Hey y'all been away for a min ( boy has this site changed) I have recently did a granada front end with Aerostar coils in the front and left the springs stock on the back ( rebuilt bushings a leaf or 2 worn/ replaced ... back to norm) BOY it had a pitch!!! looked to much so I put 3 " blocks brought it down to my liking but noticed the wheels were too small ( U bolts and shackle support were 2" below the wheel line.) Me worrying about safety with my 3 lil' rodders in the back , what can I do ?? Opt. #1 Bigger wheels with Shorter tires? I'm concerned about the amount of necessary fabrication ? as i do not want to get to extreme it's not a drag car just a summer daily cruiser. Opt #2 Spring Swap? Is there a rear spring mod i can have a shop do or do myself? I am Amateur at best with fabrication. strictly trial and error. Opt#3 Remove this and press on? is all of this a waste ? ****Please chime in on this**** I know that a lot of you guys have some *****in' fords ! post some photos so I can see what it would look like, check out what can be done tell me if it was a pain in the *** to do or ez breezy. If there is such a thing as an 17"-20" smoothie wheel paste a link: I'm going as traditional as i can with safety and mechanical upgrades 312 with 3x2 4 speed Top Loader and just acquired a 9" out of a 58 ford 12v wiring Seat belts (lap)... Thanks in advance Troy
I don't think what you have is sloppy. It looks like a great place to start. I'm sure Jeff will pipe in and tell you what works. He is the guru on this forum.
This will be a nice looking car. My front end looks a lot like yours, except I've gone Granada disc, stock coil with one coil cut out, as far as the back, I'm running Jamco 2 inch drop springs, but any spring maker can do the same thing, 15 inch wheels and I stay above the wheel line. Not big on 17 or bigger wheels in cl***ics, but to each his own.
Agreed on the 17-20 being too big and out of place on your car..,but jmho ...that's a matter of personal taste. With that said I think your getting ahead of yourself, experimenting with trying to get the ride height nailed down when you have so much weight off the car....that is unless you're copying somebody else's exact set up that you like and that you know will work. By "will work" what I have in mind is the fact that I don't know about how the combination of the Granada spindles and the Aerostar springs work on your vintage. I do know on '57's that combination won't work..it drops the front too much and screws up the steering geometry. I realize you siad "Granada front end"...I ***ume you were talking spindles, and I'm also ***uming said spindles on a '55 lower the car as they do on a '57...a lot of ***uming on my reply
Posie's super slide springs will drop the rear 3" and raise the shackel above your wheel flange. I have granada spindles with aerostar springs in the front and super slides in the rear and my car sits level and 3" lower.
I'm running the exact same setup in my '55 and I honestly don't recall seeing the u bolts sitting below the scrub line. I'm currently running 15" wheels from a 2002 Ford Ranger on 205/75 radial tire. You can see my ride height in my album here. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/albums/1955-ford-kustomline.32796/
I am running a 302/T5/8.8 rear/Granada spindles/Aerostar springs/2" blocks in rear/205-75-15's in my '55. It sits ~3" lower. Borgeson PS kit is a no-brainer to install. I bolted it in 5 minutes with no modifications necessary and the pitman connected up perfectly. Modifying the column was not an issue. I used the original steering wheel and moved it forward about 2". I strongly recommend that you remove the front sheet metal when doing these mods. It makes it very easy to run your brake lines, install PS and get your engine mounts and exhaust right. I used a 289 exhaust manifold on the driver's side. It exits straight out the back and clears the PS box by 1.5-2". Whoohoo! My u-bolts hang down about 2 1/2"... just about the wheel line. I will cut them off after I get some driving time and allow the car to take a final set. The 3x2's look great on your yblock. Everything looks a little sloppy during the build out. Before you know it she will be lookin' good and running fine!
I'm running Aerostar springs up front with Posies Super Slide 3" lowering springs in the rear. I have factory wheels with 215/75/15 Diamond Back II tires. Hope that helps with your decision. photo 2 by Hunter73 posted Mar 30, 2014 at 8:42 AM
I have nothing constructive to add to this thread. Other than Hunter73, your car looks awesome. That is all...
And people make fun of CA cars! It says it was sold, probably to someone who wanted to s**** it just to put it out of it's misery.
At least they kept the tires on the inside of the body. Take a look at what the car-guys did with what appears to be a '52 Ute in the new Mad Max movie. Left hand side behind the bike.
The Jalopy Journal
