Shopping List for Front Suspension & Steering

[SteveG23]

Sorry for the long post, but I need help. I want to start acquiring the chassis and suspension parts for my virgin '92 CR Cobra kit and have talked to several manufacturers regarding the front suspension and steering. I plan on using the car for mainly cruising and some autocross. It will have a SM Chevy since the mounts are already there. I am hoping to leverage the collective knowledge of this forum to help a newbie like me select a solid foundation for the car (and avoid costly mistakes). I would like to avoid (or at least minimize) any fabrication if possible. Since none of the people I talked to on the phone about the parts are familiar with Classic Roadsters, I am a little scared about ordering considering the money involved. Anyway, this is where I am at and I would appreciate feedback from the group. I have included the part #s and costs (as listed on their sites):

Front Suspension
Heidts Mustang II Complete suspension Kit #MP-101-B4 $1,525.00
Includes: Tubular upper & lower control arms – narrowed for coil over;
Shocks & Springs; Power Rack & Pinion; Spindles; 11” rotors with GM
calipers

I like the idea of a 'packaged kit' that Heidt's offers (for simplicity reasons), but I was not sure how well some of its components match up with other manufacturers parts (e.g. Flaming River Rack, QA1 coil over shocks, etc.). Seems Flaming River's Power Rack is pricey (Power Rack w/ Pump & V Belt pulley FR40001-V $938.00).

So is the Heidt kit the way to go? Or should I cough up the money for the individual components?

Steering Column
Flaming River:
Steering Column 30” tilt FR30001-30BK $665.00
Triangle Yoke X ¾” DD Universal Billet-Joint FR1789DD 129.50
FR Power X ¾” DD Universal Billet-Joint FR1789P $119.00
18” Stainless DD Shaft – Polished finish FR1850SSPL $96.50
Polished Floor Mount 2” diameter FR20101 $99.85
OEM Factory Style Dash Mount – Key column FR20114K $89.50
Female Wiring Connector Kit FR20118 $19.90
Mounting Bushing (need 2) FR1600 $21.99 ea
Subtotal $1263.23


Other Steering Parts:
Stainless Braided Hose Kit Flaming River FR1610 $239.54
Power Steering Pump Bracket Flaming River FR1612 $89.99
Remote Reservoir Flaming River FR1614 $185.00
Outer Ends (2) ($29.995 ea) Flaming River FR1601 $59.90
Adj. power steering control valve Heidts PS-101 $89.00
Subtotal $1,601.43

Am I missing anything? Not sure if some of the above items are made to work with the Heidt kit (e.g. hose kit) or if all the above is needed.

Again I appreciate any feedback and please tell me if I am ordering the wrong stuff. Don't worry about telling me I am an idiot (my wife always does!).

[FWB]

Originally Posted by SteveG23

Sorry for the long post, but I need help. I want to start acquiring the chassis and suspension parts for my virgin '92 CR Cobra kit and have talked to several manufacturers regarding the front suspension and steering. I plan on using the car for mainly cruising and some autocross. It will have a SM Chevy since the mounts are already there. I am hoping to leverage the collective knowledge of this forum to help a newbie like me select a solid foundation for the car (and avoid costly mistakes). I would like to avoid (or at least minimize) any fabrication if possible. Since none of the people I talked to on the phone about the parts are familiar with Classic Roadsters, I am a little scared about ordering considering the money involved. Anyway, this is where I am at and I would appreciate feedback from the group. I have included the part #s and costs (as listed on their sites):

Front Suspension
Heidts Mustang II Complete suspension Kit #MP-101-B4 $1,525.00
Includes: Tubular upper & lower control arms – narrowed for coil over;
Shocks & Springs; Power Rack & Pinion; Spindles; 11” rotors with GM
calipers

I like the idea of a 'packaged kit' that Heidt's offers (for simplicity reasons), but I was not sure how well some of its components match up with other manufacturers parts (e.g. Flaming River Rack, QA1 coil over shocks, etc.). Seems Flaming River's Power Rack is pricey (Power Rack w/ Pump & V Belt pulley FR40001-V $938.00).

So is the Heidt kit the way to go? Or should I cough up the money for the individual components?

Steering Column
Flaming River:
Steering Column 30” tilt FR30001-30BK $665.00
Triangle Yoke X ¾” DD Universal Billet-Joint FR1789DD 129.50
FR Power X ¾” DD Universal Billet-Joint FR1789P $119.00
18” Stainless DD Shaft – Polished finish FR1850SSPL $96.50
Polished Floor Mount 2” diameter FR20101 $99.85
OEM Factory Style Dash Mount – Key column FR20114K $89.50
Female Wiring Connector Kit FR20118 $19.90
Mounting Bushing (need 2) FR1600 $21.99 ea
Subtotal $1263.23


Other Steering Parts:
Stainless Braided Hose Kit Flaming River FR1610 $239.54
Power Steering Pump Bracket Flaming River FR1612 $89.99
Remote Reservoir Flaming River FR1614 $185.00
Outer Ends (2) ($29.995 ea) Flaming River FR1601 $59.90
Adj. power steering control valve Heidts PS-101 $89.00
Subtotal $1,601.43

Am I missing anything? Not sure if some of the above items are made to work with the Heidt kit (e.g. hose kit) or if all the above is needed.

Again I appreciate any feedback and please tell me if I am ordering the wrong stuff. Don't worry about telling me I am an idiot (my wife always does!).

a comment on the heidt's....first off i like their stuff, i use it on my car.
i got the tubular uppers and lowers and went with the coil over QA1's they sell.(heidt's has these and they do fit fine)
i would re-think the GM calipers deal though.
they have a option to use the 11" rotor (granada style) and put a bracket on the spindle and they give you 4 piston wilwood calipers.
they are really worth it. you will get that good old GM brake shoe rattle with the GM calipers and they are just plain ole' calipers.
you'll have much better stopping power with the wilwoods

oh with the power steering....use a pinto pump, no need to regulate the pressure so no need for the pressure valve.
flaming rivers stuff...yeah pricey.....a new rack from NAPA would be just as good.
heidt's stuff fits like a dream, i have the strut rod lowers on mine and it went together with no issues using factory strut rods

[SteveG23]

FWB,

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking the same thing about the GM calipers. The Heidts suspension kit with the upgrade to Wilwood calipers seems to be the way to go.

As for the power rack, big difference in pricing (FR =$938; Heidts = $300; NAPA = $200). Questions:

1) What are the major difference in the power racks besides the name?

2) If I go with the Heidt's suspension kit, I get their rack, but I still need the pump bracket, pump and hoses to hook everything up. Are these stock Mustang II parts?

3) Any comments on the Flaming River steering column? Are these the correct parts? Am I missing any items here?

Thanks again for the help!

Steve

[FWB]

where flaming river sources racks from i don't know, same with heidt's.
call and ask them.
i just feel more comfy with OEM parts, like at NAPA, that way i can repair and change stuff,even farm out the work since your dealing with parts any shop can get their hands on at their normal supplier.
ford racks were made by Ford and TRW. and you can get a reman rack almost anywhere at any autoparts store.

pump brackets if your using SBC, i would start with a chevy bracket and go from there, pumps are very similar in mounting and with a bit of ingenuity, hole slotting, or hole drilling i'm sure you can get it to mount.

could you get the pinto/mustang bracket to work on the chevy....possibly.
i just would start with the bracket that fits the motor first then modify for the pump.

there are some pics in my gallery of the control arms mounted

with the column, i didn't give a rats on my car if it looked like original cobra or not, so there is a ford column in mine with the ignition switch on the column......you could find one also that has the multi function switch and that would handle lights wipers high beams etc......so its a matter of what you want to do. the OEM Ford stuff just made life easier, there's certain things i will work on with my car, there's other stuff that just pisses me off to work on, so with factory Ford parts i can take it to where my daily driver gets worked on and have them work on the cobra too....

[rustyBob]

I agree on the Heidt's stuff....top quality all the way....check with Speedway Motors on the "big brake" stuff the have several choices to choose from and Flaming River is also a top notch company with a quality product.....power steering???...mine drove like it had power steering with a manuel Flaming River rack, Heidt's suspension and 255-60-15's on the front. you can save some serious coin by going manuel steering.

[FWB]

another plus to the pinto/mustang pump and a MII rack is you can probably just use MII
p/s hoses off the shelf the ends will already be correct.......it falls in line with my "make it easy to work on"

[Wisconsin_Snake]

Mentioning rustyBob's comment, you may want to checkout Flaming River, they have a manual steering rack that is very easy to turn..

The one in mine is turns those wide tires like if it had power steering in it; which is a good thing because it makes moving the car pretty easy with no running engine it it.

[Donunder]

This may or may not be what you're looking for.

FAST CARS, Inc MGB IFS

I have a 1979 Arntz that was originally fitted with an MGB front end. I replaced it with one of these. FastCars make a Cobra version of their MGB unit that is two inches wider.