lowering the front end on a step-down

[Deleted User]

can anyone advise me on lowering the front end of my 51 step-down? I know there is lowering blocks for the rear but the front end is a horse of a different color.

anyone got any advise?

faustmb

I am planning to do the same thing. I would like to drop the car 2-3" in bolt on fashion. I am planning on picking up an extra set of front springs and cutting some coils off until I get the right height. Good or bad idea? Anyone?



Matt

Unknown

Doing a bolt in is a good idea if you want to keep the front end Hudson. I am not aware of any dropped spindles available at this time. The old method of cutting coils works but usually affects the ride as well as the geometry of the suspension. There are coil spring producers out there that will be able to give you the proper stock spring rate in a shorter spring which will effectively lower the car. Cutting coils with a torch can alter the structure of the metal, causing issues later on. Hope this helps. Good luck!

rambos_ride

backtohudsons wrote:

Doing a bolt in is a good idea if you want to keep the front end Hudson. I am not aware of any dropped spindles available at this time. The old method of cutting coils works but usually affects the ride as well as the geometry of the suspension. There are coil spring producers out there that will be able to give you the proper stock spring rate in a shorter spring which will effectively lower the car. Cutting coils with a torch can alter the structure of the metal, causing issues later on. Hope this helps. Good luck!

DITTO what backtohudson says!

I'm going to wait until the 49 is completely back together with everything on it and with a full tank of gas - then decide what to do with ride height.

Getting springs made isn't too awfully expensive and would give a better ride.

If you absolutely don't have the cash and not lowering is not an option I would cut the springs with a metal cutting saw or 4" grinder with a metal cutting disk - as opposed to the "hot wrench" or torch.

faustmb

I was thinking I would use my 4" grinder with a cutoff wheel. Since used springs are pretty cheap, I thought it would be an easily reversible way to do some height & ride tests. I could always throw the stock springs back in if I am unhappy with the results. Custom springs sounds like a better long term solution. I still have plenty of other things to do to the car before I will even attempt lowering, but I think it will give it a nice stance. I'm not set on lowing the car, it's just on the "want" list right now, along with headers & dual exhaust....



Thanks for the info,



Matt

[Deleted User]

I agree with everyone above, torching springs is not a good idea (though that was the method years ago). If you cut the springs and find a good ride quality and height (and that will align properly), please post your results. I know there are some guys out there with the same question. I'm going with the MII, but I want mine "in the weeds!"



Jay

rambos_ride

faustmb wrote:

I was thinking I would use my 4" grinder with a cutoff wheel. Since used springs are pretty cheap, I thought it would be an easily reversible way to do some height & ride tests. I could always throw the stock springs back in if I am unhappy with the results. Custom springs sounds like a better long term solution. I still have plenty of other things to do to the car before I will even attempt lowering, but I think it will give it a nice stance. I'm not set on lowing the car, it's just on the "want" list right now, along with headers & dual exhaust....

Thanks for the info,

Matt

Yep, the 4" and cutting wheel shouldn't change the temper of the spring end where it is cut. I still believe removing any coils may affect the spring rate.

There was another post out here on the forum a while back where someone had found an old kit or instructions on drilling out and lowering the spring pad on the lower a-arm.

I haven't really looked at the a-arms to see if this is a viable alternative or not?

Unknown

My friend, Walt Nowak, and I lowered his '51 with lowering blocks in the rear. Then in the front, we took the lower a-arm off and knocked the rivets out of the spring bucket. We then took some solid bar we had, 1" X 1 1/4", and drilled holes in it to match the buckets and a-arms. We did this in the 1" direction. Then we bolted them together with grade 8 bolts. We also used small tack welds to keep things from wanting to move around, but we didn't want a lot of heat. The welding may, or may not, have been necessary; but we felt better. We took some rough measurements before we started and it looks like a 2:1 ratio. 1" blocks = 2" lowering. That figures because if you measure from the inner pivot points to the middle of the spring, and from the inner pivot to the connection of the spindle upright, that's a 1:2 ratio. Yes, the a-arms are now pointed more upward, they can still be aligned. With the bucket moved down, we can still use the stock spring and shock. If you want full travel, you will need to trim the bump stop somewhat. Hope this helps.

Unknown

There are a couple of other methods, but none are as good as new custom springs, just depends on how much you want to spend. One option is to heat your existing coils under a load to "relax" the spring. If your're not going much more than 1-1/2", this works pretty well, but will tend to "bottom out" on large bumps due to the coils being located closer to one another. A second option and probably the cheapest, at least time wise, is to but Spring Clamps, which is a bolt on type of clamp that you put right on the spring. Again, this is detrimental to the ride quality, but does get you lower in a hurry. Can easily be lowered up to about 2-1/4" without too much trouble.



Russell

boothguy

Rodder- got any pix?

faustmb

Has anyone had good or bad experience with a specific spring manufacturer? I would be interested in checking into it. If there is enough interest, maybe we could look into a group order? There seems to be quite a few of us looking for something similar...



Matt

hudsonjeff

Eaton Detroit Spring has specs for originals and can make springs to lower the front up to 2". Cost is $165.00. I did not ask shipping price I am local but they said one to two days to make. They are on Michigain ave in Detroit and have been around a long time quality should not be a problem.

[Deleted User]

When you shorten a coil spring, you run into a couple of problems. You run the risk of coil bind which can cause suspension damage. Also the spring becomes stiffer which affects the ride quality. You may be able to live with these problems but the right way to do it is to use new springs which can be wound shorter but with a different spring rate.(makes for a more comfortable ride) Granted, the coil bind is in extreme cases, but it is something that must be considered. if you shorten the spring you can bottom the shocks and so need new shocks, also something to consider. Just thinking on the keyboard and don't mean to discourage anyone. If you want it in the weeds, why not consider one of the AIR RIDE suspension kits? Then you can travel at normal ride height and cruise with it in the weeds with the touch of a button.

Bob

TwinH

I'll second Eaton Detroit Spring www.eatonsprings.com. Have dealt with them

before and had great service.

rambos_ride

hudsonjeff wrote:

Eaton Detroit Spring has specs for originals and can make springs to lower the front up to 2". Cost is $165.00. I did not ask shipping price I am local but they said one to two days to make. They are on Michigain ave in Detroit and have been around a long time quality should not be a problem.

I don't know but that seems like a reasonable price to have a quality set of springs...

faustmb

I agree. The price seems very reasonable. We'll see how Santa does this year...



Matt

[Deleted User]

I can give you some input on air ride- I WOULDN'T HAVE IT ON ANYTHING I OWN!!!

If you rupture an air bag you could be on the side of the road for days, they are not readily available, and although you can slam a vehicle down on the ground the risk of trouble on the road in unfamaliar areas, the look does not justify the risk.

just my $.02 worth.

Unknown

Bill, I can heartily agree. My experience is with Lincoln Mark VIIs. When an airbag goes, all you can do is have it towed. I got really good at changing the bags on the Marks, front ones in 20 minutes and rears in 30 minutes. When I owned them, I couldn't afford the $400 per bag new so I got spares at the wrecking yards.



I'm not convinced that the new systems are any better yet...

rambos_ride

Thats a really good point Bill...I don't think I had thought about that angle much - but then I'm not going to use air ride on mine!



I think after its together and I don't like the height I will have new springs made front and rear to have the lowering effect I want.

hornet53

Depends on how low you want it. If you have a Hornet, you can swap the front springs out of an early stepdown (lighter engine). This will lower it around an inch in the front, and still be alignable. As far as the back, I wouldn't suggest anything lower than 2 inch blocks. I lowered my 53 Hornet 3 inches in the back and it offset the rearend to one side, causing it to crabwalk down the road. The only way around that is to have a two or four link suspension built for the back or build an adjustable panhard bar. I, personally, would choose to build the panhard bar just to keep the rearend in check.

faustmb

I am looking at a 2" drop front and rear. I plan to buy the front springs from the company mentioned earlier in this thread and use 2" blocks in the rear. I also plan on replacing the shocks at the same time. Now I'm just waiting on Uncle Sam to help fund the project...



Matt

faustmb

Well, I finally did it. I put 2" blocks in the back and removed 1 complete coil from the bottom of the front springs. Overall I like the result. I posted pictures on my website.



http://orphanautomill.com/50P_Pages/50P_Body.htm



Let me know what you think,



Matt

mrsbojigger

Hi Matt,

Nice stance on your ride. What is the new height measurement of the bottom of front fender to ground with the one coil removed?

Peace,

Chaz

[Deleted User]

Looks good Matt

From the photos it looks like a 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch overall drop in front. Keep posting the pictures so we can see your progress

Bob

faustmb

From the ground to the highest point in the wheel opening is 26.5". I really wish I had taken the measurement off this car before cutting the spring. I guess the only other variable is wheel diameter. I am running 225/75 radials, I have not measured the tire OD.



This is my first attempt at making a website, so it is definately a little rough. I plan to add to it and clean it up as I go. I only work on it a little here and there.



Matt

mrsbojigger

Matt,

The dimension I was looking for is from the ground to the bottom of the car measured vertically somewhere between the wheel opening and the door opening. It looks about 7" from the photos. I can't determine this dimesion in Photoshop because I don't have a reference dimension. The reason is that I can't measure on my car to the top of the wheel opening because it is completely apart and I will be welding in my new sub frame to have a finished height like yours. I will set the unibody frame at the height wanted (like yours) and then set the sub frame in place and weld it.

Peace,

Chaz

[Deleted User]

what sub frame are you using? I'm considering subbing my hornet to have powersteering, but most of the nova subframes around here are ABSOLUTELY worn out.

Unknown

Just for those who need same... the Hudson frame Spec Sheet is posted to my website... at this URL http://members.aol.com/stepdown53/HUDFRAME.jpg



Cheers