every one keeps asking here it is Originally posted by Rocky, a long time ago... "I flipped the shpindles on my 49 ford coupe simply because I couldn't afford to buy the fatman dropped units. It's the spindle supports that ya flip, anyway. I did this procedure 10 years ago but I'll try to wake up those old tired memory cells and see if I can recall what I did. BTW, carkiller said I dropped the spring pockets too..I didn't because I didn't want any suspension stuff peeking out below the car---very tacky. I jacked the fargin car up and suspended it on jack stands under the frame rails. I remember using the left one on the right side and visa versa and I'm trying to remember why....Oh, yeah.... Before I got any parts off the car, I used a penetrating oil [zep-45, crc, anything like that] to soak down the bolts and eccentrics that hold the spindles to the uprights. I then loosened the retaining bolts and left 'em in place. I removed the shocks and took the lower A-frame mount bolts and nuts loose at the crossmember with a floor jack under the lower a frame and supporting the car's weight. Let the jack down SLOWLY AND STAND OFF TO THE SIDE IN CASE THE COIL SPRING WANTS TO POP OUT. This has never happened to me but just be careful..I took 2 loops off each coil at this point and yes, I did use a torch. The heat is so localized the rest of the spring is not affected. I, then removed the spindle with it's backing plate but left the brake hose hooked up,sat it off to the side or tied it up outta the way. Did the same procedure to the other side and used the left upright on the right side so all the bolts faced the correct direction. Used the right upright on the left side too and bolted everything back together except the wheels. The camber is now way off with the tops of the tires [if they were installed] tipped out at the top. Now, here's the tricky part for the new guys. I supported the weight of the car on the outer extremes of the lower control arms but leave the stands under the frame, [under the king pins]to simulate the car sitting on the ground with the wheels on. I then slipped the ol' rosebud on the torch and sat down at the brake drum with a carpenter's square. Make sure the eccentrics are adjusted in the middle of their camber setting...no rocket science here. Heat the area of the upright below the spindle stub, where it's the longest until it's a dull red and pry behind it to bring it out. Do this until the square ,assuming you're on a level surface, is flat on the ground and flat against the flat part of the brake drum. Now, the wheel mounting surface is 90 degrees to the ground and the wheels will be close to straight up and down. That's where ya want 'em to drive the car to the alignment shop but wait! You ain't done yet. The alignment shop guy will tell you he can't get the front end "in tolerance" according to his book and that's what he's gonna go by, trust me. I've already gone throhgh this and the front end guy told me to go home and take the upper control arm [or A-frame for you old guys] loose at the mounting point on the frame. No big deal. You can reach down next to the smallblock chevy you got in there and take the two mount bolts off. You did jack the car up and get the front wheels off the ground first, right? Stands under the frame again. Now, see if I can 'splain this next step clearly... Put your favorite carbide tip in your die-grinder and attack the front mounting hole on each side. The guy told me to oblong the hole away from the engine and back at about a 45 degree angle for about 1/4 inch. This allows the kingpin to come out and back a bit so the guy can align the thang. I put the wheels on and saw the tie rods were gonna hit the bottom of the frame rails, so I removed the tie rods from the steering arms and heated the arms to a dull red and bent them down, waited till the red went away and heated the ends of the arms up [where the tie rods mount] and bent them back up, level with the ground. I installed new shocks and had the alignment guy work his magic. I ran steel radials on american 14" 5 spokes and the car drove straight and true. I tried a bias ply tire first and that was a disaster for my car. It wouldn't drive straight at all! Work safely! Next time I disclose how to mount a s.b. chevy in a shoebox without having to dick around with the center link of the steering! Stay tuned. BTW. A buddy of mine had his wife's 50 plymouth coupe in the alignment shop the same time my car was there and he had installed fatman dropped spindle supports in it. He was having to "massage" the control arm mounting points to get the thing to align like I had to." enjoy tim
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