Building a 29 model A Tudor Sedan. I am using a dropped front axle and split wishbones all typical stuff. With the back of the car sitting a bit higher how do I get the correct fit of the front spring to the cross member? Do I need to cut it loose and re-weld to get a good fit that doesn't twist the spring or shackles while achieving proper caster? A wedge? I know y'all have done it many times and probably in different ways. I'd love to hear your favorites.
You're over thinking it. If the car sits on a normal "hot rod rake, the crossmember will be just fine. There is already a bit of caster built into the stock cross member. You would have to have a pretty extreme rake to necessitate a change
Springs bend as they work, that's what they do. A couple extra degrees at the max isn't going to ruin anything.
No pic's so not 100% sure but if you are concerned about rake it might be that you need to step your chassis at the rear to allow for levelling adjustment for rake and to prevent the diff hitting the chassis rails. Take a look at some of the after market chassis's on offer to help you get your head around it. Good luck with your build and keep posting and/or asking questions...
Set chassis up at ride height, put angle finder on top of cross member. Match that angle to castor 90 degrees. Castor usually 5 - 10 degrees depending on who you ask. ( I used 7 degrees as that’s what the majority said at the time). I never did this when I built my chassis originally and after a few test runs the spring was going in directions that I didn’t like, so I tweaked the cross member afterwards rather than put a wedge in it.
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