Running wood blocks to lower the rear?

Ive been reading on a few different threads here that people are using wood blocks to get the rear end lowered.

What does that mean, how is that accomplished?

Any help would be grateful. thanks

_travis

 

You are kidding right? There was one that did that up this morning, but he said it was just mock up... Don't even think about it!

 

first off, no wood! 2nd, what kind of car are we talking about? if its a leaf spring under axle setup. put a spacer between the leaf spring pack and axle tube to get the desired ride hieght.

 

WTF???? Really?! You're serious?!

 

Running wood blocks in a suspension would be a Travisty

maybe they called them "lowering blocks" but they arent wood, they should be steel

 

Steel blocks if you're driving it. you can even buy them at pep boys....Though wooden suspension is common on alot of cars in cuba and tey do okay...

 

Morgan did it for years!

Seriously, do not put wooden lowering blocks on any car you intend to drive!

 

I had a buddy that tried that in high school....what a jackass move. the blocks split and he was going down the road at an angle because the rear was no longer tight to the leaf springs! Could have been alot worse. No one should ever run wood blocks as lowering or lifting blocks. steel blocks are cheap and easy to make. aluminum blocks are even cheaper.

 

it was a play on his screen name

 

Even the universal Pep Boiz blocks can be crap. You need to make sure the pin size both male and female is correct. Also get steel not aluminum I've seen them break and fall out, OOPS

 

I probably should have clarified that I didn't intend on doing it, it was more to fulfill a curiosity and so I knew what it meant when I read about it on here....

 

Dare I say that would be a travisty???

 

I bought a 40 Ford sedan probably 30 years ago and the previous owner had used a block of wood between the rear crossmember and the rear transverse spring to raise the car for larger rear tires.

I had no idea it was like that untill I decided to change the rear tires and lower the car,,,I believe it was a old moonshiners trick to increase load capabilitys,,,although the sedan wasn't a moonshine car. HRP

 

your late to the party..i already did
I couldnt resist, with a screen name like that, and a question like this. it was a wide open shot

 

Hell, didn't some old car manufacturers use wood for frame rails?

Wood can auctually be stronger than steel in some ways- 90% of aerobatic aircraft use wood and fabric wings that regularly see 10 g's.

Still, its a really bad idea to put a piece of wood between 2 pieces of steel.

 

Bad enough if you are running metal blocks when one comes out. Borrowed my buddies 50 Ford Conv. in high school. He said. "Don't rod it". I wanted to hear those Smittys rap, so I wound her out in 1st gear and let off. along side of the high school with everyone on lunch break. Lowering block came out, and I wound up on the curb. Not a laughing matter, but everyone standing around, laughed their ass off.

 

since we've allready covered this and noted how bad of an idea it is, heres a better solution.

Any chain parts store has '"leveling kits" for trucks in their truck/towing section. They come with new U-bolts, and 3 or 4 inch aluminum blocks, and cost around $30.

 

I was being facetious.



fa·ce·tious

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&#8211;adjective 1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2. amusing; humorous.
3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential

 

Thanks rodster. very informative photo!

 

Are those splinters on the ground?

 

This looks fine, Rodster, just as we discussed. However, you left off the 4' 2x4 under the spring. You know, the one that reaches forward to act as a slapper bar.

 

I'm guessing/hoping that this is just a mockup- the u bolts aren't exactly parallel !

 

Well maybe it was iron wood.

A kid in the neighborhood jammed wood between the coil springs to raise one when I was in junior high. It worked for a couple of days.

Wood blocks for setup may be a good idea so you can figure out how much block you need/want. Then fab some out of steel or ??? I think I have some here that I built out of T-6061 aluminum at one time. They were made from 1" plate and screwed together so they could be made in varying heights. They worked better than the cheapo cast blocks from western auto.

Morgon had a wood frame. But it was frame for the body like an old Ford. The chassis was made from steel.

I don't believe I have ever seen an old car with a wood chassis. Of course I haven't crawled under every car ever built.

 

I have broken the cast aluminum blocks. That was twenty years ago, I doubt they are made any better today...

 

Facetious, germane, corrective sentence structure, will the hamb be giving out credits that can be applied as schooling? I started out on the hamb as Curly Howard and now I can recite the whole alphabet and spell it in my soup. La de da la de de, yuck yuck yuck.

 

These people sell billet aluminum lowering blocks. I've used them and never had a problem--

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_S10-Lowering-Blocks.html

 

Damn, those are nice. Steel shim is good to.

 

Or you can make your axle perch part of your lowering device..

Thats what i did for my 53 chevy..no blocks to slip out or break..
the perch is made from a piece of 4" x2" Sq. Tube..with the radius cut out of it to fit on the axle housing than welded and set up to accept the springs and..bolt her up and roll.

this is just mock up..before they were put in for final assy. they may have been 4.5" x 2" dont remember, but you can see they wrap around the axle so its not some half assed block that can get spit out on a holeshot or hard bump. the perch is staying on the axle by being welded, so no chance of it getting shot out.
this lowered my 53 - 3.5" in the rear, and no there are no scrub line issues..the bolts used were shorter than shown and there is about 3/4" to more than an inch of wheel rim below the lowest point of the suspension.

 

porknbeaner,

Here you go- JAP powered with a wood frame:



Oh, and Brush automobiles had wooden front axles as well as the frame!

 

Well I'll be damned.

That jap thing is pretty cool. I'd love to have that engine to look at or play with.

I guess maybe the horseless carriages may have had wood frames and axles.

Pancho,
Sera que Engles es el idioma segundo? Que no sea ofendido hombre solo no podria resistir.