 Before removing the K-member,...  Before removing the K-member, it's probably a good idea to make sure you have something holding up the engine. |
 Compare the Griggs K-member...  Compare the Griggs K-member to the stock one and you get a sense of not only the weight loss, but the strength of the tubular construction. The same holds true with everything about the Griggs' SLA setup. |
 These SLA Mini Towers become...  These SLA Mini Towers become the top mounting position for the coilover shocks and fit onto the framerails in the stock K-member position, no drilling required. The new K-member mounts up directly underneath. |
 I would have liked to have...  I would have liked to have new headers to put on at the time of this installation, but with the airiness of this new K-member, I'm thinking headers aren't going to be much of a problem in a future install. |
 Greg mounts the lower A-arms...  Greg mounts the lower A-arms to the K-member. One thing to note is the quality of craftsmanship in the Griggs product, from the anodized aluminum bushings to the use of Heim joints wherever possible for strength and flexibility. |
At first glance, the Griggs parts are slimmer, sleeker, and a lot more colorful, mostly dressed in Griggs' standard blue anodize. Once you pick up the parts, though, you notice the heft and durability of the equipment-not heavy but strong. The last piece removed is the stock K-member replaced by the new tubular one. The first question that comes to mind is why does Ford use so much metal on a part that can easily be a lot more sparse? Without the use of a Ford engineer, the first thought has to be with cost. It's much easier to stamp out a big piece of tack-welded metal than mandrel-bend tubing and weld it together.
We didn't have access to a scale, but just by comparing the two parts side by side, it's apparent that we lost a reasonable amount of weight in the front end just by replacing the stock K-member. Then came the SLA Mini Towers, the lower A-arms, and the coilover shocks. Once the coilovers were installed, I noticed their positioning in relation to the stock struts. The new setup puts the coilovers in a more upright position over the wheel, which makes a lot of sense in regard to carrying the load of the front end. I also noticed the gaping holes in the engine bay that used to be the upper mounts for the struts. Aesthetically, the holes look a little funky, but I just used them as peepholes to my new suspension. I did joke with Griggs saying they should send along aluminum plates to go over the strut mounting hole-a piece of aluminum with the words "Griggs inside" etched into the top.
DPR's Greg Smith and Shawn Fowler finished up the front by replacing the stock spindles, adding a new steering shaft and tie rod ends, and putting the brakes back together. We're just about finished with the front except for the antiroll bar. Everything so far has mounted into stock positions, but the bar needs to be repositioned a bit, so we'll drill a couple of holes and weld up a mounting point along the front framerails. The antiroll bar will start here and connect to the SLA setup. The ride height and alignment adjustments will be handled once the entire car is together.
Shawn puts the wheels back on the car to make sure the fitment is still good, and then places the car on a drive-up-style lift in preparation for welding on the subframe connectors. You want the suspension fully loaded when welding up the connectors because if you use a frame-mounted lift, there is a chance that once you have the connectors on the car, the chassis could be slightly crooked, making the doors not close correctly or the stance of the car would be off a bit. Using a drive-up lift prevents this from happening.
Greg welds up a crossmember that will hold one end of the torque arm. One thing we noticed was how close this crossmember came to the "H" in the stock midpipe. The torque arm gets mounted with large rubber bushings that will most likely melt down after a while from the heat of the exhaust. Griggs' recommends moving the crossover pipe forward, or installing a good x pipe system, for all the benefits they give.
Finally, before tackling the rear suspension, Greg removes the tailpipes (with all the subtlety of an axe murderer) to make room for the Watts link. He then saws the pipes just past the muffler. Again, this is more out of function than aesthetics, but you do get a nice, deep tone to your exhaust note. Being from California, I already see one possible downside, though. Smog testing facilities usually put tubes over the exhaust pipes when running their test to vent the exhaust outside. The tester is going to have a hard time finding mine now, but I'll deal with that problem later.