I have started really making some changes to my comet recently and i really want to make it handle as well as i can. what are some things you guys can think of to make it more fun on a twisty road? i am already doing sway bars front and rear and i am thinking of running a brace from the top of the shock towers across the engine bay to stiffen it up. disc brakes are coming too. i am running 17in mustang bullit wheels so they should grip much better than the 14in. sears tires that were on it. thanks for any help you guys can give me.-- --Luke
Sub frame connectors made mine a dream at high speed. I imagine a roll cage would do well for the frame stiffness. as for Overall handling, to cure the push most older rear drive car's had (a lot to do with factory bias ply tires) you need to change the geometry of the front end. specifically Camber, you need less of it of more negative camber. stiffer springs and increasing camber gain wouldn't hurt either. I haven't played with this yet on mine so I don't know the exact target figures. Perhaps someone on here has tried different setups and knows at least a guesstimate.
the really cool setup IMO would be to use adjustable coil overs in the front, the subframe connectors. weld in a adjustable coil linkage rear and put as wide of tires as possible all around while keeping them in the wells. just a good front end kit, sway bars and a stiffer set of springs helps quite a bit though combined with todays tire tech. my car is no ferrari, but ive surprised a few guys in the hills without really pushing the cars current setup to its limit.
does anyone know of anyone who has the coil over set up on there mav? i am thinking thats the route i want to take because i only live about 5 minutes from a road race track (gingerman raceway) and it would be a blast to take my comet out there and hang with the fox bodies. (and smoke the imports!!) but i definitely like the ease and cost of the minimal approach.
also, where did you guys find your subframe connectors, i want to weld them on, but the only ones i can find are for mustangs. did you fab them?
If you want to race you'll really need better control arms. Mine pushes bad powering off the apex and the outer edge of my tires wear during race conditions. I've got as much negative camber as my stock front-end will allow and it still does this. I'm guessing a slightly shorter upper control arm would be the best fix. Shelby race stangs lowered the mounting point of the upper control arm by 1 inch. I'd assume this would work on our cars. It would effectively shorten the control arm increasing negative camber and camber gain. I haven't tried it but, the theory looks good on paper.
i got mine from summit racing. they don't have them in the catalog. you have to call and ask for them if they still have them. they were about $125 and i had them welded in.
I put in an adjustable coilover kit from Total Control Products in my Mav and I love it. Here is an old post where I talk more about it: http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=7540
I added gas shocks and front/rear sway bars and it's a great handler. If I want to go to the next level I'd relocate the upper A arm ala Shelby Mustang, cut a coil out of the front, Monti carlo style front bar and add sub frame connectors. Then wider wheels and sticky tires.
Move your battery to the trunk. Mount it as far back as you can. This can change your weight distribution by 1 or 2 percent. Adding aluminum heads and manifolds will also take some of the weight off the front.
