Whats up guys, not sure if anyone remembers when I posted before, I mianly hang out on Layitlow.com. I bought a 1958 Mercury Monterey in pretty damn good shape and I want to drop it. It's got leaves in the rear, and regular control arms in the front with coils. What would be the best way to get her to the ground? I plan to evenatually lay it all the way out with bags, but I want to get it lowered decentley to start with. I'm assuming lowering blocks in the rear and cut coils up front? Do I need a dropped spindle kit up front too? If so, who manufactures 58 Merc droped spindles? Thanks for all your help!! John
I cut 1 coil in the front and added a 1" lowering block (saggy springs) in the rear. I wasn't going for a slammed look, I just wanted it a little lower without being a hassle to drive. Second pic by SoCalCarCulture.
Are the A arms the same as a '53? The lowers being the "two-piece" type? We used a method found here on the HAMB to lower my '53 Merc. It involves splitting the lower A arms and adding a spacer between the two sections. I believe it was a tech post and you will probably find it using the search feature. Anyway, it lowered my '53 a good 2-3" without cutting the coils at all. The car rides great as well. Spike
If you want to upgrade the brakes at the same time they make dropped granada disc brake spindles for this application. by the way your car looks pretty clean.
Wouldn't that cause the tires to bow in really bad? I've heard of people doing that to the UPPERS when they're doing hydraulics, but thats only because when you empty the cylinders, the camber will even out. What would be a good keyword for that search? This site is so huge I don't think I would ever find it. BTW, Thanks Prime Mover. I'd love for you to post some pics of your ride, I really haven't seen too many 50's Monterey's done up.
Mines a parklane, I've tried to get a couples posts off the ground here but not a lot of interest in late 50's mercurys, especially 4 doors like ours. 58's and 59's are my favorites.
Hell yeah, I think mine will be quite a bit more interesting when it's layed out flat on fat whites and cruiser skirts. You got any pictures?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260795&highlight=aerostar LQQK here^^^^^ (Nice Merc!!)
Steamboat... Cool car ! Very rare ! '58 was a Recession Year and the '58 models - even though many were changed from the '57's - did not sell well. A very soft year for sales, which is one of the reasons the Edsel tanked. (However, one of FoMoCo's best sellers was the Thunderbird.) The Merc's were great...good luck with any changes you make with it, and it doesn't need much ! Jonnie King www.legends.thewwbc.net
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