So ive decided to keep my stock ifs suspension relatively stock. Though id like to have her on a rake with the front end lowered. Ive looked around and cant seem to find a company that sells them. Any help is appreciated.
PLYDO did this the owner past away a few years back I heard his wife was running it but I am not sure of this though. PLYDO Rt.1 Box 277-B Delbarton, WV 25670 304-475-3245 wvplydo@yahoo.co
Plymouth used the same type of king pin suspension until 1955. There is a good possibility that newer spindle supports will drop your suspension. Over the years, as cars got lower, they may have redesigned the suspension lower but kept the same geometry and pins and bushings. In other words, stock parts off a newer Plymouth and Dodge could lower your car a couple of inches. This is speculation on my part but worth looking into.
Do not use plydo... The guy is hit and miss and has a terrible return policy. He will sell you the wrong part, I swear on purpose. I used Fatman fab, and its under their stop drop and roll tech article. I used a brake company outta charllotte for my disk set up.
Thanks. I tried plydo's number and never got an answer and the email adress returned back so.. Ill stick with my stock brakes anyhow, this is a budget build.
It's too bad hearing this about Plydo... I bought a lot of parts off Tom Bryant (R.I.P.) and got plenty of good advice, too. Met a guy once who went there, he saw many parts cars, and old semis full of NOS parts. It would be interesting to hear from someone near Delbarton, WV if there is anything left there.
Recently installed disc brakes on my '39 from ECI, and they are nice but not cheap. They do set the wheels out about a quarter to a half inch, which does'nt help the front end geometry issue. I have also cut one coil out which lowered the front 2 inches, also hurting the geometry. Caster is not adjustable on these cars. BUT there are a couple of answers. One is to make, order or modify wheels so that the rim sets inboard. The original specs call for the center of the rim (width wise) to be centered under the kingpin. If you are using the original wheels, brakes etc., no problem. When you use disc brakes the original rims centers are too small, and later wheels usually have little backspace. The other answer is to lower the back of the car. When my camper is hitched on the back, mine drives nice (weight on the rear). With no weight on back the front wanders on the highway, or if the road is uneven. Radial tires help a lot, but I like the look of bias plys. Hope this helps, not confuses.
Not sure about whats going on with the ECI kit, but I just did Scarbirds disc brake conversion on my 40 and the kit used my original bearing hub and I was able to run my stock wheels.. Look at my build thread for pics..
Doesn't the big nut (like 1 1/4") on the top of the upright at the outer upper control arm set Caster/Camber?
You can get minor adjustment by tweaking the joints here and there, but when you drop the front end you lose positive caster. anythinggm; i've read your build thread and congrats, nice work, nice car! I'm guessing that your using the 16 inch wheels? I don't remember any mention of that, and I'm curious what diameter rotors and what calipers the Scarbirds kit is designed for. When you start driving your car let me know, I'm always interested in hearing about this era Mopars. I have a '40 as well as a '39 and I can tell you they are different animals but also share most parts.
Yes. I am using the stock 16" wheels. I will have to measure the diameter of the rotors for ya. but the kit uses chevy celebrity calipers and ford probe rotors. So far very happy with everything.
Sounds good. Wish I would have known about that kit, I would have checked it out first. What rear and brakes are you using? Along with the ECI fronts I run an 8 3/4 with 11x2 1/2 drums. I tow so I like the big ones. I'll stop on a dime and give you nine cents change.
People use to just make there own dropped spindles before there was a street rodder magazine that brainwashed everyone. Its not that hard ... plus you could build in whatever camber you want.
E body mopar (70 & up Cuda/Challenger) rears set right on your stock springs. You can easily connect the emergency brake cables to the 40 front cable. Have your driveshaft made up and your good to go. You get the same bolt pattern and can still run your stock wheels. A local guy did it, runs 3.23 gears with the stock flathead and says his buddies have to tell him to slow down 'cause he's leaving em in the dust when they're on the hiway! I used a B body rear in mine (road runner etc). It's a little more narrow, but I run a wide wheel (8 1/2 inch)
Yes I know ... Iv seen many old hand made dropped spindles. Like I said not hard to do. You just need an extra pair and some ingenuity.
I actually have a spare front suspension. How would the old timers make their drop spindles this way?
I did discuss this with an old welder at work. I would'nt tackle a welding job like that on my own. The idea is to simply cut off the kingpin boss and raise it up and weld it back on. A lot of caution here! You have to make the cut clean and straight, You need to make a fixture to hold it for welding, You have to put a pin in place of the kingpin to not distort the hole. These are forged or possibly cast, so the parts must be heated up evenly before you start. I did'nt have a spare set to use so I did'nt do it. The welder has since retired. Started to order a set from Fatman but the '39s and '40s have different bushings than '41 and up, so he needed me to send him mine to measure. In a phone call with them they told me that they made a set like these for a '38 desoto, but only made one set. I think I would have made more than one set while I was at it. Don't really like my cars down long. Maybe another day. When the time is right.
I see what your saying but im assuming a guy can do some of his own work but not necessarily all. 1.Using an extra pair your not ruled buy the cut you make you can get a real nice machined fit. 2. Build and weld your own jig / fixture (portable) 3. Do your own fitting and tack them together 4. Put it all in your pickup and have the finish welding done (if not confident in yours) After all .. shops that do make them dont have magical powers they found a way to safely make them. And a big plus is your dealing with forgings here (almost guaranteed) that makes it very doable.
You got it. I do love making my own parts for my cars. As soon as my kids are finished with school, and I can catch my breath, I may do that. But right now I'm happy to be able to jump in hit the pedals and fly her down the road here and there.
The Jalopy Journal
