In Hop Up(the first 12 issues), Jerry Quesnel's Barris built 49 Merc is on pg. 346. George Barris explains the lowering of the rear of the Merc. George says "the springs were removed and inverted and lowering blocks positioned. Spring hangers were cut, heated and moved closer to the frame." Jerry's Merc is very low, 2" of the ground in the rear. But it looks damn right. Have any of you inverted a set of springs on a Merc or a heavy 50's car? Is it safe at all? Will the springs inverted, still hold their shape? Of course you have to c-notch the frame and move the spring hangers. I was just wandering about the springs themselves?
If you trun the springs upside down (inverted) that will not spring much if anything at all. That makes the arch go of instead of down.
i think they mean the sprinngs had the eyes reversed, ie. the pack taken apart, the main leaf beaten into submission, then reassembled. writers them weren't any better than now!
This would be ok for a show-car,but for everyday driving,it's very risky=dangerous.After years of"working"one way,then inverting it??? I would not recomend this practice.There are other good ways to lower a Merc,safely. Sparky
Thanks for the info! Inverting the springs doesn't sound like a pactical idea. I was surpised to see that Barris had done this. On my 50 Merc, I have Jamco 3" drop leaf springs with 3" lowering blocks. And the bottom of the springs are already below the bottom of the rim(past the scrub line). I still need to lower the Merc 3" to 4" in the rear, for the stance to be real low and look right. The Merc just sits up too high right now. I am thinking about moving the springs to insde the frame rails, to gain a couple more inches. I also do not want to channel this Merc.
I had about the same setup you did, Jamco springs and 3 1/2" blocks. The car just wasn't low enough. I removed half of the leaves to lower the car more. I then added small air bags that go directly over the leaf springs. I don't think the smaller leaf count springs would work well by themselves. The springs with air out end up arching backwards, (the middle of the spring is farther from the ground than the ends of the spring). That works for slow cruising. For freeway driving and most over times, I air up the bags and the spring becomes more normally arched. Yes, the bags are now doing more of the work than the springs.
Mikes51-Thanks for the info on your Merc. Your Merc always looks great. What setup do you have for your front suspension? I just don't want to hear a loud-ass compresser all the time. But I do love the look of Mercs laying on the ground. I am just trying to have a real-low Merc with no channeling, 4-link, or bags. And have a pretty good riding car. The classic custom struggle!! Glassguy did his Merc with dearched springs and 6" blocks. But Jim from Jamco said that dearched springs will only hold the dearch for about 6 months. Glassguys Merc has a really nice stance.
Not to hijack this post, but, Mike, is your M/C on the firewall or under the floor? If it's under the floor I need to talk to you about that.
[ QUOTE ] This would be ok for a show-car,but for everyday driving,it's very risky=dangerous.After years of"working"one way,then inverting it??? I would not recomend this practice.There are other good ways to lower a Merc,safely. Sparky [/ QUOTE ] spring steel doesn't know which way is up or down, it's not very smart y'know. spring shops do exactly this, use a press to put whatever arch you want back into the spring, it's age really doesn't matter much. remember that spring steel is made to bend repeatedly, that's its job.
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