Featured Technical 40-41 FORD PICKUP PARALLEL LEAFS

Yep, you have to factor in the motion ratio of the independent front suspension. That is where the difference is.

 

Drugs of most sorts have never done anything good for my cognitive abilities... Brother, we're trying to call you home but you're lost in the fog...

If I hadn't had a helluva day, I'd take a better shot at explaining this but I'm too tired (and have a busy morning tomorrow). A three hour one way trip both ways through Seattle today with each north-south corridor effed-up somehow took it out of me. If clarity hasn't dawned by tomorrow evening, I'll go at it then...

 

I have been there for years , with spinal issues . 4 fused in my neck , 2 herniated in lower back , 3 defined types of arthritis . Hang in there, my Friend . If I lived near you I would be there to lend a hand . About the springs , my thoughts buy the used springs , use one long leaf from used packs to raise the springs in your PU and drive it like you stole it .

 

Just looking around I found some old shops, putting this info out there for others if needed.
https://www.oregonautospring.com/
https://benzspring.com/
https://pohlsprings.com/
https://www.generalspringkc.com/
https://bettsspring.com/
https://saintlouisspring.com/
https://sacspring.com/

 

I love the HAMB but,, For every problem you bring to the board you will get an unbelievable amount of options. Some sound, most not. In this case it's just plain physics. One item (leaf springs) isn't pushing. Place another item in its place (insert coil over spring) that does push, and something is going to move. That's all that needs to be done here. And that is just another HAMB option, your move.
And I'm OUT. I have other work to get done.

 

Sorry about your health problems! Really throws a wrench into doing things. I have the same CE springs and mount on my 37 and haven't had the sag. I didn't change the mounting though and do have blocks under the axle. The longer shackles should help. You could switch the shocks over to air ***ist shocks that allow some ride height adjustment, and just replace your CE shocks.

 

When I was originally building the frame, I noticed the already flattening springs and actually looked into air shocks for the back. I think I posted a question or two in my build thread about their use and opted against the, in the end mainly because they didn't offer them chrome plated which is just rude!

I'll get this handled. If I was feeling better, I would be working instead of typing.

 

Coilovers will accomplish the same thing as air shocks, just without the annoying tendency to leak

 

As the morning dawns and clarity returns I have a better understanding of what you gents are saying about the movement of the front end compared to the rear. I should have given that more thought.

Between my back and my vertigo I am a mess at the moment. I haven't driven a car in 10 weeks and even riding in one makes me nauseous after half an hour or so. It even makes working in the shop a bit dangerous for both myself and my cars. But this will all p*** and I will dive back in on the PU and start implementing the plans we are discussing. The used springs are probably an option, my daughter happens to live on Mt Hood and is coming over for an eggnog on Thanksgiving and watch Christmas Vacation with me (tradition). She can stop by the yard in Sandy and grab the springs through town. I'll take them apart and have a friend sand blast them for me so they are ready to play with. And like I said my new shackles are plated and ready to pick up, my wife will take care of that on her way to the office and drop off the frog mouth scoops from my roadster. The aluminum they were cast from just doesn't hold a polish very long and I am tired of them looking dull and streaky. Chrome cures all. Maybe I should have my ears and spine chromed.

 

Hey Bandit, sorry to hear of your back issues. I have had my share of spine problems and know how painful and frustrating it can be. I have been enjoying this thread. I am not much of a technician/engineer on subjects such as this,so I have kept my mouth shut.
You mentioned you had considered air shocks in your build thread. I probably shared this info with you back then. I have installed these air shocks in two different 38 and 40 sedans with good success. I put them in to adjust ride height when we knew the car would be carrying p***engers in the back seat. It was a cheap and easy fix for that problem but would also help with general ride height issues. The only problem I had with them was maintaining the pressure in the shocks. Those plastic hoses and connectors were hard to seal. Speaking of spell check ,I am completely sober and had to spell maintaining 4 times before spell check would quit flashing it's little red line . Be careful out there in the shop.

 

I installed firestone overload bags on my daily PU along with an onboard compressor, all controlled by an app on my phone. I run around with maybe 10-15 pounds in them, when I trailer my cars, I put about 75-85 pounds in the bag (depending on what car is in there), and it lifts the rear end of the PU 4-6" and adds a ton of support to prevent the trailer from bouncing. They also lose air when the truck sits, I can hear the onboard pump come on when I start the truck but only for a few seconds. If I went to air shocks or overload bags on the 41 I would likely add a pump as well.

 

I used air shocks on the rear of my roadster with great success. They were for a VW.!
I had a five leaf spring for a nice ride, but with a travel load of everything but an engine hoist , it squatted miserably. Would have NO rake. OMG!
Load up the trunk, air them up to get the ride height, and hit the road.
The VW valve rate let it ride nice, whether loaded and aired, or not. Both ends were rubber bushed. And painted the same as underneath the car they looked right at home.
And the Schrader fill valve was in the trunk, so it didn’t show. I used Chevy Suburban air line and fittings.

 

Now that you said that, I actually have a pair of VW airshocks in my stash. They were on my VW dune buggy when I bought it, I removed them and put coil overs on it all the way around. They leaked but likely was that air line.

 

Funny, I recommended the air shocks because I have them on a 67VW!

 

The first C.E. rear suspension kit I used was in the mid 80s and the springs bowed down . I talked to C.E. about this and they said that was normal and they would settle. They did and I still needed lowering blocks to get the rear wheels up into the fenders where they belonged. After about 7 years I sold the car and the rear stance was still in the same place.
I used the same suspension kit on my avatar with the same result with the springs and with 7/8 IN. thick lowering blocks. No change in the rear stance after 6 years. My point is that however you fix the stance , it will stay. I'm sure you'll come up with a good solution.

 

This is encouraging information Joel, thank you. I have been concerned that the springs would continue to fail. Nothing worse than fixing the same issue over and over.

 

I bought a '40 Coupe with around 30,000 miles & it had the CE Rear spring kit installed. Each spring was sagging differently due to the owner's drag racing & Nitrous. I ordered a pair of EATONS lowering springs and the car sat up in the air like it was to run Moonshine! I went to the EATON people at the Nats & told him of the problem & said he could come out of the air-conditioning & look for himself. He did not!
I shipped them back at my expense. They put them in a press & put a bend in the front of the leaf! Redneck re-arch job! Even then, I ended up with a custom lowering blocks & removing a short leaf or two if I recall correctly. Dealing with EATON-buyer beware

 

And this is the issue we are facing as hobbyists, we are forced to play the 1-800 game to get parts for our builds. The lack of machine shops, paint shops and spring shops (with a furnace) leaves us with the internet and shipping expenses. We get parts that are not correct as a result. It is frustrating.

I was talking to Darrel Schroeder (Schroeder Speed and Custom) and he said he heard that Oregon Spring may have jumped the tank a bit early and they are considering reinstalling the furnace. I hope they do, too late to help me but for future builds, I need shops like that. It sounds like these "saggy bottom boys" springs may be done de-arching and I can go about a fix on my truck. I hope so. I do not want to start form scratch and as easy as air shocks sound, I have never been a big fan. I may be changing my mind as I did find the set off my dune buggy and they do have eyelets on both ends and are the right height is seems.

Aint hot rodding fun?

 

""Ain't hot rodding fun?""

I have said several tines in the last few months that maybe its time for a model Train Set.

 

This is most probably causing your problem. Did CE recommend raising the front hangers or is that something you decided to do? They state that the springs will settle approx. 1" after around 500 miles. Maybe in the quest for a low ride without lowering blocks you overdid it. Rebuilding the front hangers at the correct height would be my solution. If you don't want to mess with cutting and welding on the frame, make up drop brackets that can attach to the existing brackets that are bolt-on. Wouldn't be very hard to do.

Just be aware, you will need to drop the front mount by twice what you need at the axle housing.

 

You've got a keen eye sir. Yes, the front and rear mounts were mounted within the frame to lower the truck without the aid of lowering blocks, of which I am not a fan. I can say safely that I did not think the springs would settle as much as they did. If the spring mounts were below the frame, like CE designed them, the springs would have settled, and I would still have some sort of lowering block in there to compensate. I am not without fault here, this is a hot rod and not "off the shelf" as far as these alterations are concerned. Did I over do it? Perhaps.

BYW, this is how Posie's mounts their springs, inside the frame rail, not beneath. They have a spring designed for the installation, I did not. I think the shackles will help, possibly cure. If not, the replacement of one of more springs in the pack should balance the rear end out.

I knew this was going to be low, I knew it from that empty frame picture, I just didn't expect the springs to reverse, that I did not count on. I also thought I could have them fixed by the spring shop when the time came, I erred there as well. I'll fix it, what it will take is not defined yet but it will happen...without lowering blocks.

 

Funny you said that. My older brother's PU needed a new distributor, tune up and oil change so he had it towed over so I could do the repairs. I took care of it for his birthday present, and he said he wanted me to have the train set my uncle p***ed down when we were children. I recall it barely, a Lionel locomotive that puffed smoke (with some additive you dripped in the stack), some cars, a diesel engine, track, switches, transformer, decoupler, trestles, a tunnel and the like. I haven't seen it in 50+ years.

 

Personally, I’d pick up a nice pair of those original springs you found at the yard. Maybe replace the second CE leaf with an original, and maybe add one more of the original leaves. Bolt it back together and see what happens. Probably will need your short shackles back.