Maximum Drop

[Nelkor]

I just received my dropped axle from Sid's.  He dropped it 3".  Before I modify the springs (specifically reversing the direction of the eye) I wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts on the maximum drop I can achieve.  I'm running the original size tires.  I appreciate your thoughts.

[The Oil Soup]

With 3" Sid's axle, reversing spring eyes and removing second shortest leaf mine was lowered 6". Not sure if the suspension on the '50 is the same as 53'.

[59bisquik]

When I did mine, I did the 3" dropped axle and bought new stock springs. I did remove one leaf which gave me another 1" or so of drop. With the lower profile tires, I ended up with about 6 total.  

The real issue comes in since it is unknown how worn your original springs are. Unless somebody else has done a pre 54 and can chime in, I would suggest getting new springs with reversed eyes to go with your axle. That should get you between 4-5" of drop total. Then once installed, you can measure the distance between the axle and the bump stops and see if you want any more and can pull a leaf. 

Hopefully, somebody else has done it on the earlier model and might be able to provide some more insight. 

[NiftyFifty]

Not to hijack, but on the topic of leaf springs, anyone used Por 15 on their springs before re-assembly?  I used paint on mine, but it's gone in no time.

[Nelkor]

Thanks for the feedback.  I had planned to get new springs and have the eyes reversed, but didn't want to pull the trigger until I learned from others whether that would be too much.  Sounds like I should be fine.

Thanks again for taking time to post.  

[59bisquik]

Put it together and post up some pics!

 

I hope you liked Sid. I really liked him and recommend him to everyone.

Edited March 1, 2017 by 59bisquik

[Nelkor]

I agree completely. Sid is great to work with and I highly recommend him to anyone. 

One more question: Are you still running the original flathead?  I eventually want to install a 318 and want to make sure I won't run into a clearance issue due to weight. 

Again, appreciate your thoughts and will get picks posted once it's done. 

[59bisquik]

I am running the original flathead currently and have no issues with pan clearance etc.

However, I am working on swapping to a 55 270 Poly V8 and understand it is considerably heavier. I have kept my removed leaf springs in anticipation of the extra weight. But obviously, will not know until I drop her in.

[Nelkor]

Thanks again for the feedback.  By the way, did you install the tie rod blocks from Sid.  I ordered them, but he wasn't sure I would need them.

[59bisquik]

I did need the blocks and you will also need the Ford tie rod ends to go with them. However, our trucks have different steering systems on them. OilSoup would best be able to answer that question since he has the older steering style.

Edited March 2, 2017 by 59bisquik

[The Oil Soup]

I used the dropped tie rod ends from Speedway but I think Sid carries them also. I purchased new springs for the front from 59bisquik's source and made a replacement drag link from a Ford tie rod.

[Nelkor]

Oil Soup - I'm just now returning to my project. I see my current  drag link will not clear the new spring position. Therefore I need to make a solution. 

You mentioned you used a ford tie rod for a new drag link. Do you mind letting me know what model and year you used?  Also do you have any pictures of the end result?  I really appreciate it.

Kory

[The Oil Soup]

I will post photos if I can find them. What I did on the drag link was to drill the tapered hole from the underside of the steering arm about half way in, that way the drag link mounts in from the bottom and is parallel to the tie rod. No bump steer or interference with springs or oil pan. I also removed the second to the smallest leaf in the spring pack.

[The Oil Soup]

You can use a piece of Dom tubing with weld in bungs and lock nuts for the drag link. Also used the shorter jeep shackle, flipped it and raised the forward mount and removed the second shorter leaf to lower the rear axle about 6".

[59bisquik]

Here ya go... I built my own tie rod out of DOM tubing and weld in bungs. I always get my supplies from Ruffstuffspecialties.com

 

[Howser57]

Nelkor, I am dealing with the same challenges as you...I hope you do not mind the additional question on this thread.

Oil Soup, could you post a photo of your drag link? I have the same set up on a 53, and I am making a drag link, but there is not a straight shot from the arm on the steering box to the steering arm on the wheel. I hit the underside of the leaf spring, and there is no room for suspension travel. I have the taper reversed on the steering arm on the wheel, but still not enough clearance. It looks like I need to drop the steering arm on the wheel.

Doug

[The Oil Soup]

Are you using a dropped axle from Sid's, that could be the difference. I did not bend the steering or pitman arms. The first photo is forward of the pass side wheel looking back, second rear of the pass side wheel and last from the pitman arm toward the pass side.

[Howser57]

My misunderstanding, I thought that you had the axle dropped by Sid....yes, my axle has been dropped by Sid...that is the challenge I am trying to overcome.

If you did not have the axle dropped, what was lowered that required the use of the dropped tie rods?

Thanks for your help.....Doug

[The Oil Soup]

I do have the dropped axle from Sid's but I also reversed the spring eyes to lower it another 1"-1.5". Should be a link on here somewhere to do that. You have to reverse the spring eyes and remove the second shortest leaf to get the clearance you need.

Edited June 12, 2017 by The Oil Soup

[Howser57]

OK, sorry for all the questions, but this is very helpful.

I checked out the process to reverse the spring eyes, did you do that yourself? I saw the jig for reversing the main spring, and I can make that up and try it. That would lower the frame and lower the pitman arm compared to the leaf spring. What space did you end up with between the frame rail and the rubber bumper on the top of the axle/spring? Just curious what type of suspension travel you end up with when the spring eyes are reversed, hate to ask for a couple of more photos.

Could I see the space between the frame and leaf spring? And, can you take a photo of the drag link connected to the steering box? I want to ensure that I have the same pitman arm on the steering box.

Thanks again......Doug

[The Oil Soup]

I did reverse the spring eyes myself. The last photo shows the drag link and pitman arm attachment. The space from the rubber  bumper to the underside of the frame is about 1.5", I suppose I could trim off half an inch from the rubber but it doesn't really seem to bottom out. You will also need shorter shocks.

[Nelkor]

Thanks guys for all the pics and suggestions. Appreciate you taking time to post and include the pics. This helps tremendously and will greatly shorten my build out time. 

[Nelkor]

Oil soup, did you use any knuckle inserts for the ford drop tie rods?  If so where did you source them?  Thanks. 

[The Oil Soup]

I'm not sure what you mean by knuckle inserts, if you are talking about the tapered holes drilled in the steering arms I only drilled through them halfway from the underside so a cross view of those holes would be an hourglass shape.

Edited January 20, 2019 by The Oil Soup

[Nelkor]

Thanks for your reply. The dropped tie rod ends I found are smaller diameter then the taper on the. steering arms.  Therefore they don’t seat well. I bought some inserts from sky off road designs that take the taper down in diameter to fit ford tie rod ends but the new tie rod ends still don’t fit snug.