You can relocate the front shocks to a frame mounted anchor using 50's Ford F1 mounts with some drilling and some spacer fab for the bolts going through the boxed section of the frame, you can replace your front springs with those from a Ford Aerostar van. If you want to lower it in front you can get a nearly 2 inch drop by repositioning the lower spring pockets to the bottom of the lower a arm, some grinding, measuring and drilling required. You can adapt an early rear wheel drive Cherokee (not Grand) sway bar. In the rear confirm all your leaf springs are intack,add gas shocks and renew the rear spring to shakle bushings, and make sure the shakle to frame mounts aren't ovaled out. Also give some thought to new rear motor mounts between the bell housing and cross member, keeps the engine from being involved with chassis movements and stiffens the frame against twisting. You can also consider going to a newer rear axle, Mopar B body, Cherokee, early five lug bolt Dakota for better and easier to maintain rear brakes seals and bearings, not to mention a more highway friendy gear set.
Hey everybody, It's been a while since no posts. Brakes and suspension still stock. Put a Carfe carb (Argentinian Falcon carb) and it runs smoother and more efficiently. I did a long trip some weekends ago and when I was coming back I had to brake hard and maybe destroyed a seal on the non-driver rear wheel so I ran out of brakes, luckily nothing happened and I didn't crash. If u remember from early posts I have all new lines, linings even cylinders were bought new from oldmoparts. The thing is that I have a friend with a 4 door 53 too that today had the same issue and luckily didn't crash too, he stopped with a curb. I want to know if this is something common on these brake setups, he's got the car for 7 years and never happened that to him, he uses it as a daily with the 218 and everything stock. Is this something that happens because of adjustment?. I got a master cylinder from a 70's dart (double circuit, don't know how do you call that master setup) that I'm planning to use to avoid losing brakes if something fails. Yeah I know... it looks like a 54 from behind
You should be able to rebuild your wheel cylinders, and maybe rebuild them all if you think the seals that they came with might be defective.
The Jalopy Journal
