Well, after a long time coming , and quite a few $, I'm back to working on my 39 Plymouth pick up. I had a "pro" build the frame, assemble front end, steering, rear 4 link, mount engine and trans, cab, etc. So it's a "roller" I did tell him I wanted it fairly low, but... It's about 4" from the floor to the lowest part of the engine which is the adapter on the Desoto hemi to 727 trans. I'm concerned about dragging everywhere I go, my driveway turn being one place ! Raising the engine/trans mounts looks to be do-able with some fab involved. What's some opinions here ? No bags for me !
Personally,I think you might need to raise the engine a little,at least keep the oil pan above the scrub line,as far a sheet metal 4" is not too low IMPO. HRP
pictures! It kind of depends on how far behind the front wheels, that low point is. We can't tell from your description. but yeah, that's kind of low, and if you don't have all the weight on the car yet, and the ride height is not adjustable, you'll probably be in trouble by the time it's finished
Maybe someone else remembers something like this---way back in the day, 50something, there was a 49-51 Merc I remember lowered bigtime front and rear with big caster wheels in the front to assist getting over the concrete grade leading to the local drivein. This thread made me remember that.
You are saying 4" off the ground? or the low spot is 4" below the floor boards. Most speed bumps are taller then 4" which is going to cause you to e crossing them diagonally instead of straight on with 4" of ground clearance. I can see skid plates (drag plates if you are a low rider guy) in your future. The basic rule of thumb is that if you cannot drive it then it is too low.
The front crossmember on my beater '57 Plymouth is pretty low. It's about 1.5" above the ground and that is without air or any other adjustable suspension. It's also the lowest part of the car and it's centered between the front wheels, which means it rises and falls if the front wheels move together (as when going over a speed bump). It's probably too low but I like it.
My grandpa had a buddy back in the 60s and they both had 60-66 c10s. I think one had a '64 and one had a '65... Anyways, they had competitions to see who could get the lowest. My grandpas buddy "won".... He was driving down a road in town and crossed paths with a man hole that was elevated a few inches above the road. He caught it with his crossmember and fold the truck like a V. Put him in the hospital for weeks and totaled the truck. YOU CAN GO TOO LOW!
Thanks for the advice. I plan to check scrub lines tonite when I get home if there's time. The pan may be above the scrub line ! I told the frame guy I wanted everything above the scrub line !
No pics available today, but will try to get some. Front end is super bell/Pete and Jakes . Rear is coil overs with triangulated 4 link. I moved the coilovers up to highest hole and gained an inch at the rear. Rake looks good IMO
Looks like edge of cab sheet metal is even with lowest part of engine, about 4" to my garage floor. Haven't fired the engine yet, so can't move without jacks or dollies under the wheels. I'm not sure it will go in my garage ! ( drive way has an incline up to garage)
Thats just what I'm talking about ! Raising the engine up 2-3" will not be too hard, looks like. Thanks for your input !
Thanks to everyone that replied to my post, I've never built a rod from scratch, just restored them. so I want to do this SAFELY ! Looking cool is great, but as a friend says "It'll drag on a cigarette paper"...Well, that's not too cool for me !
I could never get away with that height on Long Island. Between the Cross Bronx Expressway, The Belt Parkway and the Staten Island Expressway it would spell disaster. Some years ago when a group was headed to York PA, two cars had issues, one was a destroyed exhaust and the other was a broken coil over mount. Plan ahead!
Well what was cool when I was a kid was not scraping unless you had hydraulics and magnesium drag plates. We used to try and get the bumper to settle on a camel or lucky pack. Once speed bumps became prevalent that changed too.
Gotgas..Car does look good but about all I will say is when it catches something solid, IT"S GONNA HURT!! Just saw a video of a mini van some wheres that caught a man hole cover that some how had been dislodged by previous car or big truck and lanched that van big time..Just say'in..I couldn't find the one I saw but this is close...
Are the springs at working height? If not, run the coil-overs up a tad if you have them and take out any lowering blocks, especially if the car isn't at full weight yet. I'd raise the engine and trans as much as I could just to get over speed bumps and angled drive ways. You might try just using stax of washers to test out how much you can raise the engine / tranny without it hitting the body / tunnel some place. Gary
Years ago, a low rider buddy of mine used to always say "if you're not sparking, you're too high"....that was until he came to a dead stop one day trying to cross a crowned road with an imbedded railroad track! Fortunately, he was going slow enough it didn't hurt much more than his pride. But, the embarrassment of having to jack up his car to get part of his undercarriage stuck in the RR slot back out, with people honking and laughing behind him, was enough to cure him of that nonsense.
Damn, that video is terrible. Point taken. Roads are always fairly dangerous. I don't think that SUV had an issue with its ground clearance though. I drive it all the time but haven't had anything really alarming happen at its current height. Been that way for seven years now. I did have an aluminum can bounce around under it for a while once, heh.
Beaner: Your comment reminded me of an old drive in saying; " if you can't stick a pack of Camel nonfiltered under the rocker panel, it's to low"
Also don't forget the exhaust is likely going to be even lower than your trans adapter. So raising a bit may be a very wise suggestion. I have driven low cars and scraped a bunch, but I always make sure there is nothing critical that can get caught or worn thin.
My oil pan is 4 inches. I'm careful and never had a problem. If I could get a little more clearance without a lot of work, I would do it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Post #25 reminds me a lot of the Merc I mentioned in my post in this thread--but no skirts. Pretty low---would knock a pack of king size weeds over.
Man holes are nothing, in KC they start a water or sewer repair then lay a 1" steel plate over the hole instead of filling it and finishing the job. The secure them in place with rail road spikes driven into the pavement which have a tendency to work themselves loose after a little while, so if jumping the plate isn't enough to contend with you still have to keep an eye out for a railroad spike sticking up 3 or 4". I saw a late model B-Ville snag a spike the other day and it tore the front cross member out of it. Would have been funny if it hadn't been so sad.
I'm no expert on how low is too low but I ran over a ground hog yesterday in my OT car. A little more clearance would have been better...........
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