CHEAP and Great Alternative Coil Springs '49 thru '59 Ford and Merc

I posted this information in my thread about cutting coils, but I wanted to start a new thread specifically about these coils so people can find it easier later.

Here's the story....

3" drop front coil springs are over $200 for '49-'59 Fords and Mercs at just about any place that sells them. A friend of mine works at a parts store and was looking for a cheaper alternative, so he started digging through the Moog catalog. He discovered that Aerostar coil springs are almost identical in diameter, coil width and top/bottom shape as the original springs, but they provide approx a 3" drop. Better yet, they are only about $60!

Details on the part:
Moog PN CC850
Fit 1990 and other year Ford Aerostar (3.0 or 4.0 engine)
They are $65 at O'Reilly and $52.79 plus shipping at Rockauto.com.

Dimensions:
Diameter: 4.07"
Wire Diameter: 0.735"
Free Height: 11.65"
Load Height: 10"


The pics below are of my car with 2 coils cut out for about a 4" total drop from stock height and with the uncut Aerostar springs with about a 2-3/4" drop. I think they will settle to about 3" or 3-1/4" in a few months of driving. (My car was almost undrivable with 2 coils cut). The Aerostar springs drive like butter...way better than the old original springs.


2 coils cut:


Uncut Aerostar Springs:

 

Good Find!

 

gREAT

 

Oops

 

great information for us Ford owners. I might try this myself

 

I was just about to get some new springs for my 57 Ranch wagon this week. This thread couldn't have come at a better time. Thanks VERY much!

 

143

 

you rock, thanks alot!!!

 

Great find! I need those on my Ranchero!

 

Looks good, need a set for my 50 Merc. Does he have any part numbers for 50 merc rear spring and shackle bushings? Need those too!!

 

anyone know if these will fit mopars??

 

Haahaaaa.....no kidding.. Good tip,thanks.

 

Gay...

From what I heard don't S10 springs work as well?

 

Are 2wd ranger springs the same as aerostar springs?

 

Seems like they would be, but from what I saw, they are too narrow at 3.5" in diameter instead of the 4.07" on the Aerostar.

 

Looks pretty close, but will probably an inch taller than the Aerostar. Probably perfect if you need a 2" drop instead of 3":
SPICER Part # 5851169 {Sold in Pairs -- Professional Grade / Inside Diameter=4.08" Wire Diameter=.718" Free Height=13.26" Load height=10.75"} $48.79 plus shipping at RockAuto

 

Sweet so the Aerostar springs give you an extra drop over the S10 ones. Cool, good find.

 

wonder if they would fit a late 60's cadillac or perhaps somebody might now of something that retrofits?? perhaps other model cads??

 

what shocks did you use? do the stock shocks bottom out?

 

I'd always heard about the s10 spring and cutting a coil off of them for a shoebox, but never the aerostar! That's awesome, I paid 225 for my 3" drop springs which was the cheapest I could find. Thanks for the great info!

 

Anyone know if these will do for a '50 Dodge?

 

what does "143" mean?

 

nevermind...googled it

 

My stock shocks don't appear to be bottoming out, but I found an alternative if they do. Monroe PN 5821. They are 1-1/4" shorter in compressed length and over 2" shorter in extended length. I forget what they were for...some kind of early 90's GM car, but the mounting pattern is the same.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the shock! I've been running the stock shocks with the lowered springs for a while, I'm gonna try these and see how they work. Gotta love $25 each!

http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S(ndc12fzmtojarrr1atknmx55))/Detail.aspx?R=NS_5821_0182372756

 

Do the Aerostar springs ride choppy like the cut springs? Does it bottom like the used up stock springs? If not, that is a great find. Thank you for sharing your secret.

 

They ride great. I put about 100 miles on them this weekend and it was the best the car has ridden since I got it 6 years ago. It's better than the old stock springs with worn out shocks and MUCH better than cut coils with new shocks...even better than when I only had one coil cut out.

It doesn't bottom out at all and I took in on some fairly bumpy roads to make sure. Seems like the stock shocks will even be OK from a height standpoint. I did the "tie wrap" trick on the shock shaft to see if they bottomed out and they did not. It's a little close, so I might switch to the shocks I mentioned in the post above next chance I get...no hurry, though, because it's riding great.

 

To hop on the 'will this fit my car' wagon, In your research, did you happen to find something that would work for early '60s fords?

 

best part is that if they don't settle like you want you can cut a half a coil or even a whole coil without even affecting ride quality since they are stock wound springs!!!

 

Cool thread. My Merc rolls on a later GM frame, so I'll have to pull the front and rear coils and do som research.

I remember when I wanted to raise the back of my ol' OT '68 Chevelle SS I bought coil springs and shocks for the back of a '73 or '75 Riviera and lifted up the car quite a bit.