I've got a Model A sedan on a TCI '32 frame, mono-leaf spring front, coilover rear. It sits about 1/4" low on driver's side front (spring shackles aren't angled the same on both sides), and about 1/2" low on driver's side rear, without the driver. There is a little more weight on the driver's side (alternator, steering and fuel cell in rear is offset 2-1/2" toward driver's side) which is probably causing the problem. For esthetics is there a way to raise the driver's side other than using the adjusting collar or relocating the top mounting hole? Is there someone that offers a custom 3/4" longer spring or 3/4" bushing that could go between the top of the spring and spring cap?
Fuel is only like 6 lbs. a gallon I'm not sure the gas tank even when full would cause a list like that. I would unload the susp. and let it hang to see what if anything is bent. Then swap the coil overs side to side to see if one has taken a set.
Dude & El Polacko, I love this place too! Thanks for your quick replies. I already swapped the coilovers side-to-side with no change. (hoping for an easy fix there) Yes, I have a parallel 4-bar............and here' the latest update. I have All-American coil-overs that are 10-1/4" compressed, 14-1/2" extended. My ride height is 13-1/2" driverless. The coil springs are progressive wound, with large diameter wire. I have thought for a while that they have too heavy a poundage rating (1000 lbs sprung weight aft, driverless) but I've been busy at the other end with the motor. Now I'm concentrating on the rear. I moved the driver's side coilover to the next higher (1") hole on the axle mount. Now the car sits perfectly level. But, what a friggin' eyesore!! Looking at it from the back, the left coilover not only has the lower mounting bolt 1" higher than the right, but the overall length of the coil spring is now 9", where the right coil spring is 9-1/2". WTF? I would have expected to move the mounting bolt up 1" and have the ch***is/body move upward correspondingly (1"). But in reality the ch***is/body has moved up 3/4" and the spring has not only moved up 1", but compressed 1/2". I've been screwing around with this since about 9 AM and it's now almost 5 PM here in Patinaville. What the hell am I missing?? Interested in any advice you can give, and would certainly like to hear more about preloading the 4-bars. Thanks again.
Place the coil overs in the original position and remove the left (driver) side lower bar from its mount in the front. Leave that bar disconnected and set the car back on the ground. If it sits flat, adjust the lower bar so you can put the bolt back in easily and you're done. If the car still squats on the left, shorten the bar a turn or so until it raises the rear.
That lower bar already has about 1/4" less adjusting threads showing than it's mate on the p***enger side. Just to confirm; I want to shorten it to raise the left side? Also, will I be able to move the rear axle housing and lower mounting bracket to reinstall the lower bar? Never having done it before, it would seem that the other 3 bars would keep it from moving/rotating. Also, when you say jack it up, do I want both rear wheels off the ground, hanging?
The wheels don't need to be off the ground to work on the bars but to adjust the springs you should lighten their load as much as possible. Obviously to move position yeah, frame suspended and wheels off the ground. Nothing will happen with just three bars connected and the car on the ground. Results make more sense when you can see what happens by shortening or lengthening the bars one at a time like that. In this case making the left bar short or the right lower bar longer would have the same effect.
O.K. It's been a long day and Mama needs to go out tonight. I'll get on the Model A first thing in the morning, but the clubs don't close till 3 AM here, so maybe not 'first thing' in the morning. Thanks for all your help and have a great weekend.
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