quad shock addition

[stevebob100]

I have an 82 capri with an 85 GT 8.8 in back. Is there any way i can put quad shocks in it?

[795.0pacecar]

Yes there is, they have to be welded to the car, a better idea would be to just get some good lower control arms.

[v8only]

You sure that's an 8.8??? 85 gt's never came with 8.8 rears.

Regardless, often times good control arms are not always a wheel hop cure all.

I have good ones in my car, along with 3.73 gears, and no quads, and it still wheel hops on occasion. The quads are going back on just as soon as I buy new ones.

[stevebob100]

Well maybe the rear end is from an 86 cause its the 8.8 shape. Can i just buy quad shocks made for a newer fox chassis and put them on.......or do i have to modify my controler arm or something?

[FoxChassis]

Just as 795.0pacecar said, the frame brackets have to be welded to the frame. Then just bolt the horizontal axle dampeners in.

[stevebob100]

Should i cut these brakets off a junkyard car.....or is there some place to buy them?

[FoxChassis]

They unbolt from the frame of the car they're on.

So why can't you just bolt them to your car's frame? Because there are no threaded inserts in your car's frame. So either you drill and install threaded inserts into the frame and bolt the brackets to the frame or you weld the brackets to the frame.

[795.0pacecar]

I said weld them in because thats what I did.

[negusm]

What kind of "threaded inserts" are in the frame? Or can you just drill and thread the frame?

-Mike

[5litre]

I'm curious too about the brackets, want to drill and tap the frame rail back there if possible.

Thanks

[FoxChassis]

It's been so many years since I've had one of those brackets off for me to remember exactly what was there. I suppose you could drill and tap the frame but I don't know how well the frame would hold up to that.

[negusm]

Well considering the whole ass end of my asc is getting replaced with an 84 4 cyl ass end, we shall see what it takes to get the quads reattached.

The body guy said that it looked like they were just threaded into the frame on the old car and he was going to just drill and tap the new frame.

The asc has had its ass badly replaced once before from a rear end collision by a previous owner....so maybe at that time all they did was drill and tap the frame.

-Mike

[FoxChassis]

A buddy and I just put some HPM arms and removed the axle dampeners on his '87 coupe. I'll take a look at how the dampener's brackets attached to the frame on that car.

[5litre]

ttt

[Mike Croke]

The bracket bolts to the frame rail as long as there is somewhere to bolt it to. If there's no exisiting holes, you'll have to make some and then put the thread/clip gizmos in or you'll have to weld the bracket to the frame. The thread/clip things should be taken from the junkyard car when you get the brackets.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/caprirs/quads/88rear1.jpg
http://www.foureyedpride.com/caprirs/quads/88rear5.jpg

[351lx]

I put quad shocks on my 86 when I installed the 8.8.The brackets and rear end came from an 88 Mustang.My frame already had the inserts installed to bolt them on but the inserts were in poor shape from being exposed so I chose to weld the brackets on.Remember that T-birds and Mustangs use different shocks and different brackets.I tried to use a set of quad shocks I had lying around from a T-bird I used to own and they were too long.

[fordguy]

fordguy, please read THIS (http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5659).

[86notch]

The frame rail would probably not be thick anuff to hold more than a couple of threds if tapped and would lossen from pressure after time this is why ford used inserts :wink:

[fordguy]

fordguy, please read THIS (http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5659).

oops, sorry. learn something new everyday.

[FunkRider82]

The bracket bolts to the frame rail as long as there is somewhere to bolt it to. If there's no exisiting holes, you'll have to make some and then put the thread/clip gizmos in or you'll have to weld the bracket to the frame. The thread/clip things should be taken from the junkyard car when you get the brackets.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/caprirs/quads/88rear1.jpg
http://www.foureyedpride.com/caprirs/quads/88rear5.jpg

I know this is really off topic, but that looks identical to my car in every way minus no crappy eibach sportlines. Same shocks, same black paint around the quad, same origional blue car colour. Wierd.

[1hot86gt]

when i put the 8.8 with quads in my 86 lx the holes were there i just bolted the brackets up .

[negusm]

I got word from the body shop that the original McLaren has the bracket and all. So all the parts whould be there for a swap over.

-Mike

[negusm]

OK, I need some help here.

The body shop guy torched the bracket out of the OLD frame. On the old frame there are two nuts welded inside.

He doesn't know quite what to do now. He has suggested that he just cut an area out of the NEW frame and weld the whole kit and kaboodle right over and smooth it down before he paints it.

My question is, is there a way to get these nuts welded to the back side of the frame? Does he have to go through the hatch and unweld a panel in there? Are there special threaded inserts that can be purchased?

I would imagine that there should some "threaded inserts" to do this since alot of cars from 84 and earlier or 4 cyl cars have had quad shocks added.

-Mike

[5litre]

I have a service bulletin from Ford telling how to mount the quad shock brackets to the frame, involves drilling thru the frame from the hatch area and then you're able to hold the nuts and tighten them. After that you put plugs in the top and they're hidden by the carpet. I can send the instr. if you want.

I was hoping for an easier solution, but this is all I have right now. Proceeding with my 8.8 swap into a '79.

[negusm]

Yes, post instructions or a link please. That would be great.

I was also thinking of a different solution.

Lets say the body guy gets some threaded couplings (that can accomodate the size bolt the quad shock plate uses). By "threaded coupling", I mean its like a "pipe" thats threaded on the inside.

Drill a hole in the frame the same size as the outer diameter of the above threaded coupling. Then weld in the threaded coupling flush with the outside of the frame. Do this twice on both sides. The plate should cover all of this I should think.

Anybody see a problem with this? Whaddaya think?

-Mike

[5litre]

I'll get the link up as soon as I can get it uploaded.

Thanks

[5litre]

Here's the links to the tech info from Ford:

---
Instructions:
Part 1: http://shamanonline.net/staff/jer/stuff/1.jpg
Part 2: http://shamanonline.net/staff/jer/stuff/2.jpg
Part 3: http://shamanonline.net/staff/jer/stuff/3.jpg

Hope this helps.

[5litre]

Any other ideas out there for mounting those Q-shock brkts?

[negusm]

I think we've decided to get the longest nut (with the most threads) for those bracket bolts we can find. Then drill a hole in the frame the size of the nut so that the nut can be tapped into the frame. Then weld around it to secure it. Grind it down and smooth and paint. Even if its not perfect, the plate would cover it.

I got a description of the original "insert" that Ford used. Its obviously tapped in from the inside of the frame and a ridge/flange on the insert stops it from going any farther. It could never be pulled out of the frame from the outside and reused. The only way to get it is to torch it out and thats what the body guy did on the old car to see how it was done.

-Mike

[Mustang5L5]

Any other ideas out there for mounting those Q-shock brkts?

Yeah...throw them out

If you buy a quality set of control arms, you don't even need them.

[negusm]

Any other ideas out there for mounting those Q-shock brkts?

Yeah...throw them out

If you buy a quality set of control arms, you don't even need them.

Yep. That is another alternative.

But in my case I want to keep it stock.

-Mike

[5litre]

Well, I as well as many others have had 2 different types of replacement bushings, and several different aftermarket control arms, which made no difference whatsoever, so that's not the answer. That's why this is my last resort.

[stevebob100]

Where could i get a set of these brackets? My local yard doesnt have any.

[debo85lx]

I'm going to be pulling the set of my 90 vert for the guy who purchased my drivetrain shortly. Depending on the complexity of it, I will take some measurements, pictures, etc - I think anybody with metal work and welding experience should be able to make them fairly easily.

Give me a week or two, and I'll PM you with it.

[negusm]

Update:

The body guy drilled a good sized hole in the frame, tapped in the biggest nut he could find (hex sided) and welded it in there.

The brackets and shocks mounted fine and you can't see the work after everything is installed.

I'm happy.

-Mike

[telco]

The frame is not thick enough to tap. Rule of thumb is the material being tapped needs to be the same or thicker than the bolt diameter. That's why "standard" nuts get thicker as the bolt size increases. There is a kit (know idea where you would get it? that puts in threaded inserts kind of like a pop rivet gun.

From the picks it looks like you might be able to drill all the way through and nut and bolt it. Of course you have to be concerned about crushing the frame rail. I would just weld them. Fit them up where you need them. Attach them with a couple of sheet metal screws then take the shocks off and head to the muffler shop. I'm sure they can weld then up for cheap.

[negusm]

When I said "tapped", I meant he took a nut which is far thicker than the frame and used a hammer and hit it into the hole he drilled. He "tapped" it in flush with the frame. Then he welded the edges of the nut all the way around to the frame. The frame itself wasn't "tapped" or threaded.

That was two nuts in the frame per side.

-Mike

[telco]

Well that's a bit different than tapping the frame. That is a stronger way of doing the threaded insert like I mentioned. Don't know if it's worth the effort though. I still say just weld them in place and if you can do your own welding then you won't even need to drill the holes for the temporary screws. If you ever get rid of the shocks you can just leave the brackets there.