Cpt.Fred

ok, it's been quite a while since i updated this... i had to work like a mule for the past 3 months, so i didn't really do anything on the car. last weekend i finally found the time to get the superslides under that rear end. one hell of a job, the front bolt on the passenger side leaf spring wasn't going to go anywhere, and after 3 hours of heating and hitting with the BFH (remember those rear brake drums...) i finally got a replacement from a russian GAZ 69 and decided to cut the darn thing off. there were supposed to be new ones in my kit from kanter, but what do you know... there weren't any. the rest was a piece of cake and the new springs fit like a dream. we put a lot of grease on there and heated them for some time to make sure it would spread all over and stop the rusting ( they came rusty and untreated, quite an unpleasant thing for something so expensive). the rear shackles were also new, you can see the pic earlier on this thread, but let me tell you, they don't fit at all. since my old shackles were still completely intact i decided to put new rubber on them and reuse. they're drop forged solid mopar quality from the 40s vs laser cut chinese BS, so what could go wrong... my calculation was that the new springs ride-height-wise would most likely be like my old worn ones, but handle much better. so thought i'd put the 3" blocks back in just for a laugh and see how it looks. having put new springs under a few cars now, i thought it would be higher than before anyway. well, guess again. the old ones were sagged and worn, but not as much as i had imagined. so the outcome with the dropped springs and the blocks is quite brutal...! i had it for a test ride on bumpy roads for about 70 miles and it rides much better than before, the springs do a very good job. of course travel is very limited and sharp bumps cause the axle to hit the exhaust piepes against the floor board, but i doesn't really bottom out to often. i guess if i take out 1" of lowering with different blocks i'm good to go and clear my scrape line. here are some pictures: many here might not like it, but i personally love tail draggers

exactly, coils are uncut. engine is the original 201cui flathead. the coils are very strong, much stronger then the oem parts. they should carry your hemi well, regarding that the flat-six isn't exactly what you'd call a light-weight. stronger shocks and maybe relocating the upper shock mounts to the frame should do the job. they ride very well, and since i have the original shock setup i can still enjoy the ups and downs of the boat trip

Sorry it took so long, i just remembered this and went to the car to take a picture. It doesn't bottom out any more with the moogs, but sure did before. Now it has about 3" of travel before it hits the rubber.

i don't know what should prevent using the aerostar coils, as long as you're running the standart front setup. what i found is they're a little shorter comprared to the oem part, but they make up for it by being a lot stiffer. the material is quite a bit thicker, but i didn't have problems putting them in. i didn't have the oem rubber parts as a replacement, the old ones where shot, so i just put little sleaves made from pieces of bicycle rubber tubes over the last coils. works just fine. are those bielsteins available for the front, too?

thanks, Robert! i've been running cut front coils from a 39 dodge sedan, and i saw the front end of a 39 desoto coupe a couple of years ago, so i guess we're safe to say that they introduced IFS in 39. maybe i mixed it up with the introduction of the l-head six in, what was it, 36? i don't know... but that's what message boards are for always interesting what's under the sheet metal, and the little differences from year to year...

deathbound: thanx for the kind words and new pics, looks good already! how does it ride with the 2 layers taken out of the package? hope it doesn't get all spongy and soft, like before? just kidding. did you take the shortest ones out or just some out of the middle? interesting that you have leaf springs in the front as well, i always thought they started using IFS in 37. since my pockets are quite empty at the moment i think i'll just cut the coils for a start. i don't want to move the lower spring pockets, and the fatman's are quitey pricey as well plus require relocating the upper shock mounts to the frame, if i recall correctly. that still has to wait a little.

Hmmm, doesn't sound like my way to go. I rode the plymouth with cut coils for several thousand miles this year and other than the springs were too weak (the Moogs definately aren't) everything went really fine, no bump steer or anything. So i guess ill just start cutting a half coil and testfit, than maybe cut another half. With a little elbow grease and an impact wrench it's half an hour's work...

No , i didn't. It's held in place by giant rivets and figured it would be smart to leave it as is... or is it?

rear springs are on their way already. didn't have any luck with local shops, i tried some but there wasn't any who could or wanted to deal with the task. front will be lowered some after the springs settled.

40plyrod, i built a dual exhaust that runs through the frame when we did the intake mods and headers. unfortunately i can only use short glasspacks due to the large crossmember in the middle of the frame and the battery sitting under the driver's seat, but it's running very well like this. i still have a hot spot were the tubes cross the rear axle that i have to take care of this winter, and i will have to flatten the tubes a little to prevent the axle from bottoming out against them. here's a picture of the undercarriage showing the routing of the tubes: you can see that the lowest part of the chassis is the rear lower shock mounts and the frame itself: only things scraping are the plaque and sometimes the exhaust tips.

I changed the springs on the front end and put the Ford Aerostar springs in. Here are some before and after pics... Before, sagged old 39 Dodge springs cut one coil: After, brandnew Moog springs: Skywards Ho! I guess i have to start cutting again, this is a little more than i expected... I'll update when i got the rear end done.

Derek, it is my taste for sure, so i'm looking forward to the pics! I got the Aerostar Moog springs for the front with the last container, and Posie's got my rear setup all wrapped up and shipped to the warehouse, so they will be in the next one for sure. If i'm lucky i can mount them before the end of january. can't wait... Don, those are a bit longer than stock, as i gather from the photo. did you do that for a specific reason? The bracing in the center looks like a good idea...

/\ /\ /\ what he said

that's what i did, too, plus a lot of flushing afterwardsthrough the upper radiator hose. citric acid and 80% vinegar is what i used. i left the plugs in since they weren't leaking and i wanted it to stay that way. never had any heat problems anymore

Super nice car! Love it! some side pipe you have there When i saw what you did to that air box... now i know what's missing under my dash guess i have to find me one sooner or later! where did you buy the rubber seal for the cowl vent?

Wow, nice!

i dug these up from the parts stash, i knew they had to be somewhere... yours look a lot better, deathbound! but i looked under my car and these seem to be the right ones for a 40 model. i must have some bushings for the front eyes as well, somewhere...

wow, this thread got some life in it now! i've just returned from a 3000km roundtrip to sweden (A-Bomber's Meeting, pics will follow in another thread), 10 days in the P10 with zero issues and a lot of lowered driving on various road qualities, so this thread is now even more important to me... first of all, traditional or not traditional, my goal with this car according to my personal taste is going as low in the back as possible, because i love tail draggers. personally i think tail draggers are pretty traditional, and because i also love driving the car as much as possible, i have to think about mods that help me achieve my goal. buying new, modified springs for front and back is the first i will do, now that i saw all the pics of the posie springs. i will raise my front end a little more back towards stock height by putting ford aerostar coils in there, the cut 39 dodge springs don't work for me. i will get the posie springs an then add 1 1/2" blocks, see where that gets me. afterwards i will take the dual exhaust out and modify the part that arches the rear axle, that's where my biggest problem is. the axle hits the tubes pretty frequently under load, and they are already touching the floor pan. (to answer the question about the mufflers, the tubes are full split all the way. i'm running full split headers and 2 cherry bombs) frame bump stops are cut down to about 1". when i'm there i have to see what's next. since the car is a true survivor, i don't want to add 4-links or c-notch if avoidable. let's see how far i can go without destroying things. i noticed the drive shaft touched the floor pan once in a while when i was going real low under full load, so... deathbound, thanks a lot for your great documentation an the work you put into sharing the process! that is a great help to me! your car looks great! everyone else, please don't argue! this thread may be a little OT on this forum, but i don't think it's worth fighting over. after all, there are so many different ways a car can be cool and pretty, who's to decide? and it would be boring if they where all the same.

haven't been on the HAMB yet, maybe i get an account there some time... but then again i'd loose too much time in front of the screen that i should spend under the car or in the car... hmm.

big 'n little sound nice... have fun and supply us with pics as you go along! those little old sedans are great! you sure know this one... best, Fred

Sorry to hear you sold the Cambridge, BK! What made you do it? But then again.... the 41 looks to be a GREAT car! I'm looking forward to your build and to more pictures of the car! How many carbs are planned? Best, Fred

Great news, Derek! I'm really curious about how your car sits with the new springs! I will need new shackles, too. The driver side spring is so worn out the shackle hits the frame once in a while, it needs to be replaced immediately as soon as the season is over... Could you order stock shackles or do the Posie's require special ones? As for the mounting plates, i hope this picture helps: both bends are facing down to the ground. man, my car is soooo grimy down there...

thanks for the info, bewillie! sadly, i don't have press available. in addition i don't think rearching would do the job? correct me if i'm wrong, please. first i think my springs maybe "tired" from age, and i cannot imagine rearching gives the weak material back its full strength. second my goal is lowering without blocks, and from what i know that would require shortening the main layer of the spring, and roll new "eyes", which i certainly cannot do on my own here. hence my question about the posie springs, because they would give me both (i hope), fresh material AND lowering without blocks, or at least with just one block. i just took out one block on each side, leaving me with 1 1/2". it doesn't look so nice, but i think when i load the trunk and place a cockeyed buddy in the rear bench seat on the way to the next race that might do the job for now

Hey Derek, thanks a lot in advance! I look forward to the photos, and hope to order the springs for the next container a friend brings over here in october. We ordered dropped springs for a 55 caddillac last year, and they didn't drop the car at all really, so that we had to put blocks back in afterwards, which is pretty annoying for 450-600$, so i thought this time i should ask for someone else's experience first. 1 1/2" blocks are ok, but 3" is kind of scary to look at I've never been to Rottweil, only know the name from the famous dogs, but I've been around Köln (Cologne) and still know some people there. Best, Fred