My back end sits to high right now since I swapped in the 9" rear and new heavy duty gas shocks. I was looking at the shackles and I dont think they are sitting like factory right now. Can you take a look at these pics and tell me how I make them right (safely). Thanks!
ctfortner, yes your shackles are reversed. Try flipping them by Jacking up the rear end to get the tires off the ground. Jack it up using the frame not the rear end. Once the tires/rear end are dangling in air, you should be able to persuade the shackles to flip over using a pry bar...
I might subjest taking the leafs loose at the front, might have to remove drive shaft, than try to flip them over.
Ok, thanks guys...This must have happened when I swapped the 8" out for the 9". The car raised up in the back after the swap and I couldnt figure it out, cause it should have stayed about the same stance. Then it dawned on me to check the shackles and they didnt look right.
yeah i just did the same to mine, thats how my 53 was, looks much better with the back lower! and drives better, i dont have the swaying feeling.
Is that how you did yours, jack it up and let the suspension hang free and persuade them with a bar? Or did you remove anything to do it?
****....I just did my rear suspension and put them the way they were in the first pic. That will bring me down even lower! My car looks pretty low in the rear already. I can't wait to put them where they're supposed to be!
i just jacked the car up from infront of the back wheel so the wheel was off the ground, then pulled the shakle out, then slowly lowered the car down on the jack so the spring goes up past where it was then stop the jack about where you think it should be then hook it up again. Only takes like 15 minutes a spring or so. but yeah just unbolted the shackle and pulled it out. thats all you really need to mess with.
Ok thanks. I tried to "persuade" them last night, they werent having any part of it. I had the car on the frame, suspension hangin. Pry bar wasnt man enough and I decided if it took that much power to get them back, if it had load and sprung at some point it could get ugly. I guess it would be a good time to put new rear shackles on, I have the new ones at home in a box already. So even with the rear end ubolted and the shocks on etc...I dont have to worry about any load or tension on there if I jack it up and unbolt the shackle?
Once you have it jacked up, you can usually get under there and tell when the tension is off of the shackle by attempting to move it around a bit.
As an aside....when my dad bought his 55 Mainline, the shackles were flipped up like that. He's never had a 50's era Ford and didn't spot it. However, having been a 54 Ford owner for over 20 years, I immediately spotted it. He corrected it right away and told me later that the one thing he wasn't overly fond of when he bought the car was how high it sat in the rear. Little did he know that the fix for that would be so easy....and free!
How long are your shocks, they may be topped out, not allowing the rear end to drop all the way. Remove the bottom shock mount and try again. I'm an "Old Fart" and I have flipped mine... Maybe try eating some Wheaties... haha
yeah, well i guess it was a style back in the day to have the back end higher up. But yeah i thought mine would spring up crazy but they didnt, just moved a little bit, didnt really spring at all. Just take the shackle completely off and move it up like that. And new shackles will be a nice touch!! lol
Yup, mine was like that too when I bought it a long time ago. I thought the kid who owned it before me might've done it on purpose to hike up the back end. Apparently a common problem with the design. This is what it looked like 2 years ago - the shackles are flipped over:
just did this it was simple and made me lovemy car even more "lowered the car more"jacked car op un did shock bolts stuck pry bar in pryed apart left pry bar in as i lowered car down and directed shock bolt in and all done glad i ran into this.thanks
Hot damn, shocks were the key...once unbolted piece of cake. Man I have my car back now, looks right again. Thanks all
The Jalopy Journal
