I have heard of moving the lower ball joint to the top of the lower control arm in order to lower the front end and still have suspension travel. I have a 1954 Ford Mainline and I lowered the spring perch in the control arm 2 inches. Love the looks but I have frame hitting issues. Just hoping to start a good descussion. I can post pics but all I did was weld two pieces of 1x1 square stock togther, drilled them and bolted them between the lower pearch and the control arm.
thats one of the ways many have lowerd there cars for along time, most just do 1 inch there though.moving the balljoint from one side to the other. humm what would you gain a 1/16th of an inch? alot of us are using ford aerostar front springs to lower our front ends. thats what i got in mine and i love the ride. alot smoother than the original springs. you will get about 2 inchs with these.
I've heard of that being done, but as I recall there were safety issues. The three bolts were all that held the front end together and this was not considered adequate.
Raising the lower ball joint is a good way to get a bit lower, it suppossedly makes a huge difference in up and down travel of the springs and helps avoid clearance issues with lower arm and frame. Just have to make sure that it is properly reinforced.
Now for hitting the frame can you find a place to mount a bump stop and maybe find a stronger spring at the lower stance that is stiff so you don't bottom out . With 2" of that under the lower "A" arm , are you having any problems with steering or bump steering problems ? I know most only use a 1" bar but haven't heard of anyone using a 2" drop that way yet . Will have to keep that one in mind , I am not a big fan of changing the ball joints around even though that has been done many times . Are you are having any problem with the tire hitting the inner fender at the top ? If that is a problem you can cut the top section off and make new (spacers) sides then weld the top back on . Or remove the inner fender and take some 18 ga sheet metal and make some new ones with just a couple bends . Shouldn't be to awful bad to make one and cut the bottom out to fit . The main problem will be the heater blower motor being in the way but you still should be able to fix that problem out . Wouldn't the Aerostar spring be better to use . They lower the front end very nicely and still give a good spring rate so you won't bottom out . I just get nervous when changing things on the front end of a car too much . There is so much geometry in the front end so everything works just right at all the different angles when driving under normal conditions that when we start changing it I am just not to sure how far is too far ! I would hate to go too far with something and maybe those changes would put too much pressure on something else that could cause very early where out of a critical part and maybe cause some serious problems with the front end . Jim
There isnt any problems with bump steer or anything like that with the 2" spacers on the spring cradle. It drives like a dream even with the original warn out suspension bushings. I have been driving it one way 185 miles to another military post about 8 times and it was great with a 302 T5 combination. I currently dont have the correct tires on it. I am waiting to purchase WWW radials in the summer for the car and I will find out if another problem arises. Just frame bump is the problem. I dont know how old the front shocks are though.
hey man.... i did some drastic front end changes on my 54 to get her low too... there's already been some nay-sayers about what i've done, and don't care to get into that again, but i've had the car on the road for a while already, and have had it on the interstate tached out to the max and still been able to manuver through traffic without problems, i've checked and re-checked to see if i have any cracks or problems with my welds and it's all holding up and strong. i (my friend and i) stepped the lower control arm by cutting it off and putting the edges together again and gusseting it so that i could get a control arm's height reduced on the car stance. that did cause problems with clearance on the frame, i was bottoming out HARD... so i notched the frame and made plate steel puzzle pieces to weld it all back together and box it all back in. there's a thread somewhere where i have some progress photos of what I have done... i will try to find that... i never got around to taking final photos of it after cleaning up the welds, but it will show where i cut and how much around the spring pockets. I also cut a coil and three quarters out of the stock coil springs in the front. overall, i dropped the car about 5" all the way around without purchasing drop spindles, bags or different springs.... the back was easy, 3" blocks and flip the bottom leaf spring.... anyhoo.... that's what i did, if you want the link, i will be happy to get it for you. oh... and just my take on the matter... don't go with the www radials, these cars are made for bi-ply, i run them, drive that car like it's no big deal all the time (when it's not blizzardy) and i've never had a complaint about my bias ply tires.... they do really well with my current setup... (and just to reinforce this, i had radials on it as a roller when i first got the car, and i actually like how it drives much better with my new bias tires, they really seem to help the car track better in my opinion) good luck with it darlin. xoxo denise.
That link would be great. I will try to research it. I am an ol skool man at heart and I just want it low and drivable by my owne hand/tourch/sawzall/welder. I will lay on the floor and try to figure out how to get it low and functional. Kris Denise what size tires are you running on a 5 inch drop in the front?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=10331 the thread is actually in this group.... here's a link on the tires too.. http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/bd6b8fee#/bd6b8fee/36 i'm running the 6-70-15's in coker cl***ic tires, photo b on page 36 xoxo
Hey Doll Kustom , I just checked out your pictures . Damn girl that is the first time I have ever seen a Hot blond all dolled up in heels , nylons and a skirt that looks like she is ready for a night on the town and sitting on a stool sanding a car ! Then the other picture where you are all dressed up and block sanding the top ! I take it someone is taking some sweet pictures of you like that . Very nice touch I must say ! So how much work have you done on the car yourself ? I saw the one where you said you primmer your car and I will say it turned out very nice too ! You just don't strike me the type that would be working on your own car after looking at all the pictures of you posing all over and around your car . I really think it's great to have a lady working on her own car to get it the way she wants it ! Way to go ! Jim
Hey Jim- I have done absolutely everything on my car except the paint. And I even helped tape it after I did all of the body work and prep and primer on my own. I rebuilt the front end and brakes and bearings all on my own and alone in the shop. My friend helped me step my control arms but I notched my own frame for clearance. I also do all the maintenance on my 64 ford 3/4 ton. . . . The photo of me with the DA working on the rear quarters was real. I had just gotten off work and went straight to the shop. I had a deadline on the car since I was moving and would be losing my use of the shop. The one in the black dress and fishnets was taken right after a cruise night and I got amped up to do some more work on the car. I stay busy on my stuff - rain or shine... Skirts or pants. Haha. Xoxo. Thanks Jim!
Denise , way to go ! I have seen a few ladies doing their own work before but not many . You have to be proud of yourself for all that work you did yourself ! It just shows you that if you put your mind to it and learn , you can build your own hotrod ! Jim
Jim! Thanks sweetie! I really appreciate it. I guess I don't want special accolades for being female though. Haha. I just do what I love just like everybody else on here. .
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