I have a nice 65 Cuda that I am starting to refresh myself with no real prior experience doing front end work. I've watched alot of videos and I think I understand things well enough. I originally did not want to go to the expense of converting to front discs, but if I go ahead and replace suspension parts, changing to discs doesn't seem like much of a stretch. It looks like I need a front end rebuild kit along with some lower control arm work. I have read about adding a stiffening plate to the lower control arm, I'm just not sure where to stop here. Pivot shaft replacement? Upon close inspection, the bushings on the strut rod are completely disintegrated, so I am sure that I need to replace those along with every other bushing that is beaten up. Is there any reason to replace the strut rod itself? It's not damaged in any way.
From what I can tell, it seems that a new upper control arm, maybe a tubular style with ball joints is a common, smart replacement. Shocks of course, Once you start taking things apart, it seems that you can just keep going and going and adding alot of expense. I'm not afraid to spend some money on my car, but I want to be smart about it too! By the way, the thickish undercoating behind the fenders is peeling away in big chunks. Should I re-spray that as part of my process here?
View attachment 1715101993 Any general rules of thumb guidance for me?
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