Tri-Five: How Low can you go?

i just picked up a '57 and it needs an altitude adjustment.

the front end needs rebuilt and it has heated springs which actually ride pretty nice, but since i'm going to be in there anyway, i figgered i'd put some lowered springs in there. i may or may not install dropped spindles, but let's assume for the sake of argument that i'm going to keep the stock spindle on the front.

i'll probably do 3" springs in the rear and blocks if necessary to get it right.

i know that all models have their own personality, i just don't know this one's just yet.

the question is, how low can you go before you start running into alignment issues, handling problems or anything else, if anything else, on the front end.

thanks for any input.

 

Now why do you want to go low? Low is for girls. Hotrodders build Tri-fives with stance. You can't go fast if you're low.

 

my '56 I drove in high school had 2" dropped spindles with lowering springs. Rode very nice, speed bumps were only an issue if taken head on.

 

Without bags its about as low as you can go

 

NWB...
whats your set up?

 

I lowered my '55 about 4" in front using 2" dropped spindles and 1.5 coils cut.
I lowered it 2" in back using lowering blocks.
That's about the max you can go with a tri-5 with just bolt-ons.

Shoes consisted of 205/70-15's on 15x6" wheels in front and 255/60-15's on 15x8" wheels in the rear.

I also trimmed the rear fender lips and bent them up to give myself more clearance, but still had to drop rear leafsprings to change a rear tire.

Hope this helps.

 

You can get 'em pretty darned low without worrying about any alignment or handling issues. At least I've never had any problems ...

 

drop spindels cut front springs 14 inch wheels in the front lowering blocks in the rear. It rides good but you do need to be carful speed bumps gutters steep driveways hey if you dont rub a littel your not low enough

 

words of a wise man

 

Here's a pic of my ol' rag top, taken in 1959. cut 1.5 coils and ran 2"
blocks in back. Rode as good as stock, no alignment issues.

 

Hi Mitch. On my wagon I'm running 3 in. blocks out back on orig. leafs so there may be a bit of sag factor there. Up front I've got 2 in. dropped spindles, and ordered springs that were already lowered 2in. Didnt like how it sat so I cut more out of the springs. The front crossmember sits about 3.25 in. from the ground. Been running it like this for lots of years with no issues. 15x6 wheels with 670 bias plies. When I had radials with the same set up the tires rubbed quite a bit when turning. No rubbing with the bias. Hope this helps.

 

If you flip the rear shackles up, you can get it a little lower, too. Wagons don't need the floor board clearanced, but coupes/sedans need the extra room

 

Special Ed...
What wheel/tire combo are you running?

Jay...
I've ALWAYS loved the way your wagon sat. thats about where i'd like mine at a minimum.

 

Stepped control A-arms 2", 2 or 3" dropped coil up front. 5 inches? That will be maximum for the crossmember to be 3" from flat surface. You want to rake the stance? Do the front end 1st.

 

Did this one for my dad. Cut one coil with 2" dropped spindles, and flipped the rear shackle. Rear could have used a 2" block, just never got around to it.

Still have the stock A arms and spindles if anyone is interested.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

ride the snubbers ,that is what there for...

 

Big block chevelle springs , 1 1/2 coils cut . Rode great .

 

Every fast drag car I see is a couple inches from the ground.....

 

Clean!!

 

Check with Bob Barnes. His "Belwood" has 2" dropped spindles and 1 0r 2 inch dropped springs. He also runs small wheels on front. I forgot the drop on the rear but be forewarned. He said he can only haul one passenger in his wagon, if he's not too heavy, because his wagon will bottom out. It's as low as it will go and still get into driveways.

 

Really standard stuff.
15" x 6" wheels
205/65R15 tires

 

THAT...is an awesome pic!

 

Before and after '56 2 door wag. 2" Spindles, one coil cut in front, 3" blocks on back. rode great.

 

Similar to Mikey's, 2 inch dropped spindles, 1" shorter front spring, 3" blocks in the rear on the '56 wagon.

And then a shot of nwbhotrods car (looking at the hood leads me to believe) before he fixed the stance, and before I put the ETIIIs on it.

 

Is this sarcasm? You couldn't possibly be serious.

 

He's been stuck in the nose high straight axle " another tri fiver gasser" threads

 

Most 57 Chevies are not at their original heights so the first question is what is the reference point. The lowest part of the 57 frame as built was 6 inches off the ground (oil pan 6 5/8)" so I doubt you could drop it 5 inches from there.



The stock chevy had 3.75 inches of wheel travel at curb weight with 2/3 bumpstop compression.

So dropping it 2 inches with spring height and finding a shorter shock or remounting the shock and shortening the bump stop could give you about 2 - 2 1/4 inches of bounce.

Dropped spindles avoid the suspension bind, so say 2 inches there.

The crossmember clearance will depend on tire radius and spring drop.

A total drop of 4 inches from the spec height with stock tire radius will leave 2 1/2 - 3 inches at the stock oil pan.

More than that will require more care in my opinion. The car should be bumpsteered with tie rod end spacers IMO.

If you don't know where the car is it's impossible to say how much can be dropped, most have larger tires and are sitting above the original height, but who knows till you measure it.

Hoop

 

Why did I ever sell my car....

Anyway, 2" dropped spindles with QA1 coil overs 205/65 15 tyres

Rears, AVO Coil overs with 4 bar and watts linkage. This was as low as I could go and still be able to turn the front wheels, I did roll the front arches and it did touch on full lock.

Speed bumps had to be approached with caution but the main thing that touched was exhaust box. Would quite happily transport 6 people but would rub on the inner rear inner arch over large bumps when fully loaded.

Bit stiff but not uncomfortable due mainly to the comfy original bench seats.









Sorry for all the pictures but the first time in a few years I have looked at my old car file and just thought it looked good!

P.

 

Hell ya it looks good

 

Mines going to be low as well........