christjazz1 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Posted October 11, 2011 Can anyone give me suggestions on lowering my 48 Dodge Club Coupe on the cheap? Thank you, Michael Quote
Don Coatney Posted October 11, 2011 Report Posted October 11, 2011 Let some air out of the tires:rolleyes: Quote
Adam H P15 D30 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Posted October 11, 2011 Hello Michael, There have been several threads on this subject, most recently in the tech archives. I have cut about 1/2 to 3/4 of a coil off the front and some blocks in the rear. Do the coils a little at a time because you can't put it back on. I would not recommend any more than a 2" lowering block in the rear because of the "scrub line" might be too low. Oh and welcome to the forum. Quote
mrwrstory Posted October 11, 2011 Report Posted October 11, 2011 On the cheap is, cut the coils. Be advised the cool factor is inversely proportional to the ride quality. Next option is dropped spindles from Fatman but that very quickly gets costly 'cause,..... why not do disk brakes at the same time. Then, why not do something about the shocks? What you see on my P-15 is both spindles and springs. Quote
YukonJack Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 On the cheap is, cut the coils. Be advised the cool factor is inversely proportional to the ride quality. Next option is dropped spindles from Fatman but that very quickly gets costly 'cause,..... why not do disk brakes at the same time. Then, why not do something about the shocks? What you see on my P-15 is both spindles and springs. What size tires and wheels are you running? Front look pretty narrow, but I like it. Do you have a side view? Quote
Andydodge Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 This is one coil & 2" blocks on the rear with 15x6 & 15x7" rims with 195/75 x 15 & 235/75 x15 Coker Classic radials front & rear........andyd Quote
White Spyder Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 Not quite on the cheap but my long term plan is to replace the springs with air bags. Quote
Robert Horne Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 When I first got my 48, it had low profile tires on 14 inch wheels. 195/65 x 14, 23 inch high. The 15 inch tires I will be using are 26 inch high. Quote
Cpt.Fred Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) if i remember correctly, someone here said that cutting more than 1 1/2 coils should be avoided... maybe someone who was down that road will chime in. i have 3" blocks in the back, but i have the scrape line probem and will get the leafs dropped instead. other than that it rides fine, though my tailpipes hit the ground regulary when i leave the yard or go over speedbumps, but i can live with that and like the sound when the plaque scrapes... it would be nice to get the nose down about 2", so i'll be cutting some coils soon, too. i have 39 dodge springs on the shelf so if i screw up i still have the old ones. Edited October 12, 2011 by Cpt.Fred Quote
greg g Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 Espo sell springs for a 2 inch drop, that are designed for that lenght rather than just hacked off. They aren't that expensive, ( less than 100 per pair) and are relatively easy to change, as when the wheels are fully off the ground there is very little pressure on the front springs, the job can be done without a spring compressor. Some where on this forum there was a thread about R and R front springs. http://www.springsnthings.com/ Quote
deathbound Posted October 13, 2011 Report Posted October 13, 2011 Don't mean to highjack this thread, but has anyone lowered the front of a 38 Plymouth with the tube axle? Thanks, now back to our regularly scheduled program. Quote
james curl Posted October 13, 2011 Report Posted October 13, 2011 You can probably find a dropped tube axle manufacture or some of the people who drop axles can drop yours. You can also move the axle to the top of the spring and C notch the frame for clearance, otherwise there is not much you can do to lower the front of a tube axle car on parallel springs. Quote
mrwrstory Posted October 13, 2011 Report Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Espo sell springs for a 2 inch drop, that are designed for that lenght rather than just hacked off. new 2"springs won't get you much lower than old used stockers. Plus, cutting the coils will yield a little firmer, more comtemporary, ride. Suspension travel will be reduced in either case. Edited October 13, 2011 by mrwrstory Quote
ButchsCoolStuff Posted October 15, 2011 Report Posted October 15, 2011 Don't mean to highjack this thread, but has anyone lowered the front of a 38 Plymouth with the tube axle? Thanks, now back to our regularly scheduled program. Yeah, we been doing this for years, 25yrs as Butch's Rod Shop (1975-1999) and now as Butch's Cool Stuff, still in the Dayton Ohio area. We have just recently introduced a new dropped axle with Forged Ands, along with all attending parts needed. Check it out at www.butchscoolstuff.com and let us know if we can help you! thanks, Butch Quote
deathbound Posted October 16, 2011 Report Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) You can probably find a dropped tube axle manufacture or some of the people who drop axles can drop yours. You can also move the axle to the top of the spring and C notch the frame for clearance, otherwise there is not much you can do to lower the front of a tube axle car on parallel springs. I had thought about moving the front axle to the top of the leafs, but a lot more work involved than changing over to a dropped axle. Like you said, I probably need to find someone to drop my axle. Yeah, we been doing this for years, 25yrs as Butch's Rod Shop (1975-1999) and now as Butch's Cool Stuff, still in the Dayton Ohio area. We have just recently introduced a new dropped axle with Forged Ands, along with all attending parts needed. Check it out at www.butchscoolstuff.com and let us know if we can help you! thanks, Butch Can you link the exact part(s) you're referring to, checked your site & found nothing to lower the front end for a '38 Plymouth with a tube axle. EDIT:found the dropped axles, but they require early Ford spindles or a disc brake conversion (using non-stock Plymouth spindles?). Is there anything that uses the stock Plymouth spindles??? I'm already in the middle of a disc brake conversion w/stock spindles. It also states they are straight, mine is curved, for oil pan clearance I guess. Sorry for thread highjack, but I hope the OP has found the info he was looking for. Edited October 16, 2011 by deathbound Quote
Robert Horne Posted October 16, 2011 Report Posted October 16, 2011 I seen in a Street Rod magazine years ago of using the 38 spindles with the aid of a bearing adapter ring, using aftermarket Mustang II rotors/disk . Quote
ButchsCoolStuff Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 I had thought about moving the front axle to the top of the leafs, but a lot more work involved than changing over to a dropped axle. Like you said, I probably need to find someone to drop my axle.Can you link the exact part(s) you're referring to, checked your site & found nothing to lower the front end for a '38 Plymouth with a tube axle. EDIT:found the dropped axles, but they require early Ford spindles or a disc brake conversion (using non-stock Plymouth spindles?). Is there anything that uses the stock Plymouth spindles??? I'm already in the middle of a disc brake conversion w/stock spindles. It also states they are straight, mine is curved, for oil pan clearance I guess. Sorry for thread highjack, but I hope the OP has found the info he was looking for. Unfortunatley there has never been a dropped axle that uses the early Ply spindles. We have always had axles that use either 49/54 Chev (no longer have these) or early (37/48) Ford Spindles as they are so plentiful. You can install many different disc brake conversion kits on these Ford Spindles. Glad you found them on my site. I don't remember ever seeing one of those old MOPASR tube axles that was dropped. I believe the drop axle guys ONLY do the Forged I-Beam type axles. Hope I have helped, Butch Quote
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