cant wait to see the tech by Tuck. I got a more-door in the works that needs a serious height adjustment, unless I get a 2 door before that...the 4 door will them become my "more" parts car for the 2 door.
I used the jamco 3 inch lowered springs on my 50 shoe box and it rides great. When springs settle from riding on then it looks nice and low. Will post picture when I can find it.Kit come with springs shocks and rubber bushings for front sway bar.
this thread is helpful.., i like seeing everyone's point of view. i'm new here, and to the rod / car scene, but i got a 53 ford.., i'm going to cut 1.25 coil in the front and 3 or 4 inch blocks in the back. (pay no attention to how low my profile picture sits.., i'm a photoshop geek)
Im doing front lowering blocks today for my 51. They are a pain, but very worth it and it retains stock ride which is nice. I have done a few sets already, 1 being my 50 Merc and I would never look back. 1 1/2" either 1/4" wall square tube or solid aluminum from any supply store.
Here is my ragtop with the fatman dropped spindels and jamco springs, shocks and sway bars. It's low enough for Michigan roads and the ride is great.
i dropped mine by using the fenton front lowering blocks that were menchoned earlier as well as 4 in blocks rides well but i had to raise the floor!!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6342 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82088
I'm new to this forum so hopefully I won't sound like an idiot but I actually am an idiot so I guess it all works out lol. Have a 50 ford sedan I want to lower but unsure how much trouble the front will be? I bought Aerostar coils with 5821 shocks as well as new king pins. Plan to flip the spindles upside down then switch side to side with new kingpins. Will I need to buy drop steering arms to make this work or can I get by with heating and bending them? If anybody has more knowledge doing this please let me know or any problems I may run into like bushings or alignment issues I would greatly appreciate it!!! I don't have the cash to sink into the jamco spindles and just trying to get it do as cheap as possible but at same time be safe for my family to ride. Also this car belonged to a Vietnam vet that was KIA back in 1968 so I plan on making this car a tribute to him and all the falling brave men and women we lost in Vietnam. Thanks for your response!!!!
Heres mine with one coil cut out of the front and 4" blocks and one leaf removed rear. The front I bottomd out one time on the bump stops. I would like it lower when I get it finished. I might buy new dearched springs and maybe try a half coil more up front.
I don't know if you guys spotted this but this thread was started 8 years ago. Tuck was going to do a "how-to" based on the job I did on my 49 coupe when I flipped the spindle uprights. Don't know if he ever did it. Yeah, there is some heating and bending to do and if you're queasy about this, don't attempt it....too much heat can damage the metal. I also cut 1.5 loops off each front coil, had to heat and bend the steering arms down and heat the ends of them to bend them back up, 180 degrees to the ground. I also mounted a 1.25" trans-am/Z-28 stabilizer bar to the lower control arms. With the heated steering arms [made the arms shorter when bent] and the stiff stabilizer bar, this coupe rode a little stiff [loved it!] and went round corners like a slot car. BTW, I used a SBC in my car..sat the engine up a little higher than most guys to clear the tie rod with the oil pan.....worked great but as low as my car sat, I had to re-do the tranny hump and driveshaft hump for clearance...and a mid 60s comet/fairlane gas tank fixed my rusty trunk floor and with it's side-mounted filler tube, a guy can reuse the original fuel filler, using a custon bent pipe.
Well this is depressing. Seeing as I was the OP on this and reminding me I have had my 50 for 8 years and it still is not done. Crap.
Front, Fatman dropped uprights, steering arms and aerostar coils. Rear, "4 inch blocks and 2 leaves removed from rear spring pack. Your rear axle will hit the frame at this height. Your stock drive shaft tunnel will rub the drive shaft in the rear seat area. The rear shocks are almost level with the ground at this height, I relocated my upper shock mount to correct this and improve the ride. I also installed a C notch in the rear frame in anticipation of air bags, maybe. maybe not.
Theres been a ton of old posts popping back up. Dont feel bad tedster im in the same boat. I chopped mine about three years ago and yanked the engine and trans. I just found the replacement trans a few days ago and cant wait on warm weather to start back on it.
Thanks for the great advise guys! Like I said I'm new to lowering cars and this info was really helpful. I just need to save for the dropped spindles and steering arms. I was hoping I could just buy the steering arms and flip the spindles due to money tight lol. Thanks everybody!!!!
Hey , can anyone tell me the size of the lug that l need to suit my shoebox rear (spring / housing). In Australia we cannot buy blocks to suit '50 Ford. l was hoping to find something that matches. Regards Dave.
Dave- that centering pin- if you're making lowering blocks you can just use a 9/16" bolt and round it off in the grinder- then bolt it into your block before you weld the ends assuming you're using square tubing for the drop- we used to make drop blocks all the time like that-
Lets revive this thread! I got our lowers off and the shock and springs out last night. Only had one cotter pin that gave me a bit of a fit. I cut 1-1/2 coils off and began "splitting" the lower control arms. I was using a cut off wheel, and was worried about getting into the spring plate, when the cut off wheel broke in half, that's when I decided to drill them. I'm going to use a little larger diameter grade 8 bolt than the rivet was and fab my own 1" spacers. I'm of the same state of mind as @50Fraud that the limit is probably is cutting 2 coils, so I may go after 1/2 coil more tonight, our car sat a little high to begin with I think. My original thought was 1-1/2 coils is roughly 3" and I could buy the 3" lowered shocks and do the 1" spacer, yielding a 4" drop. I was going to fab my own rear blocks, but with some of the prices I'm seeing, I may just buy a set, if I don't have material laying around.
I flipped my spindle uprights, set the adjustments in the middle, heated them to bring the camber back to straight up and down and if I remember right, I had to swap the left backing plate to the right side and visa versa. I cut the coils and had to oblong the back hole in the upper control arm mount to bring the alignment back in as ordered by my alignment shop.... Had to heat and bend the steering arms back level with the ground. Car drove and steered like new and I was able to put my foot on the bumper and bounce the crossmember on the ground!
I ended up doing that spindle swap based on your instructions Rocky. I still have the spindles I was going to swap them into a new chassis I have for the Hex. I used a square against the face of the drum to true them up. I thought it worked pretty slick. Cool to see this pop up. I love shoebox fords so much-
Tuck.........I forgot to mention when I heated and leveled the steering arms, it effectively shortened them, giving me faster steering. Much better than the original slow factory steering. I also used a `14" steering wheel to make the steering faster. At first I used bias ply tires and when the car steered so erratically, I took the car back to my alignment guy and bitched about the steering. I told me I was an idiot for running 25 year old hard tires and had me switch to radials....I also grabbed a stabilizer bar from a Z-28/Trans-Am [1.25"!] and ditched the old one so the car cornered almost flat...huge improvement.
The Jalopy Journal
