Dropped I beam ride characteristics...... let's talk cars

I am broke so now is when I do all of my planning/dreaming.
Wondering who has dropped I beams on full fendered cars and how they ride?

In my 36, I had removed spring leaves due to being poor most of my adult life.It rides like crap but that is to be expected.

What can I expect if I go with a dropped axle and steering arms? Does it pretty much keep the same ride as one with a full set of springs?

I have ridden in my dad's 36 with a M2 and the ride is OK but not what I had expected......I think a guy could get a I beam to match or exceed that ride.

 

Sorry ...car related.

 

Hahahaha. Don't know about the M2 or removing leaves, but I have a Posies spring and a SuperBell 4" and it rides ok up front. Not great, but ok. Steers great, however.

Guess this isn't much help but it looks better than "BTTT".

 

Yeah well at least you have an I beam to tell me about....

 

I've had two cars w/dropped straight axels. My '40 Ford coupe had a 3"dropped axel of unknown origin and a stock spring when I bought it at it rode like crap and weaved all over the road,I put a Durant mono-leaf in it and it improved the ride and handling a lot.
I now have a '34 Ford coupe with a Pete &Jakes chassis and a Super bell axel and spring and this set up rides and drives as good as any hotrod with a MII independent that I've been in and much better than the set up in my '40. I think all new parts assembled correctly and aligned by a pro makes the difference. Hope this helps.

 

My 40 coupe has always had an axle under the front. Ran stock setup for a while, then split bones, and currently has a 4-bar/tube axle setup with panhard bar. Handling is OK for what it is, steering is OK (using 60's Torino box), and the ride is satisfactory, if somewhat stiff. After more than 30 years, I guess I am just used to it.....

 

I run straight axles under both of my old Fords.

The 40 is stock everything with a 4" dropped axle.



Drives great and rides great (I do have 3 leafs removed)

The 32 Roadster has a TCI 4 bar, spring and 4" dropped axle. I got everything (shocks too) from them. To me it rides better than any IFS 32-33-34 I have ever ridden in.

I am open minded so I have a new frame for the 40 in the works. Kind of a street rod chassis.........not old school. The wife wants automatic, air and the lot street rod deal for the 40 so I went IFG, 9 inch Ford, automatic overdrive...

 

Soft springs will improve the ride,sway bars will improve the handling.If you run without a sway bar,you'll probably need stiffer springs to control body roll,which will compromise ride quality.If you want a Cadillac ride?Buy a Cadillac.

 

Dropped axles are cheap. They are an easy way of lowing a car and keeping a stock quality ride. I have a friend who did a good job of setting up his 38 axle with panard bar and it rides as good as any mustang2. Stuff your leafs back in and get a dropped axle. If you can't find anyone to drop your axle, I can hook you up. Dave

 

One of the tricks is planishing the springs like AV8 shows in his books. Also the Posies springs ride nice...the Rocky33 had them. I have ridden in cars with planished springs and cars witout, there IS a difference!

 

Root -- Based on my personal experience, I prefer the ride quality and handling of a well setup transverse-spring/dropped-axle front end to that of an MII conversion on mid '30s to late '40s Fords.

You can remove leaves from the spring pack to soften it, but you don't want to do that until you have everything else in place and have logged some miles.

I struggled along, hit and miss, when I built my BBC-powered '46 coupe in the '80s, getting close to the right combo at times but never hitting it dead-bang on until I turned to a spring maker. We're blessed to have Betts Spring Service here on the Coast, and while the bulk of their income is based on commercial truck suspension, they know it all and willingly work with hobbyists like us.

They spec'd and built a fantastice front spring for my coupe that took into consideration my planned use as well as the physical aspects of the car. Most important, they built me a safe spring, one that positioned the front of the car at the same level it would have been with reversed eyes but included normal eyes and the important safety leaf.

I tightened up the front suspension with an anti-roll bar that worked extremely well and helped the car to corner flat, or as near to flat as is possible with transverse springs.I built this car to run radial tires because I felt that it was more important to make in competant rather than period-correct. The car rode great and handled far better than any fat-fender Fords with IFS that I drove.

As I said at the beginning of my reply, this is based on personal experience. That said, I've yet to be convinced that any of the variants of MII IFS are any better than carefully massaged original suspension in terms of ride comfort and handling.

 

I ran a reversed eye posie with a 4" dropped axel for years, then changed to a mono leaf front spring in my 48 merc.the mono has a much better ride than the posie. would not change a thing now.

 

i don't like removing spring leaves to make the car sit lower or have a better ride...my experience is that it makes it handle terrible,the car wants to roll aound the spring. get a de-arched reverse eye spring with a full pack of leafs. posie's and others make them..use a panard bar and a sway bar and it will ride and handle better than any IFS...just my 2 cents...greg

 

I'm wondering if the improvement in ride with a Durant is simply due to gaining more suspension travel clearance?

I stuck a Durant in my non-notched frame 32 just for that reason.
The Posie's I took out is in the notched frame of the 31 on 32 rails roadster and I expect it to ride quite well.

A sway bar is a must in the lighter roadsters and the Deuce Factory guys report that a rear sway bar is all that's required on the lighter Deuces.
I'd say they're on the money there.
My 32 corners very flat.

Sway bars at both ends of the fat fendered cars are necessary in my view.

A friend runs a very nice Deuce highboy roadster with a Kugel brand - I think - independent front end.
Regardless of brand, it's the best looking independent for a highboy that I've seen.
He reports it doesn't ride or handle any better than the previous well set-up solid axle cars he's owned.
Which were more than a few as well as being very well built.

Only thing I can see that could be bothersome - and it doesn't bother me - is hitting that small pothole or bump on one side and the whole axle is disturbed.
Even so, and considering the M2's sway bar, I don't think the M2 front end would do much better here.
Not to mention the leaf spring setup is much easier to tune.
Which is the main reason I went to a transverse rear spring for the back end of my 31.
Granted, coilovers compared to a leaf spring on the back is not what's under discussion here, but I am looking forward to the ease of spring tuning not to mention considerable alteration in height if required.

I think a solid axle leaf spring setup under the earlier Fords is a good looking way to go.
Kinda says tradition, ya know?

 

Here's what I had in mind.
Keep in mind this is gonna be a long haul driver and a daily if possible.

I thought I would run a forged I beam 4 " drop with disc brakes and a new matching spring pack. I will have my sbc up front (for those figuring weight), I was thinking of running a Posies transverse leaf for the rear with a panard bar. How's that sound for a full fendered 1936 Ford pickup?

 

I would recomend the mono leaf, it rides great & gives you a couple inches of height adjustment (with shims).

Later, Mark

 

I have always wondered about the monoleafs...I heard that they were spongy?

 

Root, my '40 rides great!
4" drop I beam, reversed eye main leaf, and 3 leaves removed.

 

I just got the roadster on the road and I`m knocked out with the ride characteristics.It runs a chassis engineering 4"forged axle and posies super slide reversed eye spring and panhard rod with p&j tube shocks, with split `40 w`bones.The brakes are `40`s with Buicks.I`ve used a Saginaw 525 box with cross steering.It ride real good and pulls up good and straight and self centres coming out of corners,the steering feels positive(ish)and the brakes are equal to my daily hack van.I`m not saying I can take it out on the back lanes and nail it, but the ride is very acceptable...as for i.f.s.on non fendered cars, I`d rather catch the bus!!

 

Ric, whose main leaf are you running? Have it built?