Well, we did it. Knuckle and I took two coils out at all four corners of the car. But..........we never even gave thought to the weight of the engine bringing the front down to the bumpstops. Probably should have cut a little less out of the front . Looks cool as hell and LOW!! My question is, if I cut the bumpstops down, will the car just sag more or will it give it some space to move? It'll be a rough ride as is and wanting to know what my options are before I buy different coils and start over. It's a 327 under the hood if that matters (weight wise). Thanks elky experts in advance. Mootz
I cut the springs in my 65 belair, and went a bit far too, I had a little gap before I would hit the front bumpstops, but now a couple years later it sits on them. Suprisingly it rides ok, a bit harsh on big bumps, but not bad on the highway. I would try taking the bump stops off and see how much more it sags down, then you will know if cutting them a little will give you some travel. Most likely you will need to get some new front springs to stay off the bumpstops.
I had cut coils years ago, cut a little two much. I put rubber spacers from the auto parts store to give them a little more lift. http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2005888/p-2005888/N-111+10201+600003419/c-10101 I also used these...I think they ended up working better. All this was only temporary until I forked over the $100 or so for the proper shorter springs with the correct spring rate, and the pain in the ass to take it all apart again and put them in.
hows your drive shaft clear? i cut two coils on my old 59 and had major drive shaft issues. I would try taking the bump stops out and see what happens then from there decide if you can cut them down or start over with new springs. coils spring specilties can make lowerd coils for the same price as new stock ones.
Drive shaft issues as in vibrations? We haven't driven it yet but have bounced around on the rear bumper and nothing appears to be hitting or rubbing. I'll check into the lowered coils, thanks for the info. Kustombuilder, I was eyeing your bag kits back when I had money, now there is a 3 duece setup sitting here waiting to go on instead and now I'm broke. Mootz
hey Mootz. i'll still hook you up when you are ready. i prolly won't be able to offer the same price but i alwasy hook my HAMB buddies up anyways. a HAMBer should NEVER pay retail for a big kit as long as i'm around . the driveshaft issues are that with the rear coming down it pushes the driveshaft forward. that WILL destroy the carrier bearing because it puts forward pressure on it. we tore the bearing out of a 59 BelAir in less than 50 miles. hang tight and i'll link a thread covering this...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135505&highlight=x-frame we discused different options in this thread. SKIP DOWN TO POST #34.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/path.2005/img.91645551_1_L.JPG/deptId.157/displayId.3389/qx/ProductLargeView.htm There is also the option of using these coil spring adjusters. We used them in our stock cars and they work really well. I would assume if you are worried about ride quality, you would want to get a spring that is the exact height you need. These are more for racecars that need adjustablility for ride heights and different handling characteristics. But I also cut some coils too much on a Galaxie I have and put two of these in and raised her back upa alittle. I drive on the street with them and haven't got around to getting a new set of coils for her yet.
Ride quality isn't the biggest issue, in fact I haven't even driven it. I guess my main question was if I cut the bumpstops, will it sag more or allow me to have a little more movement? It also appears now I will need to have the driveshaft shortened and other work done, it's just money... Mootz
that totaly depends on how hard it is sitting on the bump stops. if it is just barely touching them then it will likely have some (al beit very little) more travel. if it's sitting on them hard it might just sag till it rests on what is left of the bump stop or whatever else it bottoms out on next.
I didn't measure but how many inches lower does cutting two coils typically make it? It would appear to be only about 3 or so, maybe I'm wrong? How many inches should I take out of my driveshaft? Mootz
i cut 1coil out of the original coil springs (6 cyl) which should be stiffer,dropped alot in front .put new stationwagon springs in back sat up like a offroader. they will sag after about a year.maybe get a set out of a passenger car, for rear, cut 1 coil that will set er down ok. take your center bearing,fill it full of g.e. silicone let it set for 24 hours that will help with the strength of the bearing,(or it did on mine).the 1 coil out of the front put her down plenty with still some travel between the bump stop. i might add this to was a 59 el camino. rule of thumb. its alway better to cut a little at a time than to much the first time. i guess its to late for that now. like he said abouve if its not hard on the bump stop trim about half off of it, i don't think i would go any more. my .02 now about those bags, how much for$$$$ the elky.
like stated above, there is no real way of telling if it will settle more, but from the sound of it you should definately take the bump stops out... also its nice (if you have the ability) to raise the car up or drive over a pit so you can see your clearances of everything with the suspension compressed as it should be. you may run into tire/turning/driveshaft problems without knowing it. lower is better. i took 1.5 coils out of the front of my galaxie, and with 175/70/14 tires the frame is about 3/4 inch off the ground and level front to back. rides beautifully...speed bumps are a no go. .02 -jake
I've run a car lowered to the bumpstops by leaving the torch on the spring too long. Doh! Personally prefered it with the bumpstops in. They still deflected and gave an inch travel and kept the crossmember off the ground way better than without stops. Downside was bump stops only lasted a few thousand miles. Upside was bump stops are cheap.
Don't feel pregnant- I did the same on my 62 once and it was on the pavement no ride left.... 1-1/4 turns ended up the most I could remove per coil.....THAT WAS OFF THE 2ND SET.....HA!
Well, my old 60 El Camino i cut 2 coils form the front and 2.5 out of the back. Original V-8 car so the springs were a little stronger than 6 cyl version. I was sitting at the bump stop, so I cut my bump stops down and it had about 2 inches travel on the front. In rear I did the same to the bump stops. Front crossmember under the engine was about 2 inches off the ground. If you put the car up in the air with weight on the suspension, loosen your carrier bearing bolts and let it slide to where it is not under stress at "static" ride height. This will let it operate as normal and not be pre-stressed or over extended. Attached pic is my 60, it was my daily driver. Speed bumps had to go slow and scrape, even scrape a few high center driveways. The price to pay for riding low.
There will be pics soon, I want to get it outside and get some good shots and then do the Hamb unveiling. 38chevy454........When you say just loosen the carrier bearing bolts and let it slide, does this mean you didn't shorten the driveshaft? In all reality, when you push the front of the car down, it's got more movement than you would think while on the bumpstops. I'll just have to see how it rides and go from there. Mootz
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