Building a 29 model A Tudor Sedan. I am using a dropped front axle and split wishbones all typical stuff. With the back of the car sitting a bit higher how do I get the correct fit of the front spring to the cross member? Do I need to cut it loose and re-weld to get a good fit that doesn't twist the spring or shackles while achieving proper caster? A wedge? I know y'all have done it many times and probably in different ways. I'd love to hear your favorites.
You're over thinking it. If the car sits on a normal "hot rod rake, the crossmember will be just fine. There is already a bit of caster built into the stock cross member. You would have to have a pretty extreme rake to necessitate a change
Springs bend as they work, that's what they do. A couple extra degrees at the max isn't going to ruin anything.
No pic's so not 100% sure but if you are concerned about rake it might be that you need to step your ch***is at the rear to allow for levelling adjustment for rake and to prevent the diff hitting the ch***is rails. Take a look at some of the after market ch***is's on offer to help you get your head around it. Good luck with your build and keep posting and/or asking questions...
Set ch***is up at ride height, put angle finder on top of cross member. Match that angle to castor 90 degrees. Castor usually 5 - 10 degrees depending on who you ask. ( I used 7 degrees as that’s what the majority said at the time). I never did this when I built my ch***is originally and after a few test runs the spring was going in directions that I didn’t like, so I tweaked the cross member afterwards rather than put a wedge in it.