65/66 Galaxie, how low can you go comfortably on coils ? So it will still ride ok with 4 adults? I know a lot people will say bag it, but I would just like to use drop springs and shocks for now. I see the ones that are readily available are 3 inches at max.
A guitar has 6 strings. A twing to a twang. I'm going to suggest that living in Florida where the roads are flat and smooth as a babies butt that you could rest on the suspension, loose a few pounds of air in the tires to offer some cushion and let the seat springs do the rest for comfort.
The previous owner lowered my ‘65 wagon and I hate it! It makes it real hard to get in and out of! No sure if I like it’s look. But sure don’t like driving down the road looking up at other cars! Not sure how he lowered it, but it’s low! It will,be getting a new set of rear springs soon! Bones
I used Aerostar springs on the front of my 63 and 3” blocks on the rear . it drove great , but firm . I’d post pics but I had some stupid wheels on it
I figure, I haven’t looked under there…..too low! Lol I think he may have heated the coils with a torch, also! Either way it’s getting new ones, to give it a better stance, like my 65 XL! Here’s a shot of the differences in stance! Bones
On my truck with leaf springs on the rear I have been thinking about putting a pair of bags on the back with the level control off a Cadillac with the cad compressor that I saved from one to maintain my static stance when I have anything in the back or tow my small trailer. The Cads use air shocks but the switch works pretty slick and you can adjust the ride height. As far as "how low" Scrub line has a lot to deal with it in some areas and especially around here. The State Patrol here is radical on scrub line, they don't care how low you are as long as they can push you off the road with their cruiser if you are sitting there with four flat tires. My experience says that your local roads and places you go come into play too. Wify isn't going to like it if you have to get out so the car will raise up enough to clear the entrance ramp to a store or cafe. . I got hung up on a grocery store entrance ramp in Bonteful Utah and my family had to get out and that was while going out at a very careful angle. My wife was pretty tiny then but sure wasn't happy about it.
Just remember, the more you lower it, the closer the corners and edge of the open hood get to your head.
IIRC, the rear coils on those were straight with no tapered coils. So do the standard and whack 1 coil off each one, to start.
comfort is relative . when I was building my F1 in the late 90's I was talking to some one about a Volare type front end he said you won't be happy with the ride . I said I drive a lowered Isuzu daily . he said you'll be thrilled . took my brother inlaw someplace in my dropped truck he couldn't believe how good it rode . he drives 3/4 ton lifted 4x4 with big tires. But I am going to say 2 inches & trim the snubbers is going to be hardly noticed ride wise. that's a big car & should ride well as long as the suspension isn't bottoming out. . I would check for tire clearance with the wheels turned with whats on there you may not have a lot of room.I would think 1/2 a coil would be a pretty big bite . I have used a strut spring compressor with the car assembled to cut off the bottom of the coil .last springs I cut took out 1 coil wished I only took out 1/2. if you want it down more you can cut it again . but you can't put it back on without new springs
Might I suggest a call to the local or even a distant spring shop. Not that I know much about that stuff, but what I do know is I worked for McCoys back in the day and those guys humping it in the spring shop out back as we called it, while mostly grunts, a few knew some things. Size of wire, dia. of wrapped coil, coil spacing, tempering. Coil Spring - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics The Physics of Springs | How Manufacturers Understand Spring Design (aimcoil.com) Living in Canada I realize cutting coils is affordable, but really, land of the free and home of the brave surely must have a new more modern solution to that problem. Cutting coils in reality is hap hazard at best for a solution, but it works on some level doesn't it. And while it is a traditional solution, being a handy guy, I dig it, it's hit and miss. Design method, performance investigation and manufacturing process of composite helical springs: A review - ScienceDirect Seems there is a demand for knowledge in this area, who knew. Guess we are sticking with cutting coils for a while. Or are we? Maybe the problem is we look for easy and cutting coils is. But is it better. Maybe find a manufactured coil product and change the mounting. Screw traditional. Personally, I'd seek out the improved edition. Then when I discovered it was in USD and I couldn't afford it, it would be cut the coils. The Canadian way.
I had a nice 65 Galaxie back in the early 70's. With the stock springs it would sometimes bottom out with 6 people in the car so I wouldn't think you would want to go too low. I went the other way and installed station wagon coils in the rear and heavy duty police coils up front. The police coils were a mistake as it rode much rougher after that. However, it did corner much flatter at speed.
Cut a spring and the spring-rate increases. If you know what the OEM spring dimensions are, mainly the OD and coil wire diameter, look up a Moog chart for a more betterer spring. There are simple spring calculators and formulas, plug and chug some numbers. The charts are also based on the # of active springs, so there are only a few key variables.
I had an O/T Viking coil over kit on my '65. The front was looooooow, infact there was way more adjustment than there was travel before the tension rods hit the chassis. Rear was tired old springs and was slammed, i ended up putting towing spacers in the coils as the exhaust ended up dragging the ground.
Hello, There is one fact to remember, any car with 4 teenagers or adults will go lower than the normal stance. Despite the heavy duty shocks and springs, it will still get lower. So, sometimes, depending on who and how many, the car will ride, but stiffly. And, it will be dangerously low or sometimes illegal for safety reasons. The low part of the rims have to be the lowest part of any car. The pipes and gas tank are ones that are usually low. The rule was made for those that blew out a tire and the ensuing scraping was done on the rim/tire and not on a metal part of the car frame or gas tank. In So Cal, we witnessed many times, a car on the side of the road on fire with nothing else wrong. The gas tank must have scrapped and set the explosion to ignite. 1961-62 Many times my 58 Impala was stock height and we never put on low profile tires. But, with the normal cruising around all over So Cal, eventually the shocks and springs take on the brunt of the heavy weight of one to 4 teenagers, let alone sometimes 5 after football practice or an emergency lift to school. Thanks for a great alternate photo, @themoose Jnaki My brother had his first 51 Oldsmobile lowered by cutting the coils (popular at the time) it rode a little rough. Then he added custom side, under the door, chrome lakes pipes and caps. Welded on to the exhaust pipes for some uncapped noise when necessary. But, the first two weeks of super cautious driving around our cruising grounds, they scraped. Then he hit the intersection near our own house going normal speeds and hit the pipes again. He took those off and sold them, dinged up, to a friend whose car was not lowered and he was a happy camper. Now, my brother lowered his Oldsmobile in a slight rake in front and that was sufficient to get pulled over with several teen inside on many cruise nights. Normally, the Oldsmobile was legal height. For the current safety laws, a lift kit gives more options for cruising or going up steep driveways after a day of lowered road trips. The ride quality is up to you. The shocks/springs take the majority of the weight of any car, so my suggestion is to get the system set up that does not include a one time, one stance lowering set up. A 65 Galaxie usually is listed at nearly 4000 lbs. Our Impala was 600 lbs less. The Oldsmobile was also in the 3600 lbs range. YRMV Our friend bought a new 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie hardtop from Mel Burns Ford. He was an avid water skier. He towed his dual wheel trailer with his Howard 18 foot Ford powered ski boat everywhere. Our main memories are especially with the 4 of us, all the way to the Colorado River at the Parker Dam. The boat trailer kept its normal height, but when 4 teenagers got in the hardtop sedan, it was quite lowered. Even though he had ordered heavy duty springs and shocks in his new car. The 51 Oldsmobile was yellow to start and by the time he sold it, it had a Lime Green color. His friend drove it for plenty of years, but at a last conversation (Nearing 80) the former owner had no idea where the lowered Oldsmobile is currently, if it is still around.
Even in "Flat Florida" there are plenty of places to drag the bumpers and exhaust off a too-low longroof. Watched a guy bottom out his new Vette Saturday in Ocala.
Flat is often not at-all flat. My memory tells me that it often rains like hell in Florida. That water has to go somewhere.
The sunshine here can be measured in inches all summer long. I live on the top of a "hill" here but rain water still stands on area roads where drainage is limited. Central Virginia roads are better in my recollection.
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