Technical I think I went too low…40 ford 5 window

Hey Dan, nice looking car, great stance sir! What year was the 47" axle/35" perch width that you used?

 

Nice looking 40, you nailed it!!

 

thanks. I’d say I nailed it once it’s driveable safely and comfortably!

I did some measuring of where it sits now and where I need it to be by jacking it up and measuring from ground to center of fender opening. I think I need to gain about 1” of clearance. 3/4” if I’m living dangerously.

I spoke with posies today. It is a 47” Axle (though he may have said 47 3/4 which I’ll verify next time I call…we were talking about a lot of things in our short call). I am going to try and use a spacer on the spring to get 1/2” or so of lift. I also will try out a slightly smaller tire (500x16) and see where that gets me though I was hopi g to use the 550. Once I do actually nail it as some of ya have suggested, I’ll let y’all know! It’s close to actually being drivable!

I’m looking for 4” wheels too but like alchemy said earlier, I dont think that will get me much but a lot of small tweaks and I should get there soon enough. Thanks for all the help.

 

Are those 600x16 on there now?

 

Sounds like a great plan. A little smaller tire and raise it up and you'll be there with a killer stance.

 

550x16’s now

 

I have a pair of 500/16 Firestones on 16X4s on my '34 if you need me to run a tape measure across them, I would be happy to.

-Abone.

 

Any possibility that you could shim the front sheetmetal (doghouse) 1/4-3/8 upward? Probably not noticeable on that style car. Does it have existing shims that might be missing? Might be the easiest way.

 

@Weedburner 40 ...am wondering if you might have some good advice for this issue, given your world of experience getting the perfect drivable stance.

 

The sheet metal is pretty straight. The only way I see adjusting the fenders higher is by hollowing out the mounting holes a little bit but as I said earlier, a little bit in a lot of places will add up to perfect. I may try body panels down the line.

 

Going with a 1/2 wider wheel with the added width to the inside will make the tread go away from the fender if you have the room inside .going with a narrower wheel will make the sidewalls fatter but wont move the tread away from the fender unless you change the offset in my opinion, I have 15 165's on my 40 I can drive in a circle with the wheels cut without rubbing on flat ground but they are so close if you touch the brakes at all they rub

 

Most of the ideas given have merit but, not all. I wouldn't touch the sheet metal, it's too hard to get it to fit correctly without adjusting it to fix stance. When I did Big Mac 48's sedan, I pulled the Posie spring and rebuilt the original and put it back in, worked much better. Before I would put the 500/16 tires on, I would check the load rating, 40's are kinda heavy. I run real short tires on my delivery and they rub at full lock, which is not a concern to me. If the ride is good, either a spacer between the spring and crossmember will help, or a higher arched spring. I have found the best spring by far is an original that has been cleaned good, had the wear marks smoothed out, painted (or powder coated ever better) and assembled with spring liner. I am also not a fan of reversed eye springs on these cars. You can achieve the same results with a stock spring and have the added safety of the second leaf wrapping around the main leaf. Pulling the wheels in a little, or wider ones, will help as stated because it will pull the tread away from the fender.
Hope this helps.

 

tim troutman, I like the stance and the way the tires fill the wheel wells. Would you please tell me what springs and tire sizes your running? I am working on a 40 convert right now and looking for all the info I can get. Thank You, Dan

 

front is the factory spring with reversed eyes dropped axle F1 brakes unsplit bones with stock steering box 165 15 tires rear is chassis engineering spring kit 2" blocks 57 ford rear with a 1/4 "spacer between the wheel & drum to keep the tires from rubbing inside tires are I believe 235 75 15

 

To use a stock spring, you would need a stock with axle, am I right? @Busmania has a narrow axle I believe. Interesting what you say about the stock spring, Ive gone the Posie weedeater route as well, guess I'll have to see what happens.

 

when I built my car back in 2003 you could buy a dropped axle that would bolt in a stock 40 ford #702-2860 I believe it was a magnum but it is not marked on the receipt it was purchased from speedway. all the other manufactures required a different length spring and wishbone

 

Yes, you would need a stock dimension axle. The Magnum axle was a stock dimension axle (slightly narrowed at the kingpin but not perch pin dimension). This axle is now available from SuperBell.

 

tim troutman Thank You!...Dan

 

Love your car.
@Chris has a 40 coupe that sits perfect with 5.50x16 and 7.00x16. reverse eye and drop axle, stock wheels and drum brakes. No rubbing.
I talked to him about rubbing because I am doing the same to my 39. Same drop and tire size
Check out his build thread
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/new-project-old-hot-rod-1940-ford-deluxe-coupe.1288224/

I will be mounting my tires on my wheels this weekend and dropping it down. Sure hope I don't have the same problem

 

*Warning* - some may cringe! This is not something I would do on a "finished" car, but I used a port-a-power between the frame and fender lip to massage the area between the blue tape. Obviously make sure the fender is completely bolted in. Once it provided enough clearance, I rolled the lip with a 1/4 rod welded in to maintain the shape and provide support. The tires are 26" tall and 6.25" inches wide on a 4" rim. For reference, the bottom of the grill is 5" off the ground at ride height. It does not rub at full lock and it was not moved enough to notice. (BTW - it looks like you have the same crack in the wheel opening as I had when I started)

 

Too low? Jason, you done it right. Stance is RIGHT ON! Case closed. Everyone else. Get lost.

 

Yeah it looks good. 5” chin clearance is kind of crazy! I think mines about 8”.

Anyway, I put a 3/8” spacer in the front spring last night. Driver side rubs ever so slightly but it might be workable. passenger side doesn’t really rub now. It’s very close but no rubbing. Being a patina car, I think the driver side fender has some damage pushing it in ever so slightly making me lose 1/4-1/2” of clearance which in this case is a lot. I have smaller tires on the way and am painting two more rims so I can swap in and out and try various combinations. It’s close. May try and go for that drive around the block this weekend.

looks the same so that’s good. No loss in cool yet though I fear smaller tires will look funny, we’ll see.

 

as per BFX above,...I used a bumper jack and a block of wood to push my fenders out a bit for clearance issues, worked great.
...hey, whatever works....if you're only needing 1/4 - 1/2 inch, this mite do the trick.

 

There is a support strut that goes between the lower front edge of the fender and the frame. If you disconnect it, then pooch the fender out where you need it then reattach and or modify the strut, the fender will stay pooched out and give you the 1/2 inch you are looking for.

Or, you can swap in a narrower I beam and spring which would kind of suck on a "finished" car.

Good luck, -Abone.

 

I'd try to message the left front wheel opening slightly.
Turn the steering wheel. Roll a piece of pipe or tubing between tire and wheel opening at the tight spot?

 

Looks like a reversed wheel?

 

I kinda thought that at first.

 

What’s a reverse wheel (newb here)? I now own 6 ford wheels, all are exactly the same. Bought in 3 batches so I think they are probably normal stock wheels.

 

A slight radiusing of the wheel well would likely be enough to give you sufficient turning radius and less tire rubbing. I remember that was what a high school buddy did in the sixties with his lowered 40, and it does not mess with the stance.

 

Got my 39 on the ground today. 7:00x16 rear and 5:50x16 front. Front has 4" Magnum drop axle and posie reverse eye springs front and rear, stock wheels, stock juice drum brakes front and rear. Very slight rubbing at full lock to the rear portion of the of the front fender. But totally maneuverable in parking lots.
Not sure if that helps you at all