Whats the lowest you can go with lowered coils and blocks w/o major mods??? The choices are 1 to 3 inches... Im leaning towards 2 inches all around. Any info and pics would be appreciated.
I have lowered mine in the front by cutting 2 full coils, When I put the springs back into the uprights, I did not even have to use a spring compressor. They barely slid in by hand. I also had to cut the bump stops and run shorter shocks. There is about 1.5 inches of suspension travel in the front. I have to be careful what kind of surfaces I drive over. Any large bumps or holes and it jars the car pretty hard as the suspension bottoms out. In the back I am running the original saggy old leaf springs with 1.5" lowering blocks and custom bent u-bolts, since the axle housings are so small near the ends. The car sits WAY down low, and looks killer. I drive it daily, and do not mind having to be careful how I drive it. The tires are tucked way up into the fender wells, and I can turn lock to lock with out any rubbing on factory steel wheels. I used to have a set of 14" keystone classics on it, and they would rub if I turned hard. I'll see if I can round up some pics soon. Its dark outside or I'd run out there and take one real quick.
Keep in mind that when you buy an aftermarket "lowered coil" they are rating that number based off of stock height with a new spring. Let that spring sit around for 40 plus years and they will have sagged a considerable amount. So you might put a 2" lowering spring in there only to find that you only bought yourself .5 to 1" Just food for thought.
^^^That's great advice.^^^ Check out the pics of my in my profile. 1.5 coils in the front and 2" blocks in the back on a 13" wheel. Rides pretty good. Hits hard on big bumps. I haven't changed my bump stops. Norton
Here's a pic of a 62 I used to own. I cut two full coils off the original springs & removed two leaves from the rear. So, I went from 5 leaves to 3, and I also used 3" blocks & air shocks.
I dont want it slammed, I just want to close the gap between the tire and fender. 27kid, your stance looks perfect to me... so 1.5 coils is about 2 inches isnt it?? So you guys suggest cutting the coils instead ob buying lowered ones??? I have to say, thats much cheaper lol Ive never cut coils before. Do you just use a 4 inch grinder, measure and whack away or ???
55 1st Series, Kudos for driving that slick Falcon wagon with such a dramatic static drop! Back in 1999, my '63 Ranchero sat that low with a modified mini-truck air bag system installed yet I still dragged parts across the payment. I quickly learned the meaning of "Scrub Line" as I lost my exhaust, ruined a cherry rear bumper and cracked an oil pan due to the numerous potholes and uneven roadways that plague the SoCal landscape.
Retro, I scraped off a few parts as well. Automatic transmission pans mostly! My fix was to put in a 4 speed out of a 64 Falcon. Then I had my exhaust redone so it ran in the driveshaft tunnel, under the driveshaft. After that, the only thing that dragged was my spare tire well. It was about 1.5" lower than the rear quarter panel. I was going to cut it & weld in a piece flush with the rear quarter, but I ended up selling it.
you can buy the lowerd springs and leaf springs for the drop aswell, a bit pricy though. Im going with 2 in the front and 3 in the back, looks better on the floor -sam
Falconers, here is a small trick; I got this shock tower brace kit so that I had more elbow room when checking plugs, routing wiring and installing brakes lines. Had to cut the old brace out. Not sure that was a good idea. The original brace is a main part of the uni-body. Fender-to-door gap changed noticeably. Don't recommend this change for hard racing. The aluminum plate that sits on top of the shock tower has a hole cut in it to clear the top of the shock absorber. It doesn't, so I clamped it in the drillpress and cut a bigger hole with a 2 1/4" hole saw. Replaced the 3 bolts that hold the shock cap with longer ones. It occurred to me that longer bolts and some spacers or a stack of washers will give a 1/2" more height for shock travel. I will cut the threaded stud of the shock off to avoid denting the hood when closing it for the first time. My Falcon isn't a daily driver anymore but I don't own a trailer for it either. My twin 16 year-old boys will love driving it to high school ...
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