Would anyone here happen to have a good under car photo of a good, useable rear leaf spring setup in a 53 Mercury (or similar car) ? By useable, I mean a setup that allows for the rear wheels to be removed, even if the rear is lower than stock. Preferably a pic that shows the shackles, blocks, etc? I did a search, but didnt find anything. If I missed it, please feel free to post a good link. Thanks!
yup, i'm thinking about narrowing a 9 inch, everyone says to use 57 ford or a maverick v8 8 inch, but they are not much narrower, im sure it would work it was not that low but im going low so no way. A 2 wheel drive s10 sounds like it might work at 54.5 width, but im not so keen oh how it would hold up to a torquey big block ford. also i like hubcap selection for 15 wheels so going 14s is a no no, and i also like bigger tires.
merc-o-madness, thanks for your reply. I am running skinny white wall bias plys on 15x6 steel wheels with 4.5 & gm bolt patterns, so an S-10 rear might be a good solution. I am currently on my 3rd failed attempt at a working rear end set up, trying to figure out whether to narrow ( & rebuild) the existing 8 inch, or go a different route. Since high gearing is critical to being able to drive hwy speeds, how high of a gear can I expect to find in an S-10 read end?
I have a 55 Ford sedan which I think is the same as your 53 merc as far as rear suspension. I had the stock springs redone, and put in new bushings and shackle rubbers. I run a 1990 Ranger pickup axle, 3.73 ratio. The axle needs to have the spring pads cut off and new ones welded on the other side. The Ranger has the same bolt pattern as the front hubs. Ranger Super cab from 90 or older will be the same, the small truck had smaller brakes.
The previous rearend was from a 91 ranger. It was a good fit, but too low gears for the 350/350 eng and trans...
i got this info from some where here yah go S 10 REAR END RATIOS IN YOUR GLOVE BOX THERE ARE CODES GM USE'S. TO FIND OUT WHAT GEAR RATIO YOU HAVE HERE THEY ARE: GUR 3.08 RATIO GU6 3.42 RATIO GT4 3.73 RATIO GT5 4.10 RATIO IF THERE IS A G80 AFTER THE GEAR CODE THATS A FACTORY POSI GOV-LOCK CARRIER THESE ARE THE GEARS THAT COME IN 81-04 FACTORY v6 5 speed 2 wd is the best. is and 8.5 blazers jimmmys and s 10s
You do realize that going with such a narrow rear axle as the 2 WD S-10 ***embly you likely will have wheel housing clearance problems. If that is the case, the cure is narrowing the frame rails, narrowing the trunk floor and widening the wheel houses. Major surgery...... Ray
i was just simply suggesting a narrow rear, i never tried to see if it acutually worked for that car, but less then an 1 1/2 inch on each side doesnt sound like it would be a major problem. i can be wrong
After giving this more thought, it is possible that a narrower rear axle, coupled with some custom offset wheels, could make it easier to change a tire/wheel on a lowered car. Usually the brake drum sticks out far enough to cause the wheel to "hang up" on it when it doesn't drop far enough when the car is jacked up. With a narrower rear this could be reduced or eliminated and the decreased offset of a suitable rear wheel could solve the problem without the body mods I mentioned in the earlier post. Ray
yeah i thought about offset wheel to but wasnt sure if that would fix the problem because i usually get hung up on the actual tire and have to deflate it to get it out as of now and im going to lower the car even more so it will even be harder to get out
I have a '53 merc also. MIne is lowered roughly 4". I have the original 15" wheels on it with Firestone 7.10 15s on it. I found it easiest to jack the car up as high as possible and put jack stands in front of the spring and unbolt the shocks and drop the rear end. with a little wiggling they will come out....
Thanks for all the replies, I do appreciate the input. With all the folks here who own / drive / work on 50's Fords & Mercurys, I figured that someone would have a setup that works and is driveable / serviceable. By driveable, I mean, able to get on the highway at proper speed. By servicable, I mean remove a flat tire without having to let all the air out (what good is a spare if I have to let the air out to install it?) at best; or worse yet, be forced to remove or loosen under car suspension components in order to remove a rear wheel. Introducing the possibility (probability) of tearing apart the rear suspension on the side of the road in the middle of the night was ok when I was 25, but I am not looking to put that on my to-do list at age 40. I am also not into the idea of having to call a flat bed wrecker if I were to have a flat... Armchair speculation has got me where I am now, with a Maverick (or similar) 8 inch (which is no good, and at the very least needs to be removed for a rebuild) and lowered Jamco springs, blocks and shackle setup that allows for very little travel, and makes removing the rear wheel impossible (without loosening the u bolts). My previous setup of a Ranger rear with blocks on stock springs was better than what I currently have, with the exception of the 3.7 something-ish gear ratio being too low for good highway speed with my SBC / 350 combo. This setup was lower than the current Jamco setup, but since the springs still had travel (and the drums were smaller) I could still remove the wheels. The stock rearend with the 350/350 was also no good, for the obvious gear ratio issue. If / when I get this car where I can get on the highway AND change a tire (not at the same time) I will post a pic. In the mean time, if whoever has already been able to make this happen with their car can post a pic of their rear suspension, I would love to see it!
Hey Steven. we have a '53 Merc with a Ford 8" installed. I have included a pic of the car and will hint down the ch***is pics from the build and post them a little later. This car has Ford 8" rear, 4" lowered leaf springs and 4" lowering blocks. We did have to modifiy the frame for travel. Our Merc has about 15000 miles on this suspension and drives great.
Give a look at the 8.8" Ford rear axel, such as from a 2000 2 WD Explorer. It has disc brakes, with the shoe type parking brake. Most of them , I believe, came with a 3:55 ratio. I'm using one in my 40 pickup. 4TTRUK
40FordGuy, Just curious what kind of engine / trans you run, and what kind of rpm that translates to for highway driving. Hottweelz - with a 4 inch drop Jamco rear spring, do I understand correctly that no lowering blocks are necessary, and that the shackle would attach inside the c shaped bracket that is connected to the frame? When removing the load from the suspension by lifting the car by the frame, would the shackle come out of the c shaped bracket, moving 180 degrees and allowing the spring to lower itself enough to remove the rear tires?
Before, with stock springs, blocks, 215/75/15 radial tires, ranger rear. No clearance / travel issue, wheels could be removed normally: Curent setup actually rides a little higher, but less travel and wheels can not be removed: I am guessing that when the blocks are gone, and the shackle is mounted inside the c shapped bracket, ride height will be about the same?
Hey Steven. Still huntin' down the pics. We took a ton of pics durring the build and they were all taken with a 35mm. I think we spent more on film and developing then we did on the build. Once we locate the ch***is pics, I will get them scanned and posted for you.
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