A couple things 1: some cars look lower than they are in photos 2: some cars look really stupid when you build it to be X low instead of where it looks right 3: these cars are hard as fuck to get down in the weeds but you can do it. The best way to do this is before you finalize engine placement etc swap the front crossmemeber out for a flat one. Speedway sells one. Should get you 3 ish inches. Then grab a posies super low with reversed eyes and after it settles it’ll be about 3 inches lower. Then give okie joe a call and have him drop your front axle for another 2 or so inches. that’s gonna put your front bumper about 5-6 inches from the ground I’d guess. the coupe in progress you posted in the first post is @flatout51 he could tell you how he got it that low. He also has a sedan that’s fairly low in the nose. I run a 27 ish inch tall tire in front and had my axle narrowed when dropped and it only rubs the inner fenders at full lock on a side hill 4: I’d say 4 inches under the lowest part in the middle of the car is as low as I’d go. Lots of new cars are pretty fucking low and most 80’s beater imports are that low just from age. It’s doable. build it to where it looks right. Not just “as low as I can get it” that’s my thoughts/ advice
Too low is when you high center on a speed bump.... Did that on a rigid HD once pulling into a parking lot.... Yes, people saw me do it...
my biggest problem is getting on/off a car lift or onto a trailer. Fortunately, the air bags are there to raise the car. Speed bumps can be avoided if you know about them in advance. Driveway entrances can be taken at an angle and really slow.
If you’ve built 4x4s for offroading then you already know what to do. Trucks, Jeeps, or buggies all have to negotiate the obstacles you plan the introduce them to on the trail. Approach and departure angles as well as high centering are all the same concerns you have to deal with in both lifted and lowered applications.. You build a 4x4 to suit the terrain you plan to conquer and you also have to consider how you plan to drive your lowered car. I not a low and slow kind of guy. My suspension is setup to be driven and I like to take corners.. My car is lowered by the suspension about two inches all around. Lower sidewall tires also have probably another inch or so. I don’t scrape the tail or high center so far. Aesthetically, I would like the nose a little lower but that would have to be done by means of a dropped spindle and that might just be too much.. Alternatively, I could and probably will put a taller rear tire on it to get the stance where I want it. I have had to play around with wheel and tire combinations to get them not to rub on the car. I had custom offset wheels made for the rear to eliminate tire to inner wheel house contact and now I can probably put the size tire I want on the back without them rubbing..
The lowest point on Taboo is the lake plugs as the come under the frame. They will occasionally rub, but nothing else has ever rubbed even with the roll pans up from sitting low.
Tim I agree. I think I’m going to do some measuring of cars that have that “right look” this spring when the shows start back up as someone said a few comments back. And nova thug I agree. It’s just instead of building an OT truck to climb over VW sized rocks I’m trying to make a truck just low enough to barley scrub going into a driveway lol. But your correct it is in some senses the same concept. Question too how much does it normally change your track width if any on a front axle dropping it. Just curious bc doing so may actually help me as far as steering inside the fender Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I’ve never seen that but I may incorporate that. You learn something new every day, thanks! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Not sure about the narrowing but it’s not really enough to worry about. These cars have acres of room up front under the fender
I like mine low. I have done as low as 5 inches clearance, which would scrape over speed bumps or even some high center driveways. Looks good, but not so practical. I think 6 inches mini clearance at lowest point is acceptable, 7 better but it starts to take away from the lower appearance.
The bottom car is mine. It has a 5 inch drop axle from sid and a reverse eye spring with leaves removed up front. Rear is a homemade flat crossmember and modified spring. I'm currently going through the same predicament with my shoebox coupe. I like it low but cant fit a floor jack under the front crossmember and will need a large c notch in the rear. I'll probably raise the front an inch or so and leave the rear. Sent from my SM-G977U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I put hydraulics on my car over 30 years ago. Front and rear controls are separate with only 2 batteries. I can raise it and lower it going down the interstate doing 75. You can control the speed at which it goes up and down. There`s about an inch and a half clearance under the cross member. Good for cruz`in very slowly on smooth roads. Just install them on the rear and raise it when needed. 60 thousand miles have been put on the car since I installed them, I drive it more and more each year.
I started out with a slammed S-10 as a daily driver in high school, so avoiding bottoming out and dragging was part of defensive driving. My 55 Chevy's crossmember is 4-1/2" off the ground (2" drop spindles, 2 or 3" drop spring, can't remember). In 30 yrs of driving it, it has scrapped a few times at the collectors, mostly dips in road at higher speeds. For my 47 Cadillac, I decided to channel the body over the frame (2" in front & 5" at the rear)... get the stance I'm aiming for without compromising suspension or ride. I like the caster idea for the rear and will look into incorporating that on it. Stance is important to me for the right look. I've never been a fan of the too low "laying frame" look.
Kool advice....... My '51 Merc is channeled 3 inches over a 78 Cougar frame. I ended up removing a coil from the rear to get that tail drag'n stance. I've driven lowered cars most of my life and enjoy driving them everywhere. I have almost two hundred thousand miles on the my Merc without having problems with my stance. Skid plates & casters are a good idea and they work. I need to add them to protect my gas tank. Channeling the body over the frame has its advantages.
Yea I’ve talked with torchie who built that truck and that truck is the main inspiration behind my build. Mine won’t be an exact copy of his and will have some differences but will share a lot of his mods. I would like to have mine a little lower than his though maybe. I’m not sure if he’s running drop axle or anything but I do know his is channeled 6” which I plan on doing mine as well Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Too low is when you have trouble getting the car to move when you press the peddle. Too high is when you can see the sidewall of the rear tire....
This is a beautiful 41 although for me it really needs a front bumper. The front end looks incomplete Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
You are 100% correct unless you bag it and have adjustable ride height .. static drop has its tradition which I have on my 41 but scrapping etc is the price one pays driving a lowered ride. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I can tolerate lol. I’m still somewhat young and am use to no creature comforts. My dd although ot is still almost 40 years old. No power brakes no ps no ac. Get a breeze from rust holes in the floor but you pay to play. That old truck sucks gas but knock on wood has never let me down and unless it has some major problems can bandaid it with duck tape and zip ties to get it home. Been on the look out for a cheap 60-66 Chevy cab and front clip to put on it to make it somewhat H.A.M.B. friendly at least in the background lol. But yea im pain in the ass tolerant. Most everything I’ve ever had is a pain in one sense or another Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I can live with the front set a little higher if need be the rear is where I think I’m going to have to play with ride height. I’d like as little of the rear tire side wall visible as possible. I know I’ll have some shown but I want to run skirts and I think they sometimes look a little off with too much sidewall showing below the skirts. I’m definitely going to use porknbeaners idea of the casters on the rear. That’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve had so far as far as getting it low and still being able to get in and out of areas with dips. I can’t believe I never seen that before Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Here s an older thread on the subject of casters. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/casters-for-tail-draggers.943268/
I run my Merc with 3" under front crossmember, sits slightly raked, all mechanically lowered, cut coil front, lowering blocks in back, looks good, rides/drives great, but you do have to pay attention to steep driveways and if on a shit road, you look to get off as it gets to/on rubber stops in front. I have run this setup 6 years/16000 miles without any problems.
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