I put dad's car back on the ground for the first time last night. Holy crap is it loooow! Too low in fact, he won't be able to get in his driveway. It was already lowered before I did the swap, now it sits about 2-1/2" lower then that. The kit come with standard spindles and 900 lb springs. I need to get this thing up by about 2 inches. Any ideas on what rate springs I should try up front? I wonder if anyone makes "raised" mustang II spindles.
I've got the same problem. Once I get out of my driveway I don't have too much problem. Rides real smooth and looks cool, but would like to get it up about 1 to 1 1/2 more inches.
900 lbs springs sounds like big block springs, but if they are not see if you can order springs for a big block from an after market frontend supplier. The guys at autozone will be clueless. If that will not work, QA1 makes a retorfit fit to put coilovers in the frontend and they have quite few different spring rates avalible. What kind of car is it in and are you sure you don't have dropped spindles installed? Rodger
I've gone threw this before also. Ranger p/u springs work good. Get some from the wrecker and chop till you get the right hieght. They're pretty stiff too....Shiny
It's a bolt in kit from RB's, it's in a 51 Chev hardtop, 6 cylinder with a turbo 350. The 900 lb springs come standard with the kit. I wonder if those come standard assuming you're going to run a small block?
I think the SBC is lighter than your 6. So now that you are totally finished, was it worth it?How much was that kit? I'm scared to ask......
Here's a cheaper alternative to swapping springs. Go to Speedway's web site, click the Race section and check out 'adjustable hidden spring shims'. These are used to adjust the ride height on circle track cars when conventional weight jacks aren't allowed. You can easily gain a couple of inches of height with these. Jan
When you say 900 pound springs, you mean that is what they are supposed to carry at ride height not spring rate, and that seems awfull low. 1800 pounds of sprung weight isn't much for a full bodied car. Give me some details, type of car, engine and trans, brass or copper radiator etc. If you can give me some spring dimensions, inner diameter, wire diameter and free length and loaded length (as in as it sits right now) I can determine just how much weight you are really carrying. Next jack the car up to the desired ride height and measure the distance between the upper spring pocket and lower control arm seat. Also it would help to know whos kit it is you installed and what type of lower control arms and who made them. The distance between the lower control arm attachment bolt and the upper control arm cross shaft should be around 9.5" in the front but a lot of manufacturers spread that distance to make installing the kit easier at the expense of ride control. increasing that distance will chance the camber curve more negative and induce more tire roll and thus more understeer. At the proper ride height your tie rods should be level to the ground unlike the mass of manufacturers suggesting that the lower control arms should be.
Duh! I should pay more attention, Yeah those RB bolt in kits spread the control arm distance so you don't have to C-notch the frame for rack and pinion clearance. So you will need a taller spring. I would still like to know the dimensioning in my previous post so I can give you a specific part number you can go to a parts store and get the right ones the first time. The springs in the picture seem short. But pictures can be decieving
One last thing! You will need a good size anti-roll bar! That is if you want this to handle well. The six is taller than a V8 and has more mass higher in the car. That coupled with the slower camber curve designed into that front end kit will give you below average performance. I found that late 70's to early 80's GM G body front anti-roll bars work great for these cars! They are available from factory sizes 3/4" to 1.125" and some aftermarket up to 1.5"!! In your case I would recommend the 1" bar.
Elpolacko, I was hoping you'd see this! I'll take some measurements tonite. Right now the tie rods are pointing up at the sky. Thanks for the tip on the sway bar, that was going to be my next challenge.
Having a 52 Chevy w/ a MII front end myself, I'll second the ElP's vote for a sway bar (anti-roll-bar actually). I have the 1" bar from Chassis Engineering on the front of my car, and it made a whole world of difference when I installed it. (I was running the OEM MII bar before... with the big ugly dip in it that kept hitting on everything.) ElP, are you suggesting the rear bars from the G-bodys? I'd like to add a rear bar to my 52 for even better performance... and more stability in crosswinds. (A frequent problem in my commute.)
The rear bar on the G connects between the lower control arms and unless you have the rear suspension out of the G it would be useless. If you are looking for a good rear bar, try something like a Granada or Ford Full size. They have a bar that clamps to the axle housing and then you make links to connect to the frame. I think some 70's Camaros had a similar bar but would be too wide to fit, but then again some tape measuring may be in order.
Well, here's an update. I received a PM from a fellow HAMBer that works for RB's. He told me that those kits only come with 2 spring rates 425 and 500. I checked my invoice and it looks like I have 425 lb springs, no wonder the car sits so low. I'm not sure where I got the 900 number from (brain fart?) He told me that the kit should have come with the 500 lb springs. I'm not sure if that will be enough to raise the car 2 inches.
You are right the lowers are tilted too far up and clearance is not adequate....chech and see if your stock coils will fit in the tower rings....I used a set of 53 chevy coils on a 48 ford[W MustII] and was about perfect- I did cut one turn off the bottoms...... dumb question- what is that weld on the lower arm mounting tab?
GADZOOKS! Yeah that looks real bad, there can't be any suspension left! the ball joints, tie rods and shock look like they are at their limits. 425 and 500 you say?? hmmmmm, Terry you must be watching this so could you give me a call tomorrow? Got a few questions for you here so we can get this guy straightened out.
Spoke to Terry from RB's this morning, gave him the invoice # and yes I have the wrong springs. We are going to do a spring swap and get the right springs. I should have phoned RB's from the get go, I assumed that I had done something wrong and that's why it was sitting so low. A big thanks to Terry and RB's for fixing the mistake so quickly.
We used to run front springs that rated at anywhere from 900# to 1200# on the front of our dirt stock cars...even 500# sounds a little light...spring rates are determeined by the number of #'s it takes to compress the spring one inch..you can take a known weight (100/200/300 lbs., etc.) measure the spring and the amount it compresses with a given weight and calculate the rate from there. Remember, when you shorten a spring, you make it stiffer...
Well, I am not El Polacko, but I can tell you what I did for a rear sway bar. I used the stock 3/4-inch Must II FRONT bar for the rear on my 38 Chevy. That dip in the Must II bar is perfect to dip under the rear differential. I turned the bar around 180 degrees so the free ends are pointing forward. I used some 3 inch muffler clamps combined with the stock sway bar frame mounts to mount the bar to the rearend. Then I just fabbed some extension pieces to mount the free end to the frame on each side. Combined with the 1-inch front bar it makes the car handle great.
I had actually thought about that, but the frame rails on my 52 are a little too wide to do that easily. Great idea, tho.
Rocket, did you see this question??......we're rethinking the 50 since my son has laid claim to it. We already have the motor out and all the front sheetmetal off. I was thinking of pulling the body this summer so now would be a good time to do the conversion.
No drama here! The swap would have been much easier if the tin was off the front, or in your case the body off the frame. This car has been built backwards, from the outside in over quite a few years. The paint on this thing is nearly 20 years old and chips easily, I think that's where the biggest pressure came from.
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