Front suspension...., What front suspension offers the best ride ? On my avatar, 4 bar, panhard bar, Posie's low rider spring, shocks = craptastic ride. Not part of the ride problem but it has Vega cross steering. I have had the shocks off completely and this did not make much difference so I'd say shock valving is not part of the problem. This design overs a neat rake but puts the spring up into the frame and under a little load the spring will bottom out on the frame rail. Static ride height to spring/frame contact only offers about an inch of compression motion, I'm thinking not enough. So the ask is what would be better ? About anything goes that keeps in the overall flavor of fenderless Hot Rod. 4 bar with coils ? Like some of the custom cars yore have a great look but do they ride well ? Nothing wrong with hair pin control arms. Some type of independent ? coilovers or airbags ? Some of that stuff is expensive, but not out of the question as long as the ride is there. After market control arms with a bit of chrome, not likely going to use box stock salvage yard stuff even there was any to be found. Might be nice to get rack n pinion steering. 1/4 elliptical springs ? Friction shocks ? Jag type torsion bar ? Cantilever parts might be cool in some views, not sure I like that stuff fully exposed. But hey I'll listen and consider all options. I've been all over the web and have seen many pictures, but post up any photos as you want. Thanks for listening.
How about putting a spacer between the top of the spring and the crossmember to increase spring to frame clearance and reduce/eliminate spring bottoming on frame rail? If that raise the car too high for your taste, a dropped axle would lower the car without adversely affecting the above suggested increased spring clearance.. Lastly, is is possible that the Posie’s spring is too stiff for the weight of the front of you car? More pics of the front end would offer insight and improve responses. Ray
More pics of your current setup would be very helpful. Be ready for a million different opinions, but likely some combination of a higher spring with a dropped axle will get you where you want to go. Talk of MII and Jag stuff is going to be strictly off topic here...
Fix the spring to frame interference and then get back to us on how you like the ride. Hard stops on moving suspension components lead to hard rides and broken parts.
Adding a spacer on top the spring is an option, it would take longer bolts to secure the bottom plate to the cross member. Doing this would allow more compression travel but not soften the ride any. The gap between the spring and frame rail is about 3/4" and as you can see, it does get there. I'm almost ashamed of posting these pictures of such a dirty car, but I do drive it.
No kidding, given the parts involved I would like to see any change anyone would have to offer. Notching the frame rail would allow more compression travel, but this mod is one I am rather reluctant to do. Given that all the parts are box stock from PeteNJakes there is not much to change. And I have shared similar photos and questions with the folks at PeteNJakes, their reply is that what I have is typical. I did pile clay on top the spring below the frame rail, drove it, stopping several times to observe the squish. Only on one quite bad railroad crossing was there spring/frame contact. The Posies spring does have the plastic sliders and I have unloaded the spring and grease them with no change. Adding my 2oo lbs on the front frame rails and jumping does not deflect the spring at all, I checked this with the clay also. It seems that once static loaded the spring is at a point of very high spring rate.
I'd say your shocks are totally worn out. I'd also take a close look at all the bushings, both front and rear. Then check front end alignment and all tire pressures.
We notched the frame above the spring on low cars. But as far as a “good ride” that’s what larger cars are for.
My Deuce has similar setup. Inside edge of frame has a slight notch, it never bottoms (60k+ miles). Adding Bilstein shocks made a BIG difference in ride.
Tires? Off-topic tires ride better than bias ply. Otherwise, notch the frame or suicide front end. Experiment with springs - a softer spring perhaps but spaced down a bit. A mono-leaf spring will not have the "stiction" issues of your multi-leaf spring pack...
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/front-c-notch-on-model-a-frame.1124847/ Looks like you’ve got everything you need. A notch would solve the spring hitting issue. Your spring shackle angle looks good in the pic. That being incorrect can affect the ride. You mentioned shocks. Bilstein is where I’d look for those. But if you want a Cadillac ride, drive a Cadillac.
Step up for the Bilstein Street Rod shocks, I'll bet that helps. I put a set on a 39 Ford and they were great.
What these guys said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NOTHING will work if it is bottoming out on the frame. Chop chop weld weld
Not being able to deflect the spring by bouncing up and down on the frame suggests a bit too much spring. Try taking a leaf or two out and driving it. You can add a block to replace the thickness you take out. It will probably hit the frame rather solidly.
WOW, some great comments!! Let me try to address some of them. Tires - Alignment, tow in does not affect ride, it affects handling. Tow in is at 1/16 using the tape measure method. - Bias ply at their proper PSI are a firm ride and should NOT re ran at lower PSI. They will over heat which will lead to failure. - Radial ply are by design more squishy and will tolerate some lower PSI as long as they are not over heated. Mine are radial and I run them at 24 psi. They do not get hot after hours at interstate speeds nor on curvy mountain roads. During the 200 lbs jump test there is more squish in the tires than the spring/shocks. Shocks - Worn out shocks do not freeze, lockup, stop moving. They stop dampening, they loose the ability to slowdown motion. These shocks act like new ones, real good compression dampening with much more extension dampening. I my opinion these shocks are designed for a much heavier car. My avatar weighs 2500 lbs. - The Bilstein suggestion is a really good one. Thanks for the reminder. I have ran Bilsteins on a Jeep Wrangler and they do have a very nice squishy ride. C-notch - At first I was reluctant to do this mod. But now I feel it is a good one as long as the notch is closed in like the examples provided. Bushings - Every bushing on the car is quite new and in excellent shape. Spring - Removing a leaf or 2 would help, but will also make the frame interference worse. Not an option. - Mono leaf or another / different one. I was hoping for someone to have a good suggestion on this. I am not going to randomly purchase springs with only hopes of an improvement. - Mounting height spacing does not offer much in this case. Adding much of a spacer and capturing the stack with longer bolts is not an option that I'll consider. There is a 1/4 spacer on top the lower mount plate that could be moved to the top of the stack, this will help the frame interference issue a little. Independent / coils / airbags - I get it that these options are out side the Traditional and for this car are not an option, I am simply not going to put that kind of work/expense into this car. I do like the custom / show car look of a smallish coil. My plan - Bilstein shocks, I found that they do offer a chrome one of similar size so this will happen - Leaf stack will get some changes. a completely new spring is still an option - C-notch. I do not like the flames/Milner yellow and a repaint is in the plan for this car so when it is apart for that I will notch the frame. I might hack away at it sooner, but my bottom side welding skills are a bit weak. Ohya, if your suggestion is a luxury car, you're simply on the wrong forum. Thank you all for offering your thoughts!!
My front frame notch is not even noticable from the outside. The frame rail is a squared off 'C' shape. The lower plate was cut from the inside toward the outside above the spring. The piece between the cuts was bent upward, then boxed, etc. to maintain the original strength. The bent upward piece is roughly parallel to the spring. I hope you can visualize this, I'm not sure I can get a useful photo.
My personal preference is against coil overs on an A (or most anything). What type of harsh ride are you talking about, bucking forward and back, stiff compression, stiff recoil, stiff all the time.....A's have a short wheel base which makes for some bucking. A friend on here was chasing a similar issue for awhile and has it pretty nailed down now on his full fendered '30. Paging @Some Guy
Wait a bit - - before you spend money on something that may not help the problem, experiment a little more. You've already removed the shocks and the spring stiffness wasn't affected so changing them won't help. You also said that bouncing your 200 lbs didn't deflect the spring either. Seems to me, with that little frame clearance, you should be hitting - - a lot! Ergo (?!) Too much spring. Go back and read post 15 - he suggests removing a leaf and compensating for the thickness with a shim. Why don't you try that and take a ride. Not across the state, just around the block and over some bumps. If that improves the ride you'll know where to spend your money more effectively. You should still improve your frame to spring clearance no matter what. Then maybe you can think about those shocks. Good luck!
Until you either put in a different spring (with more arch to it), space down the one you have and or c-notch the frame, everything else (at this point) is a waste of time. One look at your setup and it is obvious that your current setup will bottom out and that is a dangerous situation to be in. Fix the spring issue first, then go after the rest.
This is the crux of the issue. Until you can have a nice bouncy spring movement, everything else is moot. Gentle movement, not trampoline bouncy. Achieve that with the spring and adequate frame clearance for travel then fit good shocks as mentioned. Yes, you will have to do something to allow spring travel! Throwing a bunch of other parts at it will not substitute for a lack of travel.
When One is set up correct No matter Bias or Radial & good quality shocks A Real good soft ride, one was set up with Ford friction shocks , I have P&J set ups in all , The one with friction shocks was Original 32 front suspension with 4 inch drop. from ground to bottom of frame where spring is 9-3/4 inchs , On inside of rail I have 5/8s clearance between rail & top spring ,No notch , My spring does not bottom out , I have a high torque engine , I can completely extend the front end let off & not bottom out on frame . I believe I have a 3/4 spacer On top of spring . Most Model As & 32s with sbc have 42-44 % weight on front Axle I have both As & 32s roaster sedan coupe, & around about another 15 of
Just about every Rolling bones built car runs an A style crossmember with the frame being notched. the Frame horn is more decorative than functional if you don't have a bumper on it and doesn't add any strength. These photos jacked from a Hamb thread on Rolling Bones front ends of a style that was first seen long before on an Iconic 32 roadster. Done as PPrather mentioned it really isn't going to be very noticeable.
@anthony myrick is correct, the OP is a little too smug. I would fixe the spring, notch the frame , NEVER consider IFS or Coil overs and drive the shit out of that piss yellow coupe.
I chased the rough ride on my model A for three years, and reworked the suspension 100s of times. For the front, I ended up removing one of the leaf springs and re-arcing the other six springs about a 1" or so on each side to compensate for the missing spring. I also added two spacers to the top of the spring pack to add a 1/2" more space for the tires to clear the fenders. I used speedway non-gas charged shocks and angle them as far as possible to reduce the stiffness of them.
As everyone else already said, notch that frame. Once the suspension can move freely without colliding with solid objects you may find you don't need anything else.
The Jalopy Journal
