Ok, guys. I seem to have found quite a bit of conflicting information related to using the Aerostar springs (CC850) on a 59 Edsel. I have read some folks saw as much as 4" lowering with just those springs. Anyone have any good information on what a guy might see on a 59 Edsel (or Ford with y-block) with those springs? Or, maybe about how much drop might be had if we just chop a coil or so off the stock springs? I know this has been beat to death multiple times, but my kid's Edsel needs a front end alignment soon (like this week after I saw some uneven tire wear), so I want to go ahead and get it dropped prior to the alignment. Thanks for any help. We are looking to get it down about 2" if anyone has a suggestion of what might get us there. Pic for reference after installing 2" blocks in the rear. This is his daily driver and even though he would like it lower, I don't know that it will work once he piles 3 buddies in with him. And, the main reason I would like to consider something like the Aerostars is to get the progressive spring rate to keep it from bottoming as regularly. Did I see someone said that a CC851 was another spring that folks have used? Sorry for all the questions that I could likely answer if I just spent more time searching...
I have a pair of each of those springs Jeff and would donate to your son, but I wonder why NascarDave is not a fan of them.
Yes Jeff, both. Hopefully we hear from Dave on this. No matter what I am happy to contribute to his Edsel.
I had the 850 springs in mine and the car was too low with the 15" tires... out they came. I took 1 coil out of the stock springs and am happy with it.
The look is great, the tires s****ed the wheel wells on anything, even minor bumps. I have 215/75-15 tires up front and the disc conversion may have put them out a bit too. It may be okay with a 14" tire. Or maybe another offset wheel.
I too did the CC850 springs in my 55, don't have great before and after pictures but found two that show the difference on my car. It was 3 to 3 and 1/2 inches lower BUT the after pictures also were after installing a 302 / C4 engine combo that removed about 240 lbs from the front of the car. Would have been lower with the Y-Block / Fordomatic combo. As others have mentioned the progressive spring rate combo creates a completely different ride dynamic, seems much softer over small bumps but okay by me, just different.
Was your disc conversion using Granada or Granada replacement spindles. Much is written about 54-56 using both. The consensus seems to one or the other but not both. Not owning a 57-59 or being on their sites I can’t comment on them. I also have 205/75/15 on the front and 216/75/15 on the rear with 6” wheels and nothing hits or rubs.
Well, picked up the springs from @okiedokie yesterday so will report back once we figure out what we are doing. This car still has the stock drums up front and the y-block, so is a little different than any of the examples here. Thanks for all the input guys! More to come soon.
I have the Aerostars and Versailles spindles on my car and have no issues with rubbing. But I have 6.70x15 tires on it.
Glad yours worked with both. Other Ford sites I’m on always seemed to have some complaints and were looking for solutions to their problem. I know in the 50-60’s we had to live with our lowering or take part of it back which was a lot of work. Different height spindles sure helps today.
Well, after lots of distractions including taking my daughter to the doctor for a prenatal checkup, a haircut, showing Silas how to run a stump grinder at my folks, and a tough ball joint to pop loose on the drivers side, I finally got to put it back on the ground a few minutes ago to see how much it went down. After rolling it back and forth a few times to get the tires sitting right, seems it went down right at 2” so far. It is actually just barely lower in the front than the back, but pretty sure it may be ok for now. Ended up going with Moog CC851 springs which are for an early 90’s Thunderbird rear but happen to be about the same spring rate and diameter as the originals, just a little shorter. We also had CC850’s which are the Aerostar springs many use in mid 50’s Ford’s, but I understand those lower one of these too much. Pic of all three springs for reference. The rusty ones are obviously the originals, the shortest are the Aerostars, and the middle are the Thunderbird that ended up in the car. Still have a few things to do like install the shorter shocks and tighten everything up good, but decided to call it a night since 4 am comes early. Will try to get my buddy that does alignments to do it tomorrow evening. Getting there...
Thanks for posting all the springs. It appears to me an 850 would have caused some problems with your car looking at the clearance at the rear of the fender to your shop surface. Relaxed, the 851 looks to be about 1-1/2” shorter but wound slightly tighter. Most seems to have been written about 850’s used in 55-56’s. For noise control I added urethane spacers on top and after a few days of driving needed to make an adjustment to make my car level by changing one of them. The main thing is your being happy with the look and ride of your car. Thanks for the info.
Thanks and to speak to the isolators, I had bought a set of 1/2” thick isolators to be used for possibly bringing the car back up some if needed. I just wanted to be prepared in case I let it down and it set solid on the bump stops or something. Once we get a chance to drive it and see how it all works, those isolators may still be an option. And, if it settles much, that might also be needed long term. I actually used a set of the same isolators on my brothers 61 Buick and as far as I know, they are still working great. Oh, and the fender is about 6” off the floor as far as height of fender/rocker.
I went with the Aerostars and while I liked the lowered look and the feel, any time I would turn the steering wheel from lock to lock it would rub the fender pretty good. After a few years I decided to put a 1" spacer up top and I am very happy. I have a Y block and I run 225/75/15's radials all the way around. I have quite a bit on my website here: https://www.hotrodreverend.com/blog/categories/suspension But looks like you are well on your way!
One more update on this. I did get the car out and drive it around the neighborhood nearby to see if I ever experienced any rubbing. Seems we are good for now at least until we see how much it might settle. Hoping to get it aligned tomorrow so he can get back to driving it.
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