I was wondering if the universal lowering block kit you get a Advanced Auto will lower the rear of my 49 chevy?This is a 3" drop kit.Here is a pic. Anyone know of any good threads on here about cutting springs? How many coils should i cut for a 3" drop. Thanks
If you still have the stock rear, then no. '49-'52 Chevies have U-bolts that are squared-off rather than U-shaped. National Chevy Association has what you need. Spendy though. I wouldn't recommend cutting more than 1 1/2 coils in the front.
There were a set of blocks for old chevys in the classifieds a couple of weeks ago. Don't know if they're still there, but it's worth a search.
You need 2 inch wide blocks and for the coils 1 1/2 will be around a 3" drop.I think i got my blocks from chevys of the 40s.They are online and have alot of stuff thats hard to find anywear else.
Related question: If I go to something like a Camaro rearend, will that kit work to install and lower the rearend - assuming you drill a hole for the stock locator pin so the wheels remain in the correct place - ? Fatman also makes a kit for these cars and the lowering blocks in it come made specifically to address that problem, but if I can save a bunch of bucks for the sake of drilling two holes...
Technically no lowering block of that design will work on a 54 or earlier Chevy because the block itself needs to have the offset hole in it, and there isn't any material to put a hole in. For my '53 truck I just got a piece of solid aluminum of the right dimensions and drilled a blind hole in the bottom for the spring bolt to go into, and drilled and tapped a hole in the top side for an allen head bolt which goes into the hole on the rearend perch.
if you cut off the camaro brkts and weld on some new axle pads you are in business. the springs are 1 3/4 wide on your car but you should be able to get away with 2" wide blocks. early jeeps use 1 3/4 springs and 4 wheel supply houses are a good source for 1 3/4 axle pads. i make my own blocks out of square tubing the depth that i want to lower the car for instance a 2x4 piece of tubing and hole saw a 3" c notch in it drill for the axle offset and i am good to go. this way i have a axle pad and a lowering block in one fell swope. "
I've cut a few springs. Its always hard to determine how many to cut so I would cut a coil to a coil in a half at a time.
having lowered a 52 recently, the holes in the block are (as stated earlier) offset. The hole in the top of the block is in the center, the hole in the bottom of the block is about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the way from the end of the block. The blocks listed wont work. I needed 1 and 3/4 wide inch block by 3 inches tall. And I think they were 9" or 9.5" U bolts. if I remember right. DONT QUOTE ME.
I would forget about the block idea and see if you can do something about the shackles at the end of the leaf spring. Change the length of those you can alter the height of the car without screwing up the geometry as bad as you would with a block. When you block a car you change how the axle leverages against the leaf spring. Increase the distance between axle centerline and the leaf and you are going to run into axle wrap during hard acceleration and deceleration. You can see the effects of this easily in the 4X4 realm because they love their lift blocks and they get some bad geometry.
its impossible to have axle/spring wrap with a torque tube.truck arms,4 link type suspensions. as for the shackle deal that might work on a 55 chevy with the spring out side the frame but no help on a 49-54 with the spring under the frame and already only about 1" of clearance.your options are blocks or new dearched springs which by the way have gotten very expensive.
I got a set of posies springs. They were reasonably priced. I didn't think they were low enough so I also used the same type of lowering blocks you have posted. They are wider than the springs but perfect for the Nova rear I'm using. The wheels look centered in the wheel well and it's sits pretty nice. Not sure about the ride yet cause it's not on the road. I'm sure it will be rough. But it's temporary. I'm thinking about using truck arms from a 69 chevy for the rear set up with coil springs etc. That looks like a pretty easy swap and should ride nice.
There isn't any room for that on 49-54s +1 for Posies and blocks. National Chevy and nightprowlers sell the proper block kits.
I just lowered my 49 with 3" blocks from Chev's of the 40's and cut 1.5 coils up front. Seemed to work just fine. I don't think I got a full 3" drop in front though (I forgot to measure before tearing it apart, duh!). It had a slight rake at stock height and now sits perfectly level. Before: After:
The mild drop on your car looks good. Nice looking car by the way. Now you need some wide whites. Cooter
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