Picked up these spacers a few years back, tried them on my dad's car it didn't work out had camber problems. Now I'm gonna try them on my car, is there some kind of secret to making them work?
They don't do a thing for static lift; they only work on acceleration. They go between the upper ball joint stud and the spindle. They were also OUTLAWED by NHRA as a means of getting lift. The aluminum, triangular shaped, blocks were allowed (went between the upper A-arm and the ball joint), but most were a casting that was weak, and they tended to break through the bolt hole areas. Virtually all these lift kits cause some alignment issues, but they were only being used in a straight line, for an eighth or quarter mile; they were't meant to be used on the street. Heavier springs, or blocking the spring up is what gets static lift; but tends to mess up the ride. The old school stacked/blocked/raised spindles got the front end up without messing up the ride very much, and had the least affect on alignment. There's a guy out of Tx buying tri-five spindles, using them to make the stacked spindles, and sells them on that auction site we all know and love. He even had an ad on the classifieds here. Butch/56sedandelivery.
they will not jack your car they were made so that you could have more suspension travel for better weight transfer with 90/10 shocks the front would stay high for the first part of the track the settle down after you shifted into high or 4th gear
Back in 1969, I had those on a '56 Chevy wagon running a 394 Olds and Hydro. When I launched I got a lot of lift but looked stock at rest.
Well that's some good info guys! Thanks appreciate it! I still might try them out just for the weight transfer benifit.
Ok fella's.. one more little bit of clarification. What's the easiest way to get the front end of a 57 chevy up a solid 6" and still be able to ride in it and go around corners? I may straight axle it, but really love the lifted a arm look for it's really old school originality.
No guarantees but some Chev pickup spindles will interchange with full size car but lift the front 2 or 3 inches. I know about this because guys used to lower their seventies Chev pickups using car spindles. Whether this works on a 57 I don't know but might be worth looking into. i believe first IFS Chev pickup was 67. Taller spindles plus station wagon springs or spring shims used on air conditioned cars should get you where you want to be. Due to leverage you only need to lift the spring less than 1" to get a 2 or 3" lift at the wheel.
I used 63 Chevy full size coils,the aluminum spacers off of Ebay,shock extensions and then added 1/4" shims to get my camber back into a drivable setting. No tire chirping on corners or noticable wear. Had to use shock extensions because the shocks would hit the extended limit and try to pull the front wheels off of the ground.
Hey Ratmotor, You should make that shot your avatar. That one or a better side shot, That looks pretty wicked.
Ball Joint extensions and 409 w/ AC station wagon springs with one coil cut off. Alignment is fine, sits 6" over stock. I used a bolt on 1" wheel spacer to move the wheel out away from the A arm.
The raised spindle approach I believe will widen your wheel stance on the tri-fives. 409 springs without removing a coil will be way too stiff and hard on the lower a-arms. They are also a thicker coil and tough to install. The ball joint spacers alone will not produce static lift but will allow the car to raise during acceleration and you will have to add a spacer to clear the wheel . I would not use those spacers pictured , jmo. Moog makes a #656 spring that is about an inch or so longer than stock , it goes in easy and should give around the 2-3" lift as mentioned. The ultimate way to go is a complete grafting of a straight axle set up but not everyone wants to modify their cars to that level. Just a few pointers that I explored in doing my car. I also am curious on the truck spindle approach......that is new to me.....I would like to hear more on that one too.
Ball joint extensions aren't my favorite way to raise a frontend, but they can work if you're willing to go to heavier springs as mentioned in post #12. On a Tri 5 Chevy you'll also need to remove the bump that's tacked on the end of the frame around the coil spring pocket. It sticks out towars the ball joint and the extension will hit and bind when your suspension is lifted, or on acceleration. This is a major problem with the aluminum spacers cracking after repeated binding at that point. With those large C shaped extensions you'll get much more lift, and they need to be turned to avoid clearance issues. You should mock them up without the coil springs and check travel with a floor jack raising and lowering the suspension until you're sure they clear in both directions. Then reassemble with the springs and you should be good. The longer/heavier springs are fun to getin there! Good luck!
I had bigger springs with the aluminum block type ball joint spacers in mine but the springs I had werent quite tall enough to suit me so I used these adjustable spacers in the springs to raise it some more and they worked great. Im pretty satisfied I could have just used these in the stock 55 springs, along with the ball joint spacers, and they would have worked just as well. You can use these to raise or lower. A little hieght gained in the spring area (even a inch) will result in a lot more of a hieght diffrence at the wheel
I did pretty much what Joe said above on my 55 210. Used Moog 409 wagon springs with one coil cut off. Ball joint extensions and a tall front tire. Car rides fine. I am diligent about adjusting the front brakes. It pulls a bit under hard braking but who cares. Drum brakes. Stops fine. If this link works this is a view of the stance. http://youtu.be/8JKYSL2BCi8
The Jalopy Journal
