Heres the situation, I am in the process of getting my wifes 56 chevy looking a lot cooler than it has been. I have just flaked the roof and added some flake scallops. I now want to drop it down some. I know its no great shakes to lower it, but I need to get this all finished before the end of april for the SINS show. What I want to know is how much of a drop on the front can be acheived by cutting the coils and how many coils give a desired drop. I can't go too mad with the drop as its used daily in the summer and we have lots of speed ramps. Maybe about a 3" drop would be good. There must be some of you guys out there who have already done this who could save me a lot of work trial cuttin and fitting my coils until it sat right. Its a 56 four door, with a 265 and is on stock suspension at the moment. Any help would be greatly appreciated Paul.
One and a half coils is my recommendation. It's difficult to guess, but that should give you about 3". One coil is about 2" on tri-fives. Depends also if those are the original coils, or not. Good luck
I usually measure the car at the fender lip and figure how much drop I want. Let's say 2" for example. Then pull the coils out and put them on the bench. Measure the highest point. Then measure down to where you can make a straight cut 1" lower. Cut-off wheel there. For every 1" of height off the spring you should get 2" of car drop. Please guys, I know it's not an exact science. Sometimes I get a bit more and sometimes a bit less but it's usually damn close. The real important part is keeping them even from side to side. Please also note that the car is more than likely a bit higher on one side or the other all the time too. Both before you start and after you are cut. Has to do with alignment and road crown issues. Don't try to cut one side more to even it out. It will probably affect handling. Don't forget to shorten up those tie rods to bring toe back into range.
Thanks for the prompt replies guys. I have stripped out one side and will start cutting/ putting back together tomorrow night. I will post some pics when I get it out of the garage again. Paul.
I remember as a kid, I took my brand new Chevy hardtop to Bill Hines and he crawled under and heated the springs to drop it in the weeds. Rode like a lumber wagon, but I was cool. At no time did his cigar go out. My dad was not happy.
also you might check into shorter shocks .i went to a local parts store and they had an applacation chart tkat told the extened size and the short size and what will interchange . example i had a s10 and i was able to use ford areo star front shocks. be careful taken the springs out they go back in easier show pictures when your done.
Thanks for the advice re the shocks. I have found some that look like they may do the job, just waiting back on dimensions. The ones that I have just taken out have absolutely no damping to them at all !!!! I have made up an internal spring compressor at work today. I should be able to compress the spring with it clamped to the bottom wishbone and then release the tension gradually and nicely controlled
I just bought new springs from Danchuk for mine -- lowered it 2" -- and they "say" that the ride is the same -- but I think it is just a tad stiffer Easy way to do it
New springs are available at your local auto parts store, CarQuest, NAPA, O'Reilly's all sell MOOG. There are many many 50s-60s applications, some even have the rear springs too. The prices are very reasonable and availability is usually that day if you show up in the morning and the warehouse has them in stock, next day if later in the day. Always better to start with NEW springs rather than 50+ year old flattened and worn out originals.
When I lowered my '56, I cut one full coil out. I removed the springs and cut the coil with a chop saw, that way I didn't lose the temper in the spring like you do when you use a torch. Dropped it about 2"-3" and it really looked sweet without affecting the ride.
That's good advice,only he's in England... My suggestion if you cut NEW coils...DO NOT cut more than 1 1/2 coils or you will have problems with "bottoming out" on the snubbers. Also,use a cut-off wheel DO NOT cut them with a torch!!
A friend of mine helped me cut my front coils on my '56. We did one coil, put them back in and it wasn't enough. Cut off another, so now we are at 2 coils cut off, and it was perfect. I think it was around a 3 1/2" to 4" drop. I now have about 1/4 inch between the tops of the rubbers on the lower A-arms and the frame. When you do it, for the hell of it, check the ball joints. If there is any doubt, replace them. My lowers were shot, so it was a good thing we lowered the car. Brian
Here is a shot of my old wagon. About 4" inches up front and 5 1/2" in the rear. No bags, everyday driver at that height.
My springs have 2 coils removed. My snubbers are almost touching, and sometimes they are if the car is parked facing downhill, but it doesn't ride bad for an old Chevy, I've put about 70,000 miles on it like this. 3" blocks in the rear too. I wish it was lower but thats not possible without further modifications or cutting the snubbers and another 1/4 to 1/2 coil.
hey , hope you get your car at the sins car show so i can see it in person and see how you did it , i want to do the same with my 55 4door
Thanks again for all the great advice, just got the drivers side spring out tonight, nice and safely with no issues. I now have the lovely task of changing the control arm bushes. Kustombypook, that wagon is real kool. I have a thing for wagons but unfortunately the good woman hates them, but she does like the sedan, and has her own 1949 Ford Pilot and several british classic bikes, so guess I can't complain really, besides I get away with absolute murder working on cars pretty much when I like. I would have used new springs , but as already stated I am in the uk and shipping would have been a killer and probably taken an age. I have to get the suspension done before I can get the rest of the spraying finished, then I have exhausts to make, and its all got to be done by april 24th. I'd like to plumb up the servo brakes on my pick up before we go too. Nothing like a tight deadline to keep ya on your toes . Rockabennie, yep it will be at the SINS, come over and say hi. There will be the Chevy (which should be metalflake white with Larry watson style metalflake green scallops) and I will be in my 51 F3 (red oxide /rusty patina). Just look for anyone wearing a Cleavers Auto Butchers Jacket/shirt. Paul.
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