I know this isn’t a Panther, but I hope that’s OK.
When the frame rot on my Aero MGM became too severe, I had to face reality. Was a tough decision but ultimately I think I made the right choice. Finding a mint Aero chassis that wasn’t rusted/rotted was an impossible task. I didn’t want to use a newer chassis. The best course of action was to say goodbye to my MGM, and swap the engine and trans into a different vehicle.
I sat on the project until a proper chassis donor turned up- a 79 Mercury Zephyr rolling chassis. It was cheap and basically complete and unmodified except for having no engine or transmission, no drive shaft and parking brake cables cut. Someone removed the carpet at some point, which saved the floor pans.
The Zephyr has the advantage of actually being able to fit in my garage, as the MGM was too long to fit. So I had to rent a bigger garage, and work on the MGM remotely which was a pain in the ass.
I knew that I wanted to use tubular k member and control arms and coil overs, the car was a 6 cylinder auto so the stock k member is not easily converted for v8 use. Car also had a 7.5” rear which would not hold up to the 300rwhp that the engine makes. I knew I wanted disc brakes all around and a 5 lug swap.
Parts installed are from team z racing, I have used their suspension parts on my mustang and had very good results.
Tubular K member, tubular control arms(1” shorter control arms to keep fox track width) 1/4” k member spacers
Strange 10-way adjustable coil overs, offset rack bushings, bump steer kit, 95 mustang spindles, caster/camber plates.
Brakes are aluminum 2 piston 99-04 calipers and 99-04 GT rotors. The cobra brakes are too big to fit under the wheels I want to use, and these cars are light enough that I’m not concerned about stopping power.
Rear suspension consists of double adjustable upper and lower team z rear control arms, 10-way strange shocks and team z drag springs. Also swapped in a 91 mustang 8.8” rear end, cut off the quad shock brackets and had it rebuilt with an auburn diff and 4.10 gears. I used a kit from north race cars to mount 99-04 rear brakes and 5 lug axles. Pic is from a test fit, before the new rear suspension parts were installed.
Here is how the car looked after the new suspension and brakes were installed with the new wheels
When the frame rot on my Aero MGM became too severe, I had to face reality. Was a tough decision but ultimately I think I made the right choice. Finding a mint Aero chassis that wasn’t rusted/rotted was an impossible task. I didn’t want to use a newer chassis. The best course of action was to say goodbye to my MGM, and swap the engine and trans into a different vehicle.
I sat on the project until a proper chassis donor turned up- a 79 Mercury Zephyr rolling chassis. It was cheap and basically complete and unmodified except for having no engine or transmission, no drive shaft and parking brake cables cut. Someone removed the carpet at some point, which saved the floor pans.
The Zephyr has the advantage of actually being able to fit in my garage, as the MGM was too long to fit. So I had to rent a bigger garage, and work on the MGM remotely which was a pain in the ass.
I knew that I wanted to use tubular k member and control arms and coil overs, the car was a 6 cylinder auto so the stock k member is not easily converted for v8 use. Car also had a 7.5” rear which would not hold up to the 300rwhp that the engine makes. I knew I wanted disc brakes all around and a 5 lug swap.
Parts installed are from team z racing, I have used their suspension parts on my mustang and had very good results.
Tubular K member, tubular control arms(1” shorter control arms to keep fox track width) 1/4” k member spacers
Strange 10-way adjustable coil overs, offset rack bushings, bump steer kit, 95 mustang spindles, caster/camber plates.
Brakes are aluminum 2 piston 99-04 calipers and 99-04 GT rotors. The cobra brakes are too big to fit under the wheels I want to use, and these cars are light enough that I’m not concerned about stopping power.
Rear suspension consists of double adjustable upper and lower team z rear control arms, 10-way strange shocks and team z drag springs. Also swapped in a 91 mustang 8.8” rear end, cut off the quad shock brackets and had it rebuilt with an auburn diff and 4.10 gears. I used a kit from north race cars to mount 99-04 rear brakes and 5 lug axles. Pic is from a test fit, before the new rear suspension parts were installed.
Here is how the car looked after the new suspension and brakes were installed with the new wheels
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