Hello, I have a question. Would any one have an idea how to soften the ride on my Lark wit a axle from a 1950 Ford F1 1/2 ton truck? Such as removing leafs but which ones. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
First your not going to get a car ride from a straight axle... Also hard to tell from pic.. do you have shackles on it?
I started with a main and 4 leaves. I removed the shortest and the 2nd to longest leaves. Still rides firm but my shocks are straight up and down, too. Gary
Common guys, nobody would be so obtuse to build a frontend without shackles. Any leaves removed will soften/weaken the spring, allowing it to flex more. Maybe it won't be too much and you will like it, but it will be a bit lower. And, make sure to show us some good close up pics of the springs you have in there now. Not all of us are mind readers.
I didn't have to (beçause I had to look it up the first time I saw The Shawshank Redemption years ago).
I ran a 53 F100 axle under my avatar and it didn't ride too bad. I used some trailer springs from NAPA and took half of the leafs out.
Sticking an "axle" under any drag car was done for one thing, weight transfer due to increased front end height. Now use truck parts, and it'll ride like a truck. Personally, I never understood doing that just to have what we used to call a "poser". But, for squeaking and binding rear springs, I used to use a spray bottle filled with 1/2 water and 1/2 Dawn dish soap. Squirt the solution heavily between the leaves and repeat as needed. That's the best I've got. Very nice car by the way! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Been a problem for a little while looks like! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/front-suspension.873962/ I was looking for a picture of the shackles Nice looking Stude BTW
RE: Removing leaves to soften ride - Keep the longest leaf below the one with the eyes. - Remove every other leaf to soften the ride as necessary, while maintaining sufficient spring to prevent bottoming out. If you plan on doing huge wheelies adding jounce bumpers is a good idea - Add those little slider pads to the ends of the spring leaves. I like to use the round ones with a pilot on them. Drill the ends of the leaf with a carbide drill run at a very slow speed, using cutting fluid. - If you do not / cannot drill for slider pads at least add a chamfer to the end of each spring so the edge does not dig in to the adjacent leaf.
That what that is? I though it maybe it was the front dif.. Still a nice looking car. Front suspension engineering is not as simple as it seems, in my experience..
It has been a loooooong while. And the question has been asked more than a couple of times. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/studebaker-g***er.231931/ @prolark60 I'm not meaning to pigpile on you. But some good advice has been extended to you and if you could reply with more details and photos, these guys here can dial in a perfect solution for your situation.
Maybe his rough ride is caused by the steering shaft from the rack jamming up as the suspension articulates? That's the main reason you can't mount a rack to a moving axle. There's no easy way to make sure the steering shaft will work properly and collapse as the suspension jounces upward. And, I think we might all be wasting our time on this. The OP never comes back and responds to any of the threads he creates about this subject (see links above).
''Sticking an "axle" under any drag car was done for one thing, weight transfer due to increased front end height.'' Not entirely true. bulky engine/suspension cross members can be removed/replaced or trimmed to allow engine set back and header routing. OP must be looking for the answer he wants to hear.? He should take it to a spring shop, if he is using the full spring pack it is like solid. Shop will know how to adjust and keep hite if he wants.
@alchemy you might have hit the golden nail there. Wonder how it would ride without the rack. probably like a better riding truck.
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