I am looking into buying a set of subframe connectors or making my own for my
79 bird. What does anyone recommend? (brand, weldin vs. bolt in, etc.) Also I am sort of curious to the unibody design. What exactly was the logic in not having a full frame? Weight savings?
the reason? cheap! i put a set of Competition Engineering bolt ins, and ended up welding them in, MAJOR difference in results! it took the door gap out, no more sagging, and the handling is mucho better! these cars should have had the full frame from the start but cheapness won out! the weld in's can be removed if you are concerned with restoring your car to original, other wise weld em in if you plan on doing some spirited driving with your car, 2nd gen f bodies are about as rigid as a wet dish rag without subframe connectors
I put in a set of the bolt-ins from Competition Engineering a few months ago, along with a new set of subframe bushings. The result was a drastic improvement. I celebrated by lighting 'em up in front of a cop. She let me off with a warning, though :-). The bolt-ins sandwich between the body and the front spring perch, and the rearmost subframe bushing. It appears they function to put tension against the floorpan, forcing it slightly upward in the middle, and pulling down on the ends. They work really good. Anyway, I read somewhere that the unibody design was for compactness and weight savings, and the subframe was designed to reduce vibrations from the motor. Anyways, good luck with what you decide.
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