CHEAP and Great Alternative Coil Springs '49 thru '59 Ford and Merc

What size are your tires?

 

Damn , nice going finding a cross refrence on the springs . I need some for my 65 Impala. Nice car man.

 

I just ordered the springs and shocks today. pretty cheap at Auto Zone. Hope to be scraping around town soon. Thanks again for the tip.

 

That's excellent. Thank you.

 

Dude. You rule. Will be lowering my Edsel soon.

 

What year?

My '59 Villager Wagon is waiting to hear how this turns out.

 

good skills, I heard the same for mid 50's Olds with aussie Falcon v8 springs, wouldn't be surprised if they are the same as 69-72 or so Mustang.....

 

59 Ranger 4 door.

 

Me and Bugger lowered his 50 Merc with those springs,last weekend. It lowered the front about 2 1/2 to 3". It rides great now. And looks awesome.

 

Great, I'm looking to drop my '53 Vic and my '52 Merc. Thanks

 

Is the overall height of the Aerostar spring lower than stock ford springs or just a lighter weight coil? Wonder if they would work if you already had those spacer blocks under the spring plate? I have spacers on my 49 but the old springs are sagging on one side. I'm thinking if I use the Aerostars I'll have to remove the blocks right?

 

The overall height is actually shorter on the Aerostar springs. They have the same number of coils if I remember correctly, but they are closer together, which makes them a couple of inches shorter if compared side by side.

 

Thanks a milllion!

 

77 Monte carlo shocks are perfect for this application,, the only thing you have to do is drill new mounting holes 90 degrees from stock holes.

I used them on our Shoebox, fit great, and dont bottom out

 

Anyone going to start selling $150 3" drop springs on eBay and shipping Aerostar springs to the buyers?

 

sure, i guess i'll take one for the team.

 

Maybe I should put one of those ads on Ebay where you bidding in "information that will allow you to lower the front of your 49-59 Ford up to 3 inches" for a fraction of the cost of retail parts."

That thought actually crossed my mind when I first posted this, but it's more fun just to share the info. Of course, that was before I got laid off from my job, so I might need to order some springs and get started!

 

Maybe someone can school me on this...the rockauto specs for stock front shocks are:

stock PN 5751, threaded upper and lower mount
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td><center> Compressed Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">8.500" </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Extended Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">13.750" </td> </tr></tbody></table></td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Travel </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">5.250"</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
the suggested Monroe PN 5821 have a crosspin lower mount and are for front 75-80 skyhawk or a chevy monza 71-70 vega, 75-80 olds starfire, 73-77 pont. aspre, 88 fiero, 76-80 pontiac sunbird all front:
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td><center> Compressed Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">8.000" </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Extended Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">11.750" </td> </tr></tbody></table></td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Travel </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">3.750"</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>and the other suggested 77 monte carlo shocks are crosspin lower mount and PN 5840

<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td><center> Compressed Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">8.750" </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Extended Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">13.250" </td> </tr></tbody></table></td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Travel </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">4.500"</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

I also found a 5829, which is for 80-83 cordova 83-89 5th ave 76-80 aspen 77-89 caravelle
Has the matching size stem mount for '51 Ford

<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td><center> Compressed Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">7.125" </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Extended Length </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">10.750" </td> </tr></tbody></table></td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td> <center> Travel </center></td></tr><tr> <td align="center">3.625"</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
Now I'm looking at the Monroe parts catalog,

and then my head exploded.

I've looked at threads on selecting shocks...it still doesn't make sense...anybody got a suggestion?!?

 

Nevermind, apparently you already saw it.

 

Are the stock spring really all the same on Fords and Mercs 49-59?

 

thanks for the tip cank wait to rebuild the front end

 

So I measured my shocks, and the installed length is 11". If I install the PN 5821 that has the 11.75" extended length, isn't that going to self destruct on my car? That car comes 2800-3000# from the factory, close to the 3100# shoebox.

The monte is 3800# and has 1/4" higher compressed length compared to the Monza shock but 4.5 " of travel, right in the middle between the stock shock and the Monza

Da Tinman told me on his car they ride like a caddy but are stiffer than stock. I'm not surre if his car is lowered but I'd have to think it is. I guess I'm going to get under there and check the compressed and extended lengths tomorrow.

I just wish I knew how to interpret and analyze the shock data.

 

I was wandering the same thing.........

 

Sweet! I'll be doing this to the front of my '50 Merc. Still can't figure out what 143 means...anybody figure out a lowering leaf spring for the back?

 

Most people stick a $20 lowering block in there.

 

143 is gangsta slang for "i love you"

fo sho.

tok

 

Thank you very much you guys.

I just installed a new pair and they fit perfect. This saved me alot of time and I can enjoy my car right away. The height is ok for now but I might add plates at the lower A frames or flip spindles in the future.

 

Installed 'em on what?

 

Looks like he put them on a 50 ford.

What do you mean by "plates at the lower A frame or flip spindles?

 

lowering plates/spacers on lower a arm to lower spring perch...not great for ride...and flipping the spindles, look in tech section theres a great explanation there..need to have a torch to do a little bending to get it to align when you're done but it don't cost nuthin