hello gents. I've been a hamber for a while, but i'm not sure what the protocall is for the special groups is. so i figure, to be on the safe side i'll introduce myself again. my name 's nick. I'm 27. I live in SW washington, and I have a 1954 customline 4dr, with the 223 ci straigt 6. soon to be a 302, backed up by a 4 speed manual and a 9 in rear from a 77 granada, which I recently picked up for $450 (verry proud of that particular investment). but today i would like to inquire about about suspension. my ride is already droped on 3 in blocks, and aerostar springs. but of course it wouldn't be enough for me. so I have the granada spindals goin in as well, which I hear gets me another 1.5-2" drop up front... still not enough. so I want to bag her, and set 'er in the dirt. I'd like to hear from anyone who's done this. how much did it cost you, whatd you have to modify to achive full drop. and what problems have you encountered if any. I do appreciate the help. and hope to hear from you fellers soon.
Nick , welcome about the best group on the HAMB !. I have a 55 Ford so I am not sure what the difference is between the 2 of them . Something to keep in mind is when you install a 302 I am sure you will be dropping it some more too . Can I ask how low are you looking to get your 54 ? Do you have any pictures for us to see how the car is sitting now . Buy what you have done so far it show be pretty close to the ground now . I am not much on bags due to I don't really care for them but each to his own . I guess you want to be able to drop it on the ground when you park the car , right ? Have you tried a search on the main board to find some information on this yet ? You just might do better there but I am sure there are some that might have some information on this or even have bagged their car . I would still like to see some pictures of your 54 ! If you need any help with the engine swap , many here have done that already so they can tell you what you need to do the 302 swap . I have rebuilt many Ford engines so if you need some help on some cam choices and set ups , please send me a PM and I will be glad to help . Jim
well thanks, retro jim. and yes. i want to be able to park and set her on the ground. in reference to the similarities to our rides. i believe they sit on the same basic ch***is. I'll get some more current pics as soon as I can. but at the moment, with what I've done, I have lots of ground clearance. when shes on pavement, I can shimmy myself under the rear end, and the front has about an inch more. so I can afford to loose a coupple inches all around. my main concern is with the rear end, and weather or not I'm going to need to c-notch the frame rails to get there.
I'm an old-school guy and just can't see bagging to lower a car so that it "lays frame" when it's parked. I know it's the current trend, but I just can't get myself to appreciate it. I just spent the weekend at a Goodguy's event here in Texas and there was lots of "hissing" and "phiffing" as the bagged buggies settled onto their bump stops. Those just aren't "normal" car sounds...at least not where I come from. And everybody who knows which end of their ball cap points forward knows that these "beached" cars can't be driven that way, so what's the point? Yes, I'm old and opinionated, so please don't take this rant personally, 19customline54. It's certainly not intended that way. It's just that a well-engineered conventionally suspended car looks so good, drives so well and is so "real world" that I just don't get why anybody would sacrifice these benefits just to follow a trend that, to me at least, just doesn't make any sense. Okay, rant over. Sorry.
Nice to see another PNW Ford guy, can't wait to see pics of your ride! Especially looking forward to seeing it bagged, it's definitely on my project list sometime down the road. And for the record, I always wear my ball cap with the bill forward.
thanks for the responses guys. i appreciate the ol' skoolers train of thought. but it's a "cool" thing. and I personally think it's "cool" when a sled comes to rest, and the wide whites are tucked up into the wells. I may grow out of that some day. but right now, I dig the hell out of it. and for the record, I don't wear ball caps, they just dont look right on me. besides, I have a rough gravel driveway, and live in a town with poorly mantained roads, and while I like a looooow stance on my rig, I don't like the sound of my undercarage bouncing down the road. so I'll deal with the hissing and pfting.
I understand cool. I was cool...once. Cool rarely follows the rules of good sense, good taste or rationality. Cool is generational, and that's probably its second strongest ***et. Cool is never what used to be, but is always what is. What is cool's greatest characteristic? It changes.
oh hell, just click on this. http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb395/nea1183/customline/customline2.jpg
Nice car! It'll look great slicked off and slammed hard. Four doors seem to be gaining in popularity in recent years, which is a good thing in my opinion.
ive always liked 4doors more. i get alot of sh** for it. but the fact is, in most c***es, theyre longer, and easier to pack your bro's into when you go for a cruise.
Amen to that I love 4 doors. Thought about bagging mine but the cost deterred me. I would have to ball park it but I was looking at around 3-4 grand for bags on all four corners and all of the other parts and pieces. A lot of money just for a cool stance. It is a completely stock 54 4 door. I opted to go for lower front spindles and springs then spend the money some place else.
My 55 is a fordor too . I have alway liked a fordor for the same reason , when someone wants to get in or out in the back , I don't have to crush myself against the steering wheel for the seat to swing up or get out of the car for someone else to crawl into the back seat . I don't like crawling into the back seat either ! Now as for slamming in to the ground and being kool , each to his own but it's not for me either . With that being said , if you want that look you will have to cut your frame up and "C" notch it for the rear end to go up high enough for the car to sit on the ground . There is no other way of doing that either ! Where I live in Pa. these are the worst roads ever and I wouldn't even consider making a low rider around here plus I need room to get into my driveway ! Just my .02 ! Jim
It will take me a while to post pics, but my 54 is bagged, and virtually lays frame, bout a 1/4inch off the ground for a small measure of safety. I have drop spindles in the front to incorporate disc brakes, removed some sections of the inner fender well for clearance, the bags and thats it for the front. For the rear, it is 4linked, with a small C-notch, and a small modification to the trans tunnel to allow for driveshaft clearance.
hey, thanks for all the feed back fellers. I'm going to use granada spindals on the front. and i already have the aerostar coils(which worked awsome btw). but the 3 inch blocks in the rear just arent cutting it. what can I say, I'm a ****er for a low slung beauty. I look forward to seeing your procedure Red Barron. i got the garrage, the crew, and the fabrication skills. but I'd like to c some progress pics if ya got em. plus I got tons of hook ups for parts. and on top of that, I live in an area where there's always an automotive swap meat within 100 mi. so pieceing together a bagging system shouldnt be to tough or expencive for me. but I'm still tossing up between just bagging the rear, or all fours. I suppose I'll decide once the granada spindals are on the front.
Well Nick, if you're lookin to drop it another 1-2", here is what to do. Since i'm a dutchman (cheap), this is a Cheap way to do it, and doesn't mess up the alignment. If your lower A arms are like the 55, 56, and I think they are, there are rivets that hold the outer frame to the spring pocket. After removing the spring, drill, grind or whatever way, get rid of the rivets. Now get some 1" suare aluminum/mild steel stock, 2 per side, and drill holes lined up with the rivet holes. Now sandwich the square stock between the two parts of the A frame. Install grade 8 bolts/nuts, re-install spring and budda boom budda bang, you're done.
thanks parklane. if I want another inch after the granada spindalls. i'll do that. (i already have the whole granada donor car, motor drivetrain, and all)
I'll keep that in mind when i install the spindalls. from what I've heard, after a little ream job, they're a direct swap giveing 1.5 to 2" of drop, and disc brakes. haven't heard any cons yet. do you know something I don't?
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