lowering my 40... HELP!

[Cpt.Fred]

i have now looked at the drawings of my front end and the rest of the chassis

for quite some time, and i have been googling around and measuring the tires and reading a lot about other car's chassis... but i still haven't figured out the best way to get my car as close to the ground as possible at a resonable price.

what do you think, how do i do this? what do i need? blocks, dropped spindles, short spirals, what about the shocks.... help! since i am doing an axle rebuild anyway i don't want to buy everything twice...

[Andydodge]

On my rodded 1940 Dodge sedan I've got 14" wheels, mid 50's Ford front coils instead of the original Dodge coils and a Poly V8 that together have dropped it a couple of inches, the rear has a later diff with 1" blocks & 15" rims....... the 1941 Plymouth Coupe has had 3/4's of one coil off the front which has dropped it 2" and has 2" blocks on the rear and it is getting 15 x6/7" rims all round in the next few weeks to drop it another inch at least(its running 6.00 x 16 tyres at present).......andyd

[Cpt.Fred]

i have it running on 6.00"x16" and i already bought new WWs, so i want to keep it that way. besides i like those when they sit deep inside the wheel housing.

what about your steering, does everything work correctly although you cut the front springs? i heard about problems with the geometrics here.

i want to go as low as possible without frame mods.

[james curl]

Rod and Custom did an article on installing FatMan dropped uprights on a 50 Plymouth stationwagon. You should be able to Google their site and search for the article. It was discussed on this site also.

[Cpt.Fred]

i have read that one as well, but i was wondering if you absolutely have to do it this way. this looks like a major operation to me with the new upper shock mounts welded in and everything... pretty expensive, too, i bet. nice work there, though.

[james curl]

In the old days they just welded a strap on both sides of the lower pivot point that would give them the drop they wanted then drilled new upright mounting holes into the straps to locate the upright lower pivot joint. Then they made a spacer block the same dimension as the upright extension and placed it under the upper "A" arm raising it the same amount as the drop. People used to heat and bend the steering arms which I think is a bad idea, you could reverese the arms left to right as Fatman does. If you can find the adds that used to appear in the early 50s Hot Rod mag.,they use to sell a kit of spacers that bolted in for this purpose.

[Frank Elder]

Members here have lowered their cars with blocks in the back and cut the front springs 1 to 1 1/2 coils. You might want to check and see the condition of your original springs first tho as they might already have sagged and settled beyond modifications. Don C. and Aero have both have pictures and good tech to go along with their experiences:)on bad spring rates.

[martybose]

i have read that one as well, but i was wondering if you absolutely have to do it this way. this looks like a major operation to me with the new upper shock mounts welded in and everything... pretty expensive, too, i bet. nice work there, though.

You don't have to put on the new shock mounts, although having done so I would recommend it. The gotcha in the Fatman spindles is that you have to convert to front disk brakes to use them. I managed to install mine with stock drums, but it took a lot of unexpected work and leaves you with a much larger turning circle; not advised at all!!

Marty

[Cpt.Fred]

good to know, i want to keep the drums as well. after all, it's a cruiser to me,

i dont want to race it, so a well tuned drum setup is all i need.

i thought about maybe getting a pair new springs produced, should be possible under 400$ and would solve more than one problem.

i heard about tire "grinding" and bumpsteering though, thats why i asked about cutting the front springs up. i guess i can't get 4" without spending a little more money and work on the chassis...

i lowered my 69 opel over 4" just with shortened springs, but that seems impossible here.

[claybill]

lots of possibilitie..too many

just cut one coil off the spring..and you are good to go. no steering problems, no money problems,,,,,,

bill

[PatS....]

i have read that one as well, but i was wondering if you absolutely have to do it this way. this looks like a major operation to me with the new upper shock mounts welded in and everything... pretty expensive, too, i bet. nice work there, though.

It's no more major operation than anything else that would lower your car, the shock mounts are a snap (well, relatively speaking)

The advantage of doing it this way is all the components still operate as designed and the safety, reliability and comfort are not compromised.

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/135_0501_1951_plymouth_suburban_wagon/index.html

[Normspeed]

I cut 1/2 coil out of the front and got just under 2" drop on my 53. 3/4 coil would have been good, but at that point the front suspension is pretty close to just riding on the snubber cushions. I had a shop do a thorough alignment and it handles great. I intend to add Olddaddy's shock relocation kit soon, she still floats a bit on the freeway.

Rears I used lowering blocks, with air shocks for carrying heavier loads.

[Andydodge]

Fred, there are a few ways you can go to drop the mopar front end.......cut 1/2 to one coil off the coil springs will lower the car around 2", tho' the ride will be a bit firmer, another way is to get new lower coil springs made up, another way is to relocate the actual coil spring pocket on the lower A arm from the upper side to the lower side of the A arm, this will drop the front end maybe 1.5 inches, another way would be to use the Fatman spindles which lower the car a couple of inches, also smaller diameter tyres, ie 15 or 14" will drop the car.........and like I did, the weight of a V8 also helped to lower it some........I intend to get some proper lowered coils made up once I get a few things sorted but will wait till the 15" rims & tyres are on and see what it looks like then........andyd

[Frank Elder]

Eaton springs will make coils that are shorter and still carry your load.

[Cpt.Fred]

thanks for all your tips!

just been there again, had a look at the car. i guess it will be the best to cut a little off the front springs, like you said, and then see where it gets me. maybe a little more... step by step. i am going to order blocks in the us, i am now lower in the front than in the back, and i don't like this at all! that's more of a 60s look, doesn't go well with a 40 body i think.

now if you all who cut your springs don't have steering problems, i am going to do that as well. i'll send my old ones to a shop to make new ones just like those, but shorter and with more stiffness (or what is that called... ).

i'll send you some photos when i'm done!

here's what it looks like now: