I know there's tons of threads about dropped uprights and flipping stock up rights but is there a reason people aren't fabbing there own? they are forged so they are weldable and it seems like a lot of money to buy them when they don't look very complicated "with fabricating and welding skills". obviously i understand not everyone can weld and some people aren't on a tight budget so i get why people buy them but im just wondering if there is a reason why people aren't fabbing there own. on the web i found one guy who made his own and really got me thinking about it. I'm really considering doing the same but just looking to see if there's some reason I'm missing on why others haven't done it "besides the ones selling them for big bucks" this is the build i came across that got me thinking... http://www.kustomcoachwerks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7756&start=120
no problem ...if you are a competent fabricator. I 've jigged n welded dropped spindles for mopars.just have to engineer your bump steer n do great welding.
well i admit i am no engineer for this type of thing but i was thinking of making a fixture like in the link. basicly welding a bushing to a plate to keep spindle king pin in place and following the center line of the a arm mounts and moving them up 2.5 inches. does that make sense?
When I was building my 49, I wasn't about to make new uprights when it was so simple to flip the originals. Why reinvent the wheel? A little heat, a flat surface to work from and a big square with a pry bar and BOOM! instant dropped uprights with no fabrication needed.
i didnt plan on going more than the stock flipped amount. ive just read when flipped you can never get geometry right and wont handle good. if it will work flipping, heating, bending, and works with my disc brakes that would be awesome. ive just read a lot of threads people saying not to flip because it never works right.
Welp.......all of us local hotrodders use to send our cars to the same alignment shop because he'd go to the extra effort to align our lowered/modified cars. Jim was ultra picky and if he couldn't bring your car into correct alignment, he'd say so. When I took my 49 ford to him, he said he couldn't get it in alignment unless I slotted the rear mounting hole for the upper control arms 1/4 inch , bringing the pivot point in and back a little, which I did. I took it back to him and he had it in perfect alignment. It should be noted when using dropped uprights or flipped original uprights, the tie rod needs to be lowered as much as the drop. Not a problem. I heated the steering arms and brought 'em down about 3 inches and heated and bent the ends back up parallel with the ground. This also effectively shortens the steering arms, making the steering "faster" but requires a little more effort to steer. With skinny radials, I never noticed any problems. I also tossed the original stabilizer bar and used a 70s Z-28/Trans-am 1.25" bar with home made mounts and links. I wanted my car to be really low and ride firmer than an original shubox so I shortened up the coils a coil and a half, trimmed down the bump stops to about 1/2"-3/4ths inch. My car rode firm, seldom bottomed out, steered like a 'vette, cornered flat and didn't have bump steer or wear tires weird. I'm not trying to sell you on this.........just letting you know what it takes to make it work. I have no experience with disc brakes on this setup and to use original drums, you had to swap backing plates side to side to gain access to the adjuster hole or make the brake line fit or something...don't actually remember why it had to be done..no big deal.
Thanks for the words of wisdom, im glad to here that flipped uprights can be done with sucess. Think ill probably go that route.
The Jalopy Journal
