Go Fast, Stop Fast, Turn Fast. 

Plenty of kit cars look good (plenty more look like crap).  Few of them back up those good looks with real performance.  Our excellent Coupe chassis would be a waste without an equally well-designed suspension and brakes.  Taken directly from the roadster and race-proven Challenge series car foundations, the Coupe comes with the same tough and well-engineered suspension and brake features. 

Front Suspension

Up front, the Factory Five Racing Type 65 Coupe kit comes with a fully independent tubular front suspension with unequal length upper and lower a-arms and high-end Koni or Bilstein brand mono-tube adjustable coil-over rod-end shocks (say that three times).  This design delivers razor sharp handling and a comfortable ride.  Our rugged front suspension is race-proven to deliver superior handling without the notorious problems of Mustang II style set-ups that are commonly used on hot-rods, replicas, and customs.

In the base kit we use the lower control arm, spindles and brakes from the Ford Mustang.  We offer an optional tubular steel lower control arm for people seeking lower un-sprung weight over the Mustang units.  The complete kit replaces those Mustang donor parts with new OEM Ford Racing brakes.

The front suspension components are well engineered and bolt-on with ease.  The big Mustang disc brakes are excellent.  We supply the aluminum coil-over shocks, coil springs, custom mounts, spindle brackets, and upper A-arms with ball joints and fasteners, all ready to bolt together.

Rear Suspension

The Type 65 Coupe frame is delivered to you ready to accept bolt-on suspension components.  Like our Roadsetr kit, there are three (3) rear suspension configurations that can be selected from. 

The Base kit is ready to use the Ford Mustang 4-Link rear suspension configuration.  The Complete kit provides a complete upgraded 3-Link performance suspension standard.

Let’s review each set-up to find out what’s best for you. 

1)       Standard 4-link solid axle rear-end

2)       Optional 3-link solid axle rear-end

3)       Optional Independent Rear Suspension.

1.  Standard 4-link Suspension.  Solid Axle, Solid Performance, Solid Value.

The Coupe frame comes with welded mounts ready to accept the bolt-in rear suspension parts right out of the 1987-1993 Ford Mustang donor.  This is a four link solid axle suspension that uses the Ford Mustang quad shocks and 8.8” posi-traction differential.  You can slip the variable rate Mustang coil springs right into place and bolt the whole thing together in about 30 minutes!  This standard Ford Mustang rear suspension works amazingly well.  We added custom anti-squat geometry, similar to those used by the Mustang race crowd, and engineered all mounts to be in double shear, made from 3/16” plate steel.  The car handles great and delivers eye-ball flattening launches. 

As our racing programs have progressed over the years we have added optional upgrades to the 4-link Ford suspension.  Check out our parts and options catalog for a full line of parts for the Ford 8.8” rear including, coil-over shocks, control arms, bushing kits and more.   

2.  FFR 3-Link Rear Suspension, Pure Performance

The upgraded 3-Link rear suspension is standard in the complete Coupe kit. 

The 3-link suspension is a great example of how racing and product development go hand-in-hand.  After the inaugural season  racing our Challenge Series cars in the Mid-Atlantic and West Coast series we found the standard four link suspensions had a tendency to oversteer (similar to Mustangs) when pushed to ten-tenths competitive driving.  Our engineers began working with customers, racers, and the team at the Bondurant School to develop a more neutral, racer-friendly suspension.

After more than seven years of racing action and thousands of hours of brutal track testing, the FFR 3-link is recognized as a proven and worthy upgrade to the standard Mustang 4-link.  The 3-link suspension is standard in all FFR Challenge Series cars and Complete Mk3 kits.  It works wonderfully, aiding hook-up, eliminating bind and provides an amazingly predictable ride whether you’re at the track or on the street. 

The 3-link suspension package includes the frame brackets, panhard rod, upper and lower control arms, coil-over shocks, aftermarket springs, and all fasteners.

3.  Independent Rear Suspension, Comfort and Artistry

The most authentic, beautiful and comfortable suspension is the FFR IRS package.  The story of the FFR Independent Rear Suspension, like the 3-link, is really the story of our company.  Every day we do something better.  The IRS was designed for those looking for not only the best handling package available, but the most elegant and comfortable as well. 

In 1998 we put our engineers to work full time to develop an authentic but strong IRS setup.  The goal was to add comfort and authenticity to the rear suspension.  We introduced our optional IRS in 1999 at the NE Replica Challenge.  Our first race car outfitted with this rear suspension won 1^st Place in the Pro Class at the NE Replica Challenge, beating all the competition by a margin of more than two seconds!  More importantly, the car was more comfortable on the street, and elegant in design.

The IRS upgrade can be added to the base kit or the complete kit.  This IRS option includes the welded-in cage, upper & lower tubular control arms, high-end Bilstein or Koni pre-valved mono-tube rod-end coil-over shocks (matched to the fronts), and custom axles.  The IRS option for the base (donor capable kit) kit requires that you provide the 8.8” center section from a 1989-1997 Ford Thunderbird as well as the T-bird rear spindles, CV joints & brakes. 

The Complete kit also provides an IRS option that delivers (in the complete kit) the entire rear suspension, differential, brakes and all parts needed to complete your cars rear end, with no donor parts.