n this installment of our 1966 Ford Galaxieproject car, we delve into the rear suspension.With a newly rebuilt and braced 9-inch

rearend from Currie ready to be hoisted in place andbolted in, we wanted to do so using something betterthan stock control arms and suspension pieces. Thestock bushings were very worn, the terrible, ancientair shocks that were in place were wrecked, and one ofthe lower control arms on the passenger side wastweaked due to an inexperienced owner who decidedto jack up this 3,600+ pound behemoth by a

suspension part. That is when we started researchingwho makes rear suspension parts for this somewhatobscure body style and came across a company called,Spohn Performance.

IWritten by Jake AmatistoBehind the Lens: The Author & Aaron Hahn

3-Link

Air Shocks

Lower Control Arm

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4Here you can see thepanhard bar/upper control

arm mount of the 3-link.We unbolted the Galaxie’s9-inch axle and sent it toCurrie enterprises shortly

after this photo was taken.

4The air shocks werealso shot, one more reason

to redo this project’s suspension. We ended upgoing with some bitchin’

double adjustableVariShocks from ChrisAlston’s Chassisworks

that you can check out in this issue.

4Here’s a shot of the twisted lower

control arm, thanksmystery smoker.

Totally TubularBecause big cars like Galaxies are so heavy, astiffer, tubular-type suspension setup is reallyeffective in improving their grip on the road.Under load, especially in a drag racing situation,the stamped steel pieces flex and move, whichcauses wheelhop and slow performances. Thesepieces from Spohn will help the “Snakebarge”launch, and allow us to adjust the alignment ofthe rearend.

A Firm Grip UPGRADING OUR GALAXIE PROJECT WITH SPOHN SUSPENSION

TECH

104 August 2010

The stock bushings werevery worn, the terrible,

ancient air shocks that werein place were wrecked.

We contacted Spohn Performance for the rear suspension for our Galaxie project,since we knew the flimsy factory pieces were not going to cut it with a monsterFE engine soon-to-be under the hood.

TECHA Firm Grip

attended, but maybe when this project is done it willinspire more people to build them and in turn, developa bigger aftermarket, these suspension pieces are agood start.

The 1965-1974 Ford Galaxies are suspended inthe rear using a 3-link rear suspension design that

has a single upper control arm, two lower controlarms, and a panhard rod to keep the rear locatedsquarely under the car. The panhard rod and uppercontrol arm share a mount, which we thought wasinteresting. We asked what Spohn thought of theGalaxie’s 3-link suspension design. “A lot of the oldercars had odd rear suspension setups. The panhardbar on the Galaxie for example is pretty short, abouta third the length of a late model Camaro. I wouldthink it would need a longer one due to the car’s size,but it obviously works. I can say this tubular setup isa lot better than the factory pieces—I’ve hadcustomers tell me it’s a night-and-day difference.We make the panhard bar adjustable so you cansquare up the rearend side-to-side, this is reallyimportant when you change the ride height of thesecars because when you lower them, it will push therear to one side, so you have to be able to shortenthe bar for it to look right and track straight.”

The parts that are available from Spohn for theGalaxie include the adjustable panhard bar, anadjustable rear upper control arm, and adjustablelower control arms. The panhard bar comes in steel,but you can get the control arms in chrome moly forthe weight conscious. g

Spohn Performance, Inc. is located in the farmcountry of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Thecompany was started by a father-son team—Gordonand Steve Spohn- and over the past ten years, theyhave become really well known in the GM F-bodycommunity, but Camaro parts aren’t all that Spohnmakes. A quick look on spohn.net and you can findsuspension kits for GM a-bodies, 2010 Mustangs, andthey even had a setup for our 1966 Galaxie. “Weactually just completed this setup literally three daysbefore you contacted me,” Steve Spohn said. “Acustomer had one and they called me about doingsomething for the Galaxies, I told them to send mestock parts and we put something together for him.I actually thought that would be the only set we’d sell,but we’re actually selling more than we expected, Ijust sent a set to Austria.” It seems these big-bodyGalaxies are a fairly uncommon car to hot rod, judgingby the lack of this body style at the famous FabulousFords Knotts Berry Farm Car Show we recently

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4With the rearend out,we coated everything asatin black finishbefore bolting up the

rearend.

4A few issues ago, CurrieEnterprise built us a killer9-inch using the Galaxie’s

stock housing. With theSpohn components wewere able to finally bolt

it all up. Here is how thesingle upper control

arm bolts in place.

4An adjustable panhard bar is very

important when lowering a car, because you need

to be able to shorted thelength, otherwise the

rearend won’t be squareunder the car.

4Here’s a shot with allthe Spohn pieces

bolted up and the Currie9- inch in place. Next on

the agenda is getting some front brakes so we

can make her a roller onceagain. We’ll keep you

posted here in FSC. Satin Black Finish

Control Arm

UPGRADING OUR GALAXIE PROJECT WITH SPOHN SUSPENSION

Jamco Suspension951.549.1441jamcosuspension.com

Spohn Performance888.265.6064spohn.net

Currie Enterprises714.528.6957currieenterprises.com

S O U R C E

106 August 2010

We make the panhard bar adjustable so you can square up the rearend

side-to-side, this is really important when you change the ride height.

Panhard BarSpohn Pieces

Jamco SpringsTo match the front springs, we called up J.C. Genty at Jamco Suspensionand ordered a set lowering springs, which will sink our Galaxie about1-inch lower than stock.

"We actually offer the perfectspring setup for these cars. The

Galaxie will have a much meanerstance and ride better than it will

on the factory coils." —JC Genty, Jamco Suspensions