I recently purchased a project 55 buick special and wanted to lower it as far as I can. I would love to bag it but my wife would have a major cow when the credit card bill comes in,,, Any suggestions or opoinions on cutting the existing springs or buying lowering springs. I read a few threads on the issue but nobody seems to have pics of their rides lowered with 3" drop springs etc. I wanna get it as low as I can without any major issues, other than bagging it. Any suggestions or info would greatly be appreciated!
Shorter coil springs would be your least expensive/time-consuming option. Either install them yourself, or have the local spring shop do it. With no other mods, you'll be limited in the rear by axle to frame clearance.
no your least expensive/time-consuming is a torch, but you need some one who has done them before cause its tricky............if you heat till it sags you have gone too far , also the rear springs will go inside each other.....but it is the easy way and its rite now
Cut 1 coil off of each spring. I did this to my 54 Buick Special convert and it worked just fine. Sorry I don't have the car anymore and I don't have any pictures. Dropped it a couple inches and stiffened up the ride. A friend of mine with a 56 Special convert put a custom made 1" front roll bar in his and said it made a huge difference in how it handled.
I'd cut the coils, it's safe to start with one- if you're patient. If you cut one and don't like how it sits after it's settled, take another half of a coil. And whatever you do, don't torch the springs.
Another option is dropped uprights for the front from Fat Man and if that is not enough put in a different spring that is lower. This is my plan and then I have a new set of shorter springs for the rear.
2nd the uprights from fatman. i did my 56 special with dropped uprights from Fat Man and they said they were only 2.5inch drop. it's LOW, at least compared to what it was. That's the best way to go. Cutting the front coils can screw up the geometry, especially if you go 3 or 4 inches. If you want a serious drop, with out bags, do a combo of the dropped uprights and a 1 or 2 inch drop on the coils. That will get you a pretty low drop, but your alignment shop wont tell you to pound sand. i'd search around and see if you can find a progressive rate spring from a newer vehicle that's shorter than the stock one. if you can't find one, then i'd use a angle grinder to cut your original spring. just my 2 cents
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