Whats the best way to lower my 61 ranchero cost effectively? I want it LOW. But drivable. Not into the bags really both cost and I don't want to change ride height or lay frame. Thanks
good luck with that. if you lower it much the tires will not clear the fenders up front. i used bags on my wagon because you cant get it low and still drive it cheaply.
I can tell you how I lowered my 62 falcon sedan and it was plenty low put really only a temporary measure, I ran like this for a couple of years. I cut the front coils by 2 coils this lowered it about 4 in, but I then had to remove the bump stop plates. As for the rear I had them reset, you could use blocks but I am not a fan and it doesn't cost that much more to Reset. Best though to use new lowered springs which is what I am running now.
I'm not opposed to bags I just think they are out of my range. What do you mean by "reset" the rear. I'm coming from the 4wd world so I'm used to leaf springs and I too am not a fan of blocks. This thing sets so high now it looks 4wd. Do they make a 4" drop kit or anything? I assume any 60-65 falcon, ranchero will be the same?
Do the trim on the front springs, but start at 1 1/2 coil and try that first. As far as "resetting" springs, I think that may be Aussie for de-arching the rear springs. I just did the rear pair on the females '62 wagon with Dunbar spring here in Phoenix. I went three inches and all is well. I'm building this car for my girl, so it is a bit higher than I would normally do for my self, but if it needed to go down a bit more, a 1" block would do so nicely. Simple.
In your case since you don't want to spend much or any money. I would start off by cutting 1-1/2 coils from the front springs. For the rear, you can get away with removing a leaf of two... IF you don't plan on hauling much. I'm thinking you should start off with the secondary leaf.. Cheaper than de-arching. Depending on how tired your springs are, your final results may vary, so don't go all out at once.
Ya, but the proplem with pulling leafs is that the spring pack also controls your pinion angle. You start pulling leafs to get down and after a bit the the pinion starts to bounce up and down as you get on the gas and off. I know millions of mini truckers did it for years, but it just isn't the right way to go, especially with these cars and their already minimal springs. If you can't afford to do a de-arch, grab some blocks and go that way. If you have access to a press, you could do the de-arch your self. Just search spring arch here on the H.A.M.B.
Here's a couple of pics of my 62 wagon. I cut 2 full coils & removed the snubber plates. To correct the camber, I used longer bolts on my upper control arms & spaced them out with washers. In the rear, I removed 2 leaves & added 3" blocks. I ran air shocks in back in case I had any passengers or cargo in the back. I also swapped out my automatic for a 4 speed manual because I kept scraping holes in my transmission pan. It rode surprisingly well. It definitely cornered a lot better too.
Blocks and de-arching will change the pinion angle as well. You can get these: Or if you're really a cheapskate you can use fender washers..
A lowering block does NOT change the pinion angle. It merely moves the axle a given distance from the spring. The relationship of the spring pad on the axle and the spring stays the same, unless the bock is angled. What ever the angle was before the block, it will still be after the block. Simple geometry. It will change driveshaft angle, at both ends, but Not pinion angle.
If lowering blocks don't change pinion angles, then why in some cases would you experience a vibration immediately after you install them? Why would they make angled blocks?
Actually, the simple geometry is that it WILL change the pinion angle. Since you are moving the location of the axle, but NOT moving the location of the front of the driveline, the angle necessarily changes. Diagram might help. Added diagram. If you move the pumpkin straight up on a vertical plane, the driveshaft will follow, thus altering BOTH u-joint angles.
Angled blocks are mainly made for the Off Road crowd that use them as Lift Blocks, where they get so high that the drive shaft angle becomes too extreme for the U Joints to handle. In lowering scenarios the usual cause of vibration with lowering blocks is due to ending up with Zero or near Zero angle in the driveshaft so that the U-Joints vibrate due to their needing some angle in order to operate properly. Think about it, Pinion angle is measured as a relationship from the angle of the pinion shaft, as measured at the U Joint Flange (usually), compared to the ground on a flat surface. In a leaf spring car, this is controlled by the angle the leaf spring sets at and the placement that the spring pad is weld to the axle. If you take a square block and move the axle up in the same plane, the angle of the pinion has not changed, it just sits farther from the spring. The only time the pinion angle changes is if you severely lower only the rear of the car, and not the front. But then the angle of the tailshaft also changes by the same amount, so it's still not a problem. In use, a car with worn or extremely soft springs and or high power can force a pinion angle change by the extra leverage of the block acting on the spring and creating pinion angle change under acceleration.
I have thought about it for YEARS. What you're saying seems like a contradiction. If you think about it, your driveshaft angle changes every time you hit a bump or are on a uneven road. Having a lot of weight in a vehicle can have the same affect, yet still doesn't cause a vibration.
Budget? Ride quality? Realistic expectation's. Ground clearance's. ElPolacko has Eibach and Bilstien products to give you the best ride up front. Cut coils are cheap, and shorter coils means shorter shocks. Custom rear leafs are best. Really look at 4" blocks installed. Now imagine the ride of quality made 3" drop leaf springs. New bushings, maybe even teflon lining.
Bingo! Sorry for the confusion. I'm not broke so new springs or whatever is fine I'm just not trying to put big money in bags and all that goes with that.
Pinion angle and driveshaft angle are two different things. I think people are interchanging the two. The pinion is the front of the diff where the driveshaft attaches. That doesn't change with square blocks. The driveshaft angle changes but not the actual pinion. U use angled blocks to get these two angles in correlation
Right. Accurately and technically speaking. BUT, when people speak of "pinion angle", right or wrong, they are referring to the angle difference between the pinion and the driveshaft. And that does change with lowering blocks. Like "hotroddron" said "driveshaft angle will change with blocks". Semantics, once again.
up front move down the upper a-arm like on the shelby and gain better handling just drill new holes lower down i dont remember were i got my template think i was from TCM that sell springs for mustangs
Oh yeah, the shelby trick, totally forgot about it. Tat is a clever way to drop it w/out loosing any handling. With a coil cut and the shelby trick youre fnt end will be nice and low and feelin great.
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