed to Orlando for the weekend, so it may take a few days for me to get my hands on everything.

If you're already running lightweight drag brakes it would deffinitely be nice to be able to re-use them. - If the axle length is the same, maybe just some jumper bearings or something to re-use your hubs and hats? Might need to build a caliper bracket/plate, but that shouldn't be to hard, especially since later stang spindles are designed for floating caliper brackets.

I could probably drop ship one of the f'ed struts up to you if you need, or I could just get you any measurements you need and check them off of one of my loose spindles. I'm not sure if they're any shorter past the clam-shell than most other stang struts though.

 

i called aerospace this morning. the bracket and the hats are different. he looked at his spec sheets, and said he thinks they wouldnt interchange. he also said the caliper mounting brackets are completely different.
id be interested in a strut if it wasnt any trouble to you.
thanks a lot man.

 

I'll see what i can do on the struts, as they're not mine but a close buddies. - I'll look into putting a f-body hub/rotor onto one of his loose spindles next week/weekend. If the hubs/rotors can be carried over, the caliper brackets would be fairly simple to fab.

 

I'm digging up an old thread here, but I had a question.

What spindle are we talking about here? I can seem to find a that part number on any of the years with struts. The Federal Mogul site changed and I'm still sussing in out.

 

fox body

 

the strange struts fit 87-93 v8 spindles. if you go qa1 they will fit either spindle. they come with shims.
qa1 is gonna leak on you though.
good luck.

 

I can't seem to find anything that says the Moog K6141 fits a mustang spindle.
It's the right balljoint for the arm I'm using.

 

i remember reading something in a post by shagwell about which ball joint to use.
might search his name.