hi, i'm back working on my 1951 ford victoria coupe. it will have a 8BA and a 3spd BW OD. i'm lowering the car in the rear using 4" block and was wondering about pinion angle and how to set it. i don't have the engine and trans in yet and the lowering kit did not have any shims or instructions, just blocks and u bolts. i'll be using monroe MA 727 air shocks. any and all info will be great as i have never worked with a shoe box before and i know there are plenty of folks out there that have done this and i welcome your advice. if it helps, i am dropping the front using aerostar springs and the spindle/steering arm kit from shoe box central. thanks
Usually with leaf springs, you don't have to worry about pinion angle if the rear is set up to work at stock height. The pinion angle (relative to the engine/transmission center line) won't change just from adding lower blocks. The U joint angles at each end of the driveshaft will be steeper, but they will still be equal.
^^^^ What Jim said. I have pretty much the same set-up in my 53 (used lowered rear springs) and I set my angles at 3 degrees. Because of the narrow wheel wells, choose your wheel sizes and back space carefully when lowering that much as you can't remove the rear tire unless the shock has enough travel. You also have to go with a different shock set-up in the front, but the Shoebox kit should address that, as well as the Camber kit you will need.
hey thanks for the info guys. so i didn't get the camber kit. i'll take your advice and order one in the morning! cheers!
hey banginoldtin, what would you suggest for tire and wheel size? i know there must be a hundred choices depending what look i'm after but i'd like your opinion thanks
Sorry I missed the post with your question. I am running 225/70 R15 on my 53. Keep in mind that I am also using a Maverick 8" rear which is just slightly narrower than the stock rear. The stock rear is about a half inch wider. The actual tire size will depend on the back spacing of your wheel. I have 15 x 6 rims with 3.5" back spacing (a pretty much centered rim. The camber kit comes with 3/8" thick bolt spacers. I went with 3/4" bolt spacers so I didn't have to use a stack of shims. You may also have to re-thread the ends of your drag links and cut some off so the toe-in will come in with that much drop.
You get into trouble when lowering a rig and the trans yoke gets below the pinion. Once the drive shaft starts going uphill towards the rear things get different.
hey guys thanks for all the help. i've got it all back together and it looks pretty good. i'm trying to load a picture of the angle but can't get my computer to load. i'll post it but in the meantime, thanks for the replies. cheers!
I can't see how you are supporting your car but the weight of the car should be on the axle/springs. Jack stands under the rear axle itself or the car on its tires.
To the moon Alice Let me guess Since it’s lowered / The transmission is negative slope, The drive shaft is positive slope And the pinion you showed is negative slope . Go here https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/pinion-angle-there’s-no-4th-rule.1301685/ You can figure it out
ok thanks. i know i'm not the brightest bulb in the box but, that just confused the heck outa me. think i'll have a cold one and revisit it later.
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