Chassis Stiffness & Safety
With the additon of a more powerfull engine comes the need to stiffen the chassis to reduce its twisting upder load. The old chassis of the 1964//66 mustang is quite flexible and there is considerable movement. The best way to see this is when jacking the car up at one point too see the door gaps moving. I will be using 2 meathods to stiffen the chassis of this Mustang.
Torque Boxes
These pieces of folded stel fit up between the inner and outer chassis rails just behind the firewall/front guard area. I had these installed at the same time I had the LHD to RHD conversion complete.
Sub Frame Connectors
I was shocked to learn that the main chassis rails under the car dont join in the middle. This may work fine in a low powered setup as things are desiged to flex vs fatique and and snap, but with a higher powered engine I will need to strengthen things up a more.Now that the front has been stiffened, I purchased TCP (Total Control Products) Sub Frame Connectors to join the two sets of rails underneath. LMS installed these for me ensureing the chassis was totally straight.
Rollcage
Once complete I plan to take this car to the occasional track day. Although this won't happen too frequently, I still want to make sure it's setup as safely as possible. I will install 2 additions for this
1) Removable 4 point rollcage (ANDRA Spec). This can be installed easily in the days leading up to a raceday. Once installed I won't be able to carry passengers in the rear, but that's not a problem. Main thing is that it can be removed after and retains use of the tears seats.
2) 6 Point Race Harness. 4 new eyelet anchor points will be installed so that installation can occur very easily. The harness's las two point will be made on the back taxi bar that will go behind the seats. This harness will need to be clipped in once I get to the track as I can't use this on the road.
Additional Precautions
By today's standards, the 50year old Mustang could be viewed as a death trap. Things like lapbelts, no side intrusion bars, solid steering column, no headrests and 4x drum brakes all contribute to a not so pretty outcome if involved in a crash. I want to improve this where possible especially when adding a high powered engine setup.
1) Lap belts will be replaced with Klippan retractable belts. The fronts will relieve a new 3 point system courtesy of a new anchor point installed in the roof. The rears will also get a 3 point system will the addition of an reel on the back Patel shelf.
2) The steering column internals have been replaced with a collapsible system. This is a requirement when the car was converted to RHD.
3) The car will receive a new Willwood disk brake system front and back.
4) The car will use Ford Falcon ute seats with headrests.