For years, SVO owners were left with costly NOS parts to service their ball joints for an OEM control arm. Follow along in the article below, and we will show you an easy way to get your SVO back on the road.
Produced from 1984 -1986, the Ford SVO Ford Mustang highlighted many unique differences from its V8 counterparts. Some of these included a turbo 2.3L four-cylinder engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a plethora of suspension upgrades, to name a few. With these suspension upgrades came a specific lower front control arm that offered superior geometry and handling characteristics. One of the downfalls of this tubular lower control arm was the cast design and that you cannot service this with a new ball joint As with any front suspension part, these do wear out over the years, and due to the rarity of the SVO, these control arms are no longer reproduced or available as a new item from Ford.
SVO owners for years have been trying to find a solution other than paying an arm and a leg for a NOS part or hoping to source a well-used arm to go back with. Follow along with the info below, and we will walk you through how you can adapt the front control arm from the 94-04 SN chassis to your Mustang SVO.
The OEM-style SN95 front lower control arms offer a few benefits over the outdated SVO control arms, such as serviceable ball joints and mounting bushings. These parts are readily available in the aftermarket community when the need to replace them arises. SVO owners are able to retain the stock Koni struts as well as the stock spindle when using SN95 control arms. However, due to the tapered design of the SVO spindle, you will need to utilize the Maximum Motorsports adapter part number MM-MMFCAB10. These adapters will allow the SN95 ball joint and the SVO spindle to mate without any issues. You can also adapt other aftermarket A-arms as long as they retain the OEM-style lower spring perch.
The SN balljoint will also raise the pivot point of the geometry roughly ½”. This will lower the front-end roll center, which provides improved ride quality and handling. These SN control arms will also relocate the sway bar end link. This will move the end link inboard, which will reduce the effective swaybar rate by approximately 8%. This will help reduce understeer across the board.
One drawback of this swap will be the springs. The factory SVO-specific front springs cannot be used when completing this swap. Due to the higher spring seat location, the SN95 arm will raise the vehicle's front end. LMR.com recommends either going back with a stock Fox Body 79-93 spring or an aftermarket version like a set of the Eibach lowering springs (P/N- EIB-3518) designed for the four-cylinder applications.
The SVO Mustang was first debuted as a prototype in 1982 at an endurance race and later released as a production car from 1984-1986!
Check out LMR's dyno of our popular 1986 SVO Fox Body Mustang! You might be surprised by the results from this Jalapeno Red SVO.
For years, SVO owners were left with costly NOS parts to service their ball joints for an OEM control arm. Follow along in the article below, and we will show you an easy way to get your SVO back on the road.
LMR's 1986 Ford Mustang SVO is a one-of-a-kind vehicle that was only made for three years. Follow along as we take a closer look at our 1986 SVO.
