ok... I want to lower my 1954 ford customline. found 3" front springs and 3" rear leaf kits but I can't find drop spindals anywhere. I only want to do a 3" drop for now. but I wanted to do a -1" spring and a -2" drop spindal to avoid camber issues. anyone have any advice. will the 3" springs give me camber issues? you'll have to forgive me, I've never done old car suspension before. so any tips are apprciated, if you have a 54 ford kustom or similar, tell me what you've done, and what's worked well, or not so well. post pics too...
hey, my 54 ford is 5 1/2 inches up front and 6 in back. the front has 3 inch dropped springs with 2 1/2 inch dropped granada spindles..but thats with a disc brake conversion. the rear has 2 inch block and 4 inch leafs from jamco....i dont really think its 4 inch but thats what they told me it is. the car rides like **** but looks cool. the only majior problem i have is the front tires rub when you cut the wheel all the way but you get over it quick
Try this company http://www.dropnstop.com/. I used them for my '54 Mainline which is the same suspension as the Customline. I bought their 2 inch drop spindle kit with disk brake conversion. I also cut about a coil and a half off my stock springs. I used a mono leaf and 3 inch block for the rear, I did have to notch the rear and use shorter length shocks. Sorry for the size of the photo, I am resizing challenged.
You can also put a spacer between lower a arms and the plate that forms the spring pocket. This lowers the car with little alignment issues. You can make it yourself or buy the kit from Night Prowlers or other custom supply houses.
Heat or cut the coils, if you don't have any adjustment in the top or bottom control arms to adjust your camber, just heat the spindle to where its level with the road. May sound kind of neanderthal, but if it worked back in the day, it still works now.
Someone posted recently about using replacement Ford Aerostar front springs to get a 2 1/2" drop and they're only like $60 Way cheaper than buying drop springs. That's what I'm going to put in my '53 when I get around to it.
If you want front disc brakes the spindles from a late 70's Granada's will bolt on with very little modification. They will also lower the front end about 2 1/2" if machined correctly. Save your money, this is what Drop-n-Stop sells.
That is good to know, thanks for the link. Since I am using the dropnstop dropped spindles. I think it drops ~3" off the bat. Would those Aerostar springs put me on the ground? I have the stock springs on my 54 and have not decided what to do since I don't know what non sagging 3 inch lower stock springs would cause my car to sit at with the current dropped spindles. I want to keep my car driveable...even though I need to address my 3 inch blocks in the rear regarding my scrub line (at this juncture I am debating air bags or full spring swap outs).
The Car will never sit on the ground without a z in the frame or without some front end surgury. I already put the Aerostar spring(93 2 wheel drive) and it looks alot better plus the 3 inch blocks out back. Getting ready to c notch the rear frame and put some love up front from another ride and then bag it all around-Gabe
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