i need some ideas...how do i go about cutting the springs on my 60....do i cut two coils or one and one half...you see my delima...i want it so low that i cant even squeeze a pack of smokes under it...if i could get some help that would be great
Just cutting springs is not a real good/safe way of getting a "real low ride" (Unless you've got a DAMN GOOD hook-up on tires) Not to mention it might fuck up your steering, and to go that low you might even have to bend you steering arms...? (when I dropped my ford, I had to go over to manual steering because there wasn't enough room for the "shock") Generally speaking, for every coil you cut out, it lowers the car 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches... So good luck, and don't say the greaseball didn't warn you
greaseball is right about the rate at cutting- I found the easiest way to cut is with a bandsaw- it creates little heat and very clean and easy
well i thought i could heat them but i think that heating them is out of the question because my car is already a boat and i was wanting to cut them to take an easy and safe way out...i appreciate your suggestions. i guess its back to rethinking my strategy on cutting...
Heating Coils Is very bad. It's unsafe for It weakens the metal and the coils end up sagging in an awkward position. Making for a very unsafe ride. Cutting a few wraps out won't hurt anything. although you might have to get a wheel alignment. Camber is whacked out when it's lowered seriously. You will see this on Twin I beam suspensions.. the camber will tweak harshly. But that's another ball park. Think of your exhaust as well.. most of em hang well below the lowest point underneath. Nothing worse then to hit that parking lot and making your exhaust maniolds hate you...I have been carving out speed bumps in my area for 15 years. Just a thought.
i have solved the exhaust problem already...all i need now is a set of lake pipes...im gonna run them down the rocker panels...ill try to post a pic of the car and how horribly high it is...
NEVER I repeat NEVER Heat coil springs to lower a car. I dont know who thought that it would be a good idea to heat springs. You will end up with a fucked up unsafe ride. BAD BAD BAD! As fr as cutting coils. I use a pnuematic cut off wheel. It creates very little heat and makes quick work of the coils. I have not had a problem on my cars with cutting coils. Granted there are better ways to lower a car but when you need it done cheap there is nothing wrong with cut coils. I have cut 2 1/2 coils out of the front of my buick and about 3 out of the rear. If you have the car aligned properly you should not be to hard on tires. I dont know if you have a 60ford or chevy or something else but If ford I lowered my 63 galaxy( Same Chassis) By cutting 2 1/2 Out of the front and putting 3 inch blocks in the rearAnd it sat very low and rode nice and handled a hell of a lot better. Remember that cutting coils is increasing the spring rate so it can take a lot of slop out of a boat of a car. On my buddies 65 caddy we cut 2 3/4 coils out of the front and 3 out of the rear and the car is slammed and rides better than most new cars and will handle better than any 60's muscle car that I know of. All in alll cut coils are ok but remember to use a very good set of shocks and dont use heat. You can always cut more off but it is hard to put coils back on. SLAMIT
my car is a 1960 biscayne now that that is clear my intentions were never to heat the springs i just brought it up bcause i know it can be done thanks for the info slamit the galaxy looks awesome...my 60 is ratrodded so i am definately looking for a cheap way of lowering it....
You know I meant to help out a newbie but I have to say You really should pay attention to what you say. The pic of the car is my 1966 buick skylark. I think that you should maybee research this whole "RatRod" thing that you are going after before you start spouting things off I dont think everyone should know every car apart cause there is a lot I dont know but come on how do you mistake a Galaxie from a Skylark.
hey ill tell you now that i havent been doing the whole hotrod thing very long i got into this simply because i knew a guy that had a shop and i could airbrush so the two stories merge and here i am so i appreciate your politeness i just happened upon all of this so im truly a newbie but i am not going around thinking im big stuff and all...i just want to learn more i know what a ratrod is and the difference from that to the trailer babies that most people build so...before you judge me...you better know me...sorry about the wrong prognosis on the car in the pic i cant know everything from start to finish in only two years in the biz...theres at least a thousand different car types i dont know and your skylark is one of them....in the future dont be a D#@! about things i tried to respect the older people but i cant do that when you spout off things that disrespect me.
goodeye, in the world of HAMB there are a couple MAJOR faux-paz 1) no intro, you get no respect... in real life respect is earned over time. step1 intoduce yourself, end of story 2) hotrod, ratrod, streetrod, customs, prostreet are different..know the difference to understand what fauxpaz means, refer to: www.bartleby.com/68/61/2461.html
You guys should lighten up!!!! Goodeye got into this trade because I asked him to come to MY shop and tinker around with an airbrush. He's an amazing artist and that is all he ever focused on. He had never been exposed to this trade until I asked him to come and hang out with me. I don't want to make this a soap operatic post because he asked a tech question. Not if Jamie likes Billy. Plan 9: He did do an intro in February, so maybe YOU guys should do YOUR homework as well. He's even been registered longer than you. If I don't have a suggestion on a post I don't reply, same with lots of people. Knowing the differences in the styles of kustoms takes time and experience. Baggin on someone when they ask a question will only run them off before they learn that stuff. Slamit: I will say I didn't really pay attention to the pic as well. You talked about a Galaxie not a Skylark; You said you lowered your buick (Buick?), a Galaxie, and a Caddy, it doesn't take rocket science to goof up something like that. With the cosmetics done to your car, it could have been mistaken for a late sixties Galaxie. I'm not trying to stir shit. I am merely defending a friend who got on the tech part of this board to find out a kustom trick to lower his 60 Chebbie. GoodEye: You dork! Next time just call me, I know I'm a dick but I still know what I'm doing. We've talked about not heating the springs before, because of fatigue issues. You can cut the springs, out of the car, with a cut off wheel, sawzall, hacksaw, bandsaw...etc. If you are gonna get on this board, don't be such a stranger. Reverend Jake
Hey rev. First of all a skylark is made by Buick So do your homework Second I was makin a suggestion to the newbie to know what he is talkin about before he makes a fool out of himself on the board. Trust me it is better to be warned than to have germ rip into your shit. There are certain things to know when you get started in this thing we call a hobby or lifestyle for most of us. We are all here to learn.
[ QUOTE ] You guys should lighten up!!!! Goodeye got into this trade because I asked him to come to MY shop and tinker around with an airbrush. He's an amazing artist and that is all he ever focused on. He had never been exposed to this trade until I asked him to come and hang out with me. I don't want to make this a soap operatic post because he asked a tech question. Not if Jamie likes Billy. Plan 9: He did do an intro in February, so maybe YOU guys should do YOUR homework as well. He's even been registered longer than you. If I don't have a suggestion on a post I don't reply, same with lots of people. Knowing the differences in the styles of kustoms takes time and experience. Baggin on someone when they ask a question will only run them off before they learn that stuff. [/ QUOTE ] REV: registration times mean dick, why the hell should they? in fact i dont see a lick of contempt in my post. i DID suggest somethimg useful, do an intro...shit do another if you never post anything. i did check his message history and saw no intro, which led me to believe he was getting flack for not having one. also, iam enlightened...why should i lighten up? when i started out wrenching, it was just me and my friend, when we actually needed help we got flack from our peers...i have learned when you ask for help you accept it whichever way it comes. its the price you pay for being ignorant. [ QUOTE ] GoodEye: You dork! Next time just call me, I know I'm a dick but I still know what I'm doing. We've talked about not heating the springs before, because of fatigue issues. You can cut the springs, out of the car, with a cut off wheel, sawzall, hacksaw, bandsaw...etc. If you are gonna get on this board, don't be such a stranger. [/ QUOTE ] you do that, but keep posting here as well... just take the ribbing and you wont make the mistake again when it really counts. example, you go into a crowd of artists and start talking about shit that is obviously wrong, YOU WILL GET SHAT ON...
ok guys lets just let this die im a fu#$ up and got a picture wrong (some one spank me im 5 years old) please try to get along...thanks for the defence REV i know i shoulda asked you but i just wanted to post it here cause i know these guys (as picky as they are) know their shit....im done
what better place to learn than the HAMB eh? water under the bridge dude.. at least you know how to dip your ride, now do it and post the results
The Jalopy Journal
