The Plastic Spoon

updated to link to the web archive version:

One of my favorite sites on the web to lurk is Corner Carvers. The CC users are a bunch of non-nonsense hardcore racers. They can be somewhat abrasive (the page motto is "Suck it!") but as long as you follow the rules and most importantly, use the "search button" before asking a question, you'll be fine. Corner Carvers has a wealth of information about track-proven chassis and suspension setups for every manner of vehicle.

I was perusing the site a while back looking for suspension ideas for a fox body mustang I had just aquired, and stumbled across a wiki article entitled "The Plastic Spoon" written by Wes (aka "Wangstang.") I had just hit the mother load! The Plastic Spoon (whose name implies its contents are cheap, functional and commonly available, as opposed to 'silver spoon' money-is-no-object items) is a step-by-step guide to build a world-class handling and braking fox body mustang relatively inexpensively using mixed-and-matched components from different vendors. Each piece is looked at with an "what's the best bang for the buck here" approach, so the final product should perform with the best of them, for much less! It also has a clear upgrade path for when you (or your budget) get more serious and you want to take it to the next level.

I used many of the Plastic Spoon's suggestions when building my '79 Pace Car. The car still isn't running, so unfortunately, I can't report on its performance, but by using the guide for a reference all of the parts seem to play nicely together. (There were many changes in the geometry of various suspension parts over the years, so if you just throw things together haphazardly, there's a good chance it won't fit without customization or spending more money on the correct parts to make it work.) It all bolted on effortlessly and the wheel/tire clearances and ride height look great!

The only downside is that the 'Fork is a little outdated. Many of the links no longer work, however, in most cases he was kind enough to list a part number, so looking them up on the web will be easy enough.

Thanks Wes!!

Edit: Looks like the link moved, not sure if this is the permanent home, but here's the link