So glad that the vast majority of us are on the same page, about safety and reliability, being first order of business. All this take presidence over ANY alterations. Good tips on cheap ways to dress up interior and exterior. Am I getting old...???Cause I'm kinda groovin' on those poverty caps and whiten rims. Stacked headlights are way cool.
Thank you all for being so positive towards me and the car, safety is the top priority. I plan on going threw the brakes as soon as I get some spending money! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Welcome, it's good to see young guys like you interested in old rides. Young guys like you are the future of our hobby. There's a lot of good info and a lot of good guys here to help with any questions you have.
very nice. your going to have a lot of fun with that. as some one who's "been there and torn that apart", DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY, unless it's completely worn out. bushings, ect. you'll be suprised what you wish you had back in 10 or 20 years
Here is where she sits today, waiting to do the breaks and go threw the engine. I've decided on lowering it, pin walls, cragar ss, bel flower tips. Got lowering blocks Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Some nice sounding exhaust out the back will give your ride a cool vibe. Just a heads up,The lug bolts on the driver side could be lefthand thread, opposite of the normal right hand threads that will be on the passenger side.
.....also I will add that I have raised old chrysler products by adjusting the torsion bars so you may be able too lower it a bit by adjusting them but I would suggest you get someone who knows about this to help you first hand, You will need to have the car on jack stands with no weight on the front tires when adjusting them and they can be dangerous to fool with so again ask for help from someone who knows about this stuff first hand.
Before you twist the torsion bars down. Spray them down with liquid wrench or something like that. I believe counter clockwise will lower it down. I would do a half turn at a time. A lot of up and down with the jack. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
and of course if you lower it in the front you will need to get it re-aligned and if you go too much you will lose some of the 'spring' action...ie...may ride like crap...you also have to worry about hitting the bump stops. Those may need to be modified. The only way to go real low in the front and still have the proper spring action is to go with a bigger Tbar...of course with a big block you probably have some pretty big bars already.
I raised a 67 plymouth satelite and a 72 dodge dart at home sevral years ago and dont remember having any alignment issues however come to think of it,a few years ago I had the torsion bars adjusted on my 99 GMC 4x4 to raise it in the front, while having it aligned at the frontend alignment shop and it was no extra charge.
Welcome to the site Conner,be carefully around those Iron Lords...they will lead you down a rosy path you will never want to return from! Seriously,they are a great bunch and can be a lot of help when you run into any problems. Looks like you found a good car to build on,have fun and keep us updated on your progress. HRP
Thanks. I got the white walls at pic & pull. I went with 205s, but should have gone to a 195 or 185. When you lower your car the stock tires look fat. I haven't had any tire wear issues yet, but I only put cruising miles on it.
Conner, welcome and glad to see a young guy that likes old cars. I bought my first car at 14 also. Take the time to learn how to do things on the car, and make it a great driver. Great to see your enthusiasm, keep it up! I see you already have the rear lowering blocks, and i believe you can just turn the torsion bar adjusters to lower the front. Fix the brakes, get the engine running good, and then spend money on new wheels.
Thank you guys for all the tips and advise, I want to buy an old manual for the car and get started soon. I want to have the car running good before I do any modifications to it, I will stay posted! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
when you lower it....measure where you are at right now. Ie..the height of the wheel housing will be fine. Just incase you go to low and want to return it to the original height. When you start lowering it remember how many turns you make on the adjusters. Then lower it...bounce it real good to see where it settles. Couse I'm an older guy and thing it looks great like it is..
Conner, it's too late now, there is no backing out..............you are going to be a certified car nut the rest of your life ! Welcome to the asylum ! One mistake that I made when I started playing this game, and I bet a lot of other people did too, is don't buy the fancy stuff first. I know it is fun to buy Bellflower tips and shiny stuff, but if you don't do the basics first all you will have is a junker with pretty stuff bolted to it. Some years ago I bought an unfinished T bucket project from a guy. It came with about $5000 worth of shiny parts that he had under his bed and in a spare room. But the frame was junk, the suspension was horrible, and he really should have spend that $5000 on the foundation first. Don't want to see you make the same mistake. Have fun. Don
Going to put in work on the Plymouth today! Went the O'Riley today on my Ross Let's get started! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Ha,ha Rock on my man, I had a old schwinn I built in exactly the same style as yours when I was younger. That is old school stuff rite there, ridin your bike down to the ole parts house to gather stuff for your ride. I like it!
Diggin' the Ross! My first bike was a 3-speed Ross stingray, same color as yours. Must have been 1970 or '71. I never really liked the 3-speed, changed that for a regular ol' coaster brake wheel when it was still pretty new.
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