On my 62 comet i have a lower a arm and a upper a arm. On top of the upper a arm is a strut with a spring. I would like to lower my car 3inches in the front. If i jack up my car and let all the weight of the front suspension, and i cut the spring then lower the car, will i be alll right? Thanks Nate
Could be dangerous. On many cars, even with the wheels off the ground, the spring is still compressed. Alot of stored energy in the spring. Usually one has to disassemble the suspension carefully, remove the spring and then cut it.
Yeah, I wouldn't pull that off. I live next to a mechanical engineer, and we were talking with my uncle about lower cars, and he brought up how there is enough tension in those springs to probably tear a clean hole through the top of the fender if he tried lowering his car wrong. I heated mine.
Rent or buy a spring compressor- keep your hands unbroken so you can still get laid. Most big chain auto parts places have them for rent. Also search the web for mustang sites-thats basically what your car is under the sheetmetal. Look into the Shelby modification, and advice on how many coils to cut before the car starts overstressing the ball joints.You also might learn a bit from those guys about your brakes, motor and tranny- also very important parts of your car. Maybe alsmost as important as ride height!
I've done this before on a late model. We used a cheap spring compression tool rented from pepboys to compress the spring while still in the car, and pulled it out for cutting with a dremel tool and 7 blades because we lacked the proper tools. It would be great if someone would could provide some input on cutting coils. Number of coils = drop etc and all that. Advice on cutting tools. -Dane
I didn't even think about it.... check out Dearborn Classics.com, and get a parts mag from them. They've not only got LOTS of shit, if you want to lower that car right, they've got dropped springs that get your car lower, but keep the strangth of that spring strong still. They arn't too expensive in price, either.
The mustang guys know how many you can cut before the ball joints bind. The best way is to just go 1/2 coil at a time until you get it where you want it. Every car is a little different. Spend a day pulling the springs out cutting and putting them back in- its the only way to get it right. There are a lot of ways to cut springs you just don't want to get them too hot- so go a little at a time. Heating springs to drop a car is not a good way to go. it is unpredictable and changes the spring rate. cutting them shorter will actually make them stiffer and will help keep it from bottoming out.
In the Tony Banda catalog ( they sell Shelby stuff )they show you how to make your own spring compressor for early mustangs. I have build one to use on Falcons ( same as your Comet ) DONT CUT THAT SPRING UNTILL IT IS OUT OF THE CAR!!!
[ QUOTE ] On my 62 comet i have a lower a arm and a upper a arm. On top of the upper a arm is a strut with a spring. I would like to lower my car 3inches in the front. If i jack up my car and let all the weight of the front suspension, and i cut the spring then lower the car, will i be alll right? Thanks Nate [/ QUOTE ] dropped my 56 olds last weekend,, took maybe 5 hrs with beer breaks... do it right, put it on jack stands, and use the jack to slowly lower the lower A arm... all you have is a stabilizer bar connection and a pivot bolt/pin?
That does not work with that car Plan9, the spring is on the upper A arm and it has to be compressed to be removed. I have seen a guy remove one once W/O compressing it ( on a Granada, basicly the same thing ) with a long, heavy metal bar. Scaryest thing I have ever seen!
thanks for the clarification metalshapes sounds pretty sketchy, the spring compresser mentioned in a previous reply would be a better way? sounds like a pain in the ass
Most of this has been covered, but I'll say it anyway: 1.) Use a spring compressor 2.) Be very careful when handling the compresed spring 3.) I cut mine with a Skilsaw with $4 metal-cutting blade 4.) Cut 1/4 coil at a time, re-install, measure, repeat as needed. I cut 1-1/2 coils outta the front of my Buick - when I let the jack down, the full weight of the cars still rested on it. Opps - too much! Finally just bought a pair already lowered from Eaton.
I've dropped quite a few falcons. A coil and a half drops um 3" I'd still go one coil, then reassemble, and check your ride hight, and tire clearance. Once you take the first coil out, they go back together easy. I've never had any ball joint problems with a 3" drop. You will need to have it aligned when your done.
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