Pulling the trigger on Firm Feel suspension!

[Boydsdodge]

The upper control arms allowed me to get only 3 degrees castor, it wasn't what I was hoping for but was better then I was able to get with stock upper control arms. My wagon was not able to get much over 1.5 deg with the neg camber of .5 deg.
I have a frame/alignment spec book here and everything checked out good.
The biggest improvement along with new bushings is the big sway bars. On a shorter wheel base car (A body) you will get increased over steer. With the longer wheel base and long rear over hang on the wagon it is feeling really well balanced and safe compared to the original stock rebuild.
Only thing stopping me from doing firm feel sway bar on the Imperial is Firm feel needs a front bar for a template.
I will drive the Imperial as is this season and see how I feel.

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

One issue. It appears I have the wrong HD shackles for my new leaf springs. The originals have a very different shape and dimensions than the new ones. I have already talked to FirmFeel and they will get the correct shackles for my application. In the meantime I have some stock replacement shackle bushings on the way so I can move forward with spring installationView attachment 489333 .

I believe I have in my possession a new set of Firmfeel heavy duty offset shackles to fit my car! I drove out to Firmfeel yesterday to return my power steering core and also an extra power steering box (they accidently shipped me 2) and Frank looked at my stock setup very carefully with a tape measure and determined they had a set that appears to fit! I need to install them, and if they are good to go expect to be able to purchase the offset shackles that fit '71 (and a others?) available as an aftermarket upgrade through Firmfeel!

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

Final impressions on the Firmfeel suspension upgrades. They are fantastic! At first the suspension felt great and the handling was seriously improved, the front and rear sway bars along with the stiffer components make handling very flat and confident! My initial complaint was that improving the suspension made it really obvious how bad my steering was, no feel for where center was on the wheel and a very vague feeling altogether. Now that I have the stage 2 steering box in I'm in love. I took the super twisty way last night when I went to and from Firmfeel, and I drove like I was in a hurry, lots of tight downhill and uphill 15, 20, and 35 mph corners where I was pushing the little cars in front of me to go faster! No drama whatsoever in the way the car drives. I love it.

 

[ayilar]

I believe I have in my possession a new set of Firmfeel heavy duty offset shackles to fit my car! (…) Frank looked at my stock setup very carefully with a tape measure and determined they had a set that appears to fit! I need to install them, and if they are good to go expect to be able to purchase the offset shackles that fit '71 (and a others?) available as an aftermarket upgrade through Firmfeel!

Is this an item they happened to have, or something they carry? If the latter, then this is great news as there’s no other reprod afaik

 

[saforwardlook]

I believe I have in my possession a new set of Firmfeel heavy duty offset shackles to fit my car! I drove out to Firmfeel yesterday to return my power steering core and also an extra power steering box (they accidently shipped me 2) and Frank looked at my stock setup very carefully with a tape measure and determined they had a set that appears to fit! I need to install them, and if they are good to go expect to be able to purchase the offset shackles that fit '71 (and a others?) available as an aftermarket upgrade through Firmfeel!

Was your goal for replacing the original offset shackles to just achieve ones that are like new originals to alter the suspension height or something else???

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

Is this an item they happened to have, or something they carry? If the latter, then this is great news as there’s no other reprod afaik

Something that they had on hand, but weren't aware of. If it fits, then they will add it to the available parts they sell.

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

Was your goal for replacing the original offset shackles to just achieve ones that are like new originals or to alter the suspension height or something else???

The benefit of the heavy duty shackles would be greater lateral rigidity due to heavier/stiffer components. This should hopefully provide the same geometry of the original shackles, but most importantly, we would now have an option to replace original shackles if they broke (especially during disassembly).

 

[Knebel]

You Took Germantown home by the sounds of it haha I'm afraid of that with my Fury... If I could ask, on the stage 2 box, how is the center 'slop' does it overall feel more like a modern steering? I had thought about doing the borgeson conversion...currently my steering is much like a boat, albeit better with my suspension upgrades too.

 

[Big_John]

Something that they had on hand, but weren't aware of. If it fits, then they will add it to the available parts they sell.

I'd really like to see a picture.

There are numerous offset shackles and we've seen a lot of different ones that are close but no cigar.

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

You Took Germantown home by the sounds of it haha I'm afraid of that with my Fury... If I could ask, on the stage 2 box, how is the center 'slop' does it overall feel more like a modern steering? I had thought about doing the borgeson conversion...currently my steering is much like a boat, albeit better with my suspension upgrades too.

I took Germantown like a maniac! Car took it great! The stage 2 box has no slop on center and feels very reactive.

 

[65sporty]

Thanks for your input on the steering box, we have been kicking around the idea of doing either a Borgeson steering box or a Firm Feel rebuild on my Father in Laws 65 sport fury

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

I'd really like to see a picture.

There are numerous offset shackles and we've seen a lot of different ones that are close but no cigar.

I need to order some correct size bolts still, Firmfeel didn't have the right bolts.

 

[Big_John]

I need to order some correct size bolts still, Firmfeel didn't have the right bolts.
View attachment 562807

The offset looks right, but the width of this shackle looks about an inch wider.

So.... The question is if the extra width is being taken up by those bushings? Or is the new shackle not pushed together for the picture?

But, if nothing else, it seems to me that if the offset is right (or close enough) and the width can be changed by shortening the metal bushings between the uprights, this could be the answer.

 

[1971 300 Alvah]

The offset looks right, but the width of this shackle looks about an inch wider.

View attachment 562823
View attachment 562824

So.... The question is if the extra width is being taken up by those bushings? Or is the new shackle not pushed together for the picture?

But, if nothing else, it seems to me that if the offset is right (or close enough) and the width can be changed by shortening the metal bushings between the uprights, this could be the answer.

The shoulder of the poly bushings from Firmfeel is much wider than the stock bushing. The top is about 3 3/8" between the shoulders, which looked roughly the width of the hanger. Could you measure the hanger width? (mine is on the car)

I think hanger may not be the technical name...

 

[Big_John]

The shoulder of the poly bushings from Firmfeel is much wider than the stock bushing. The top is about 3 3/8" between the shoulders, which looked roughly the width of the hanger. Could you measure the hanger width? (mine is on the car)

I think hanger may not be the technical name...

Sorry, couldn't get to this until today.

The width of the "hanger" at what I think is the important part of this discussion is ~3 3/8". The tape measure picture doesn't really show the measurement accurately, but it is 3 3/8".

One side of the tube sticks out ~5/8" and the other side ~1/8" (couldn't get a good pic of that 1/8" side)

 

[regr]

Good morning guys, I put a FirmFeel steering box in my 1967 Imperial! Great products, and great guys, I recommend them for sure.

 

[Boydsdodge]

I have Firm Feel making a front sway bar for my 73 Imperial. They sent a bar out for test fit, it is installed but needs a few adjustments in the bends. Dick is going to make another and send it out. Fantastic improvement in stability and cornering with the new 1.25" front sway bar.
Call Dick at Firm Feel to see if he can do one for your Imperial.