I need some help on lowering a 1946 merc coupe. I want to do a 4” drop axle front. I don’t want to split the wishbones. Trying to keep it traditional as possible and simple. Do I have to split the wishbones on 4” drop axle? It has a built 3x2 merc flathead and original merc trans. Car is all original. Just trying to get it down a little bit. Also thinking of lowering spring and shackles on rear. May pull leafs out front and rear. Also will be buying new tires in the next few weeks. Debating about doing 5.60 front 8.20 rear. Any pics and ideas would be appreciated. Trying to Lower some and not up a can of worms. Trying to keep it somewhat simple.
Send axle and spindles to Sids, He will fix you up. Choice will be axle width depending on wheel choice as in backspace and keeping tire off fender on turns.
By trying to go super low need to calculate clearance needed between fenders to allow full turning - geometry for steering components to function w/o binding
Well on axle won’t i have to stay standard width on axle so i won’t have to split wishbones and just go with a 5 inch wide rim with 3 inch backspacing?
Be sure to read ALL of this thread. It may help. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/lower-the-40-ford.777719/page-3
Sure, but they tend to wander around on the highway. You can also torch the spring, which was how most of them got lowered when they were $75 - $100 cars.
I believe if you have that much drop clearance between stock wishbone and frame is compromised . Can't remember tho. help me guys !!
I have a 4" drop axle in my '40 Ford. It retains the wishbone in stock position because as Razoo Lew states the drop occurs " outside" the wishbone mount. It is the best way to drop your vehicle that much as it does not compromise the geometry of your suspension. Fender clearance will depend on the wheels and their offset. I also removed a couple of leaves from the springs for a further drop but put one back in when it became too low. I had the rear spring rearced to flatten it out and the eyes reversed. That worked pretty well as you can see in my avatar. I really don't like the idea of heating and bending the spring and the long shackles defeats the geometry of the transverse spring. It will introduce a lot of sway which is not really safe. Last, although I didn't do it, I like the idea of replacing the rear crossmember with a flat one to get a good drop in the rear without messing with the spring.
Factory axle has a 2 1/4" drop and 4" would lower your car 1 3/4"'s. Dropping the axle usually moves the king pins in 1" per side but they can stretch the axle during the drop and maintain king pin length. Not stretching the axle will give you more tire to fender clearance but might reduce your turning radius because of hitting the wishbone. You may have to bend your spindle arms down to clear the wishbones as well.
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