[Garnoc]

I have a 65 v8 car. On my car and most pictures I have seen the rear of these cars sits lower than the front. I want to raise the rear of the vehicle slightly, only about an inch or two. Any suggestions? I tried new springs and that raised it back to the stock height but that is not suiting my taste. Any ideas?

[james02mustang]

Might be easier to drop the front.

[Bocephus1224]

I know what you mean. I have a 1966 and it does the same thing, its extremely annoying. I put a shackle kit on the back of mine and that seemed to help . You can pick one up from NPD

[Pro Mustang]

Years ago, no maybe decades ago, I had a 64 that did the same thing. I took the leaf springs to a shop and they rearched the springs. I think they just put them in a press and bent them a bit more. They did a great job. Other than that I have used a lot of air shocks over the years to get the ride height I wanted. Pluss if you load the car down for a vacation, you just add abit more air and it is setting perfect again. I am sure a lot of "true suspention guys would not like this but it always worked great for me. In fact, I have air bags on my 2006 Toyota Tacoma so I can carry extra weight.

I do not like shackles very much because they tend to lean over in a corner and those year Mustangs do not need that. The air shocks stiffen the ride a bit but they also seem to keep the car more stable.

[The Greek]

When you use air shocks to raise the car what is actually happening is you are making the shocks replace the function of the springs. The weight of the car is suspended by the two mounting points of the shocks. The shock mounting points weren't designed to take all of the weight and stress of the suspension. Shocks are made to absorb and dampen not to suspend.

Rearching of the springs is a viable option, but how long they will maintain shape is dependent on the condition of the spring and the loads placed upon them. Another option is to use raising blocks that mount between the springs and the rear axle. They are available in different sizes from one inch and up. These blocks can also be used to lower. It depends on how you mount them at the spring and rear axle housing.

You will need to check the angles of the driveshaft mounting points at the trans tailshaft and rear end at the pinion yoke. The angles need to be so that if lines were projected from these points, they will run parallel to each other. Example: tailshaft pointing down 3 degrees, pinion yoke facing up 3 degrees. This will keep the driveshaft from vibrating.

If angle changes need to be made, installing wedge plates with the raising blocks need to be done. The wedges get sandwiched between the axle housing, raising block, spring and lower mounting plates. They can be found in varying degrees starting at 2 degrees. Some of the wedges have ridges machined to their surface so that they can be stacked on one another without slipping apart.

Don't depend on the shackles for raising. It places unequal stress on the springs. The blocks are not expensive nor the wedges and most block kits have the extended length U-bolts to go with them. In my experience with these blocks you shouldn't have any problems with them and I installed mine in the driveway with no difficulty.