Any of you guys with the California rake have any handling issues you did not have before the rake? Mine occationally feels like the back end wants to come around on a downhill right curve. It gets worse with a full tank. Complete suspension is new w/ heavy duty sway bar, btw. As a 16 year old with a '58 Ford I loved to road race, I thought it would be cool to reverse the shackles. My friend's dad told me I'd regret it, it would really screw up the handling. It did. Scared the crap out of me. Less than a week later I put them back. I'm wondering if I've got a bit of that going on. No, my shackles aren't reversed, just 6 leaf Ranchero springs for an added inch in the back, and about 2 1/2 drop in the front
You probably do Texas57......Yes Sir, A Brothers.....No one ever said that Cool looking didn't come at a price. Your dad was right. Switching up suspensions has been a pain in the rear as long as it's been done. Some more dangerous than others. I would keep suspensions "equal" as much as possible.. I drove a '70 Pontiac Catalina that was lowered by torching the springs all around when I worked for Excalibur Motor Cars in West Allis, Wisconsin. I could easily drive through 8 inches of new fallen Snow, but on fresh pavement in the Summer, it would rattle my fillings. That was an old trick to get a car down and I loved the look. Some of my friends were not nearly as fortunate. Their cars appeared tp be moving down the streets sideways because the Spring collapse was uneven. Today, we have far better choices and far improved parts and methods. I would still "rake" my car because that's what I crave, however, I would do it right, with good parts and the skill of others. Anything can be done today. Just get the soundest advice possible and ask for wisdom......Centurion9
My '56 Olds I drove in high school. I used J-bolts to compress 2 coils on the front. This was the only non OT car I ever owned that was raked.
I had a '28 Essex (hemi) and a '57 Olds Holiday Sedan in 1960-63. Both had a Ca. rake. Today I have a '62 Gal. 500XL with a N.D. rake.
Pardon me for going OT, but that, for sure, is one beautiful shoebox! Good looking chopped shoebox coupes are Sooooo rare. Clarkaiser built one of the few, and there is much speculation that it started as a sedan. Was yours originally a coupe? (And I'm guessing it was!)
Thanks. You noticed. And yes, you are right, it was a coupe. Part of the reason why it kills me that it's gone! I bought that car years ago for the chop since I knew I didn't have the balls to try chop one my self. As you seem to know, it's hard to chop a coupe AND have it look right! IMO, a chopped coupe looks better than anything.
Nice!!! Do you still have the buggy suspension? I like the lowness Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My buddy Oz always talks about the California Rake. This is a loose pic, but from a distance my coupe or roadsters try to achieve that stance. I feel "The Kid" in its 1982 suspension update that included the "Fish Products" wheels and the KO's
I found these old pictures today and hope Y'all won't be too hard on me for posting them here. When I got out of the Navy in 1973 I drove this car from Hanford, California to Albany, Georgia picking up a hitchhiker just outside Hanford. We drove straight through only stopping for gas, food and restroom breaks and made the trip in about 28 hours. A week later I loaded up my wife and we drove to Hagerstown, Maryland to see my family. While there I had a friend of my father paint the car rootbeer brown metallic. I also hit the local junkyard and bought a set of Mercedes bucket seats that made the trip home a lot more comfortable I sold the car a couple years later and to this day I wonder if it is still on the road somewhere.
The Jalopy Journal
