To Lower Or Not To Lower...?
Im Fighting An Internal Battle, I Want To Keep My 52 Coupe Stock, But That Little Devil On My Shoulder Keeps Whispering In My Ear. Right Now I Have My Motor Out And Very Close To Being Ready To Run. My Question Is It Kosher To Lower My Coupe Or Should I Just Leave It Alone? Im Open To Any And All Opinions. Thanks Guys. -john
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I think that lowered is the way to go especially with an air set up, then you can control you ride height. Thats just my opion. The car is cool either way. Hudson Utah0
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Brave - posting this question out here on the open forum
Do you have a plan and budget to do the lowering?
With stock Hudson suspsension you are limited to most of the following...
Front
1. Cutting front coil springs - a no, no, if you care about ride/handling at all
2. Having a shorter spring made with the same spring rate.
3. Some industrious people have lowering pockets for the front lower control arm - you have to drill out the rivets on the old pocket and attach the new one which effectively lowers the front.
4. Inserting a FatMan Stub Frame Kit w/MII steering and suspension + air bags - nice $$
Rear
1. Remove some leafs - - a no, no, if you care about ride/handling at all
2. Having new leaf springs made with the same spring rate and a lower arc.
3. Install lowering blocks - another forum member used 2" blocks and didn't like it dragging all the time. Not sure whether they ended up with 1" or 1"-1/2 blocks...
4. Re-inforcing and c-notching the rear "frame" to add air bags and 4 link.
Of course you could always just use a late model frame and section the unibobody over the top of it!
There's also major considerations on the rear axle pinion angle ~ driveline issues with length and hitting the small tunnel area ~ as well as the panhard bar adjustments when the backend is lowered
I guess what I'm saying is there isn't an easy inexpensive route to lowering a stepdown and still retain the driveability.
Of the options listed above I think the least expensive way to do this is to have new springs made - front and rear to lower the car but still retain the original spring rate for handling.
Since I dropped a 454/TH400 into my 49 and with the change in engine/transmission position (8" rear from stock) and potentially considerable weight change +/- from the original wieght the car was delivered I plan on getting it completely together with a full tank of gas and see where it sits then go from there.
I want to have the springs and shocks custom made and/or fit to the appropriate weight and handling characteristics I want. My preliminary estimates have been around 1k or under for this style setup.
I love the look when they sit in the dirt - but In the end my requirements are that my car drives without me having to worry about scraping everytime I run over a pebble on the road or pull into a drive-in to cruise.
There - I could ramble on some more but really it comes down to money (how much) and do you want the car to handle or look good sitting? (I'm not slamming airbags - you just don't get the same ride)0 -
Hi,
I Have Lowered My 51 2 Door Sedan. I Did It The Cheap Way For Now, Just To See If I Liked It. I Cut The Front Coil (1 Coil Off). I Also Lowered The Back With Lowering Blocks And Turned The Shock Mount Plates Upside Down, For More Clearance. I Am Happy With It And Later Will Fit Air Bag's. This Is A Cheap Option, Which WILL ALLOW You TO Put Your Car Back If You WANT TO....no Big Dollar Lose..
Robert-australia0 -
I had the same dilema. I did the cheap test to try it out, cut 1 front coil and put 2" blocks in the back. It rides OK for the limited driving that I do. I plan to put 1" lowered springs in the front from http://www.eatonsprings.com/. Their price is good and they claim to have been an OE supplier for Hudson. They will make lowered and stock height springs.
For the rear, I will replace the 2" blocks with 1" blocks. I feel that 2" is too drastic for otherwise stock suspension.
I wanted a lowered look with zero modifications, easy and cheap to reverse.
Matt0 -
Bag it Dude!!!!! I love these things (and most 50's/60's cars) lowered "in the weeds." I'd go the cheap for now to see if you like it, then you're not putting a lot of cash or work into it just to find out you don't like it.
Me, I'm going with air bags all around so I can cruise the freeway at near stock height, but slam it on the ground in the parking lot on Cruise Nights! But there's going to be little "stock" in my sled.
Wish someone would make lowered spindles for these things. Maybe as more Huds are hot rodded, Fatmans or someone else will start making them.
Jay0 -
John,
You're question was making a decision as to whether or not to lower your car. This may sound dumb but if you want to just look at what it might look like being a little lower just throw a couple of concrete blocks or bags of concrete or sand in the trunk. You can back off and look at it and if you don't like it, just take them out. No harm done and you didn't get greasy doing it. Hokey I know but who knows? You may like it lower and then you get out the wrenches.
Disclaimer: What do I know?
Peace,
Chaz0 -
Get the car on the road and experience the ride before you F it up. IMHO part of the charm of driving a Hudson is the smooth ride it delivers. I have lowered a few cars and they all lost ride quality as a result. The closer you keep it to stock the more resale value it will have. After you get it on the road and you still have the urge to slam it, try and do it in such a way that putting back to stock would be easy. step downs look pretty damn low as is and you will get people asking you if you chopped the roof and lowered it anyway. I say put big sway bars and gas shocks on it to improve the cornering, and any engine power adders bump up the fun factor.0
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keep it stock, spend your money on paint, chrome and upholstery, bill albright0
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bill a wrote:keep it stock, spend your money on paint, chrome and upholstery, bill albright
Come on Bill, what's wrong with slammin' it to the ground and throwing all of Hudsons engineering out the window? :rolleyes: Maybe installing some skid plates would be in order.0 -
Chris Smith wrote:Get the car on the road and experience the ride before you F it up. IMHO part of the charm of driving a Hudson is the smooth ride it delivers. I have lowered a few cars and they all lost ride quality as a result. The closer you keep it to stock the more resale value it will have. After you get it on the road and you still have the urge to slam it, try and do it in such a way that putting back to stock would be easy. step downs look pretty damn low as is and you will get people asking you if you chopped the roof and lowered it anyway. I say put big sway bars and gas shocks on it to improve the cornering, and any engine power adders bump up the fun factor.
Chris, you are right on! Whatever someone does in this situation needs to be easily reversible and no damage creatd. If you like money and resale value, keep it stock. Niels0 -
I also took the easy (cheap) way out. I cut 1 1/4 rounds off the front springs. It dropped it about 2 1/2 inches. I also put a little shorter (215R75 15's) tire up front. The 60 series tires would have given a little more drop, but showed too much wheel well for my taste.
Here is a link to a picture so you can see the ride height. I know it's not a coupe, so just cover up the rear portion of the car.
http://www.chaosgraphics.smugmug.com/gallery/2814757#151272881
I had lowered the rear using a two inch block, and liked the way it looked, but I am going to try something different in the rear. The rear in the above picture is at stock height.0 -
Ya know Terry, that slight rake looks kinda cool! Maybe its just the surfboards! And even though its not a 2 door, its one I would buy!
And Neils......who cares about resale? Maybe a consistent builder who sells his cars after they're finished, but not most guys. There are a lot more restored Huds than rodded, so dare to be a little different. :-) And I'd bet that the guy who cares more about resale doesn't have as much fun with his car as the guy who builds with his own personal touch and personality.
Walt, just do what you want with her and if you have any doubts, looks like the guys here have a few suggestions on how to try it easily and cheap before you permanently decide what to do. Guys have been lowering cars since the 50's maybe earlier too. If you keep it stock, great, and if you want it lowered, great also.
Jay
(its too damn hot here already!)0 -
I am planning to go 1 inch. I am going to match up something close out of my Moog catalog (you can do anything with one of these) with a little more rate for the twisties in front and have new leaves with a little more rate for the back made up.0
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jsrail wrote:Ya know Terry, that slight rake looks kinda cool! Maybe its just the surfboards! And even though its not a 2 door, its one I would buy!
And Neils......who cares about resale? Maybe a consistent builder who sells his cars after they're finished, but not most guys. There are a lot more restored Huds than rodded, so dare to be a little different. :-) And I'd bet that the guy who cares more about resale doesn't have as much fun with his car as the guy who builds with his own personal touch and personality.
Walt, just do what you want with her and if you have any doubts, looks like the guys here have a few suggestions on how to try it easily and cheap before you permanently decide what to do. Guys have been lowering cars since the 50's maybe earlier too. If you keep it stock, great, and if you want it lowered, great also.
Jay
(its too damn hot here already!)
Hey Jay,
If your not concerned about resale, let me make some personal touches to your house and see how it effects its value! LOL0 -
Opinions are like ... you know. What you do with your car is a personal choice. Of course you need to consider things like budget, resale value, and your long term plans for the car. Whatever you chose to spend your time and money on is up to you. I will always have cars that I can drive without fear of rain and normal wear and tear, so paint and trim is way down my list for any car. I don't have hours to spend polishing and cleaning, and if I did I wouldn't want to. I chose to spend my limited resources making the car safe and reliable to drive. Lower front springs and lowering blocks isn't going to do squat to the resale value. $200 buys a new set of OE spec springs from an OE supplier, Which I'm sure are better that the ones that are 50 + years old.
Whatever you do, make sure the work is done well and the car is safe to drive. Other than that, make it look and drive how you want.
I'm not concerned about resale, but that doesn't mean I want a POS.
Matt0 -
faustmb wrote:Opinions are like ... you know. What you do with your car is a personal choice. Of course you need to consider things like budget, resale value, and your long term plans for the car. Whatever you chose to spend your time and money on is up to you. I will always have cars that I can drive without fear of rain and normal wear and tear, so paint and trim is way down my list for any car. I don't have hours to spend polishing and cleaning, and if I did I wouldn't want to. I chose to spend my limited resources making the car safe and reliable to drive. Lower front springs and lowering blocks isn't going to do squat to the resale value. $200 buys a new set of OE spec springs from an OE supplier, Which I'm sure are better that the ones that are 50 + years old.
Whatever you do, make sure the work is done well and the car is safe to drive. Other than that, make it look and drive how you want.
I'm not concerned about resale, but that doesn't mean I want a POS.
Matt
I share this philosophy
Mark0 -
Erm... isn't a stock stepdown Hudson low enough as it is? Isn't that why they always chopped and lowered bathtub Mercs, to try to get them to look like a stock Hudson in the first place?
-Just my two cents worth... if you feel you have to go ahead and modify it, make sure it can be reversed relatively easy. Once the decision is made to restore a car and it becomes a collector's item, they generally last longer than their owners; so the next owner might want a stock car again.0 -
If I had to lower one of these, I'd want to do an air ride setup in the rear at the least.
It was tight enough changing a rear tire on a bone stock '48 sedan when I saved that one from the scrapper. I'd be afraid you wouldn't be able to do it with lowering blocks in. With the air you could just raise the back up as high as it goes, stick a jack under the axle and go to work.
Plus with the air if you have to traverse speed bumps, steep driveways, and the like, you can raise the car and not be scraping bottom all the time.
I have to admit myself that if money was no option, instead of building a custom Hudson, I'd take a rotty parts car and build a street stocker out of it, just for fun.0 -
nhp1127 wrote:Hey Jay,
If your not concerned about resale, let me make some personal touches to your house and see how it effects its value! LOL
If I was worried about resale, I'd just buy one cheap from a club member and sell it at BJ's! I doubt many club members would be willing to cough up top resale dollars anyway. All talk...no walk! LOL
If I wanted to worry about resale on a car, I'd spend too much time building it for some unknown future buyer rather than how I wanted the car, and where's the fun in that? There's plenty enough boring Hudsons out there for collectors to buy! LOL Now an Italia would probably bring the most cash stock, but I don't own or want one of those.
And how much do you think I could really get for a stock '50 Pacemaker Coupe? Probably not anywhere near what I could get for a Kustom. But since I have no interest in selling, resale really means nothing to me. And mine will look very different from the majority of Hudson Coupes, so I like that idea much.
Geez, I feel better.......haven't had a good contraversy (sp?) in awhile! LOL
Jay :-)0 -
Martin200 wrote:Erm... isn't a stock stepdown Hudson low enough as it is?
Uh...NO! LOL0 -
Nothing boring about a Hudson stock or otherwise.0
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sweet. i picked a good topic. im really happy with all of the advise. i think i am going to keep it stock, at least for a while to see what its like then i will decide. i should be droping the new motor in this weekend so i will keep you all posted.0
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THEGREENHORNET wrote:sweet. i picked a good topic. im really happy with all of the advise. i think i am going to keep it stock, at least for a while to see what its like then i will decide. i should be droping the new motor in this weekend so i will keep you all posted.
Cool man! Post some pics when you get that motor in. Really, I just like stirring it up a bit! LOL
Jay0 -
Lower it.
Keep it hudson powered, how cool would that be?0 -
Remember that your chosen wheel/tire combination could provide 2-3 inches of lowering.0
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Sure You Wont Lower It??? Also Used 195/70/15 Tyres On The Front And 195/60/15 On The Rear..0
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jsrail wrote:If I was worried about resale, I'd just buy one cheap from a club member and sell it at BJ's! I doubt many club members would be willing to cough up top resale dollars anyway. All talk...no walk! LOL
If I wanted to worry about resale on a car, I'd spend too much time building it for some unknown future buyer rather than how I wanted the car, and where's the fun in that? There's plenty enough boring Hudsons out there for collectors to buy! LOL Now an Italia would probably bring the most cash stock, but I don't own or want one of those.
And how much do you think I could really get for a stock '50 Pacemaker Coupe? Probably not anywhere near what I could get for a Kustom. But since I have no interest in selling, resale really means nothing to me. And mine will look very different from the majority of Hudson Coupes, so I like that idea much.
Geez, I feel better.......haven't had a good contraversy (sp?) in awhile! LOL
Jay :-)
Jay,
While you are misguided and the heat has gone to your head, your still ok.LOL0 -
we will see real soon. ill keep you updated as how the transplant is going in the coming days. -john0
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51ROB wrote:Sure You Wont Lower It??? Also Used 195/70/15 Tyres On The Front And 195/60/15 On The Rear..
That's what I'm eventually planning on doing once I find a wheel that looks good on a stepdown. except I'm planning on a smaller wheel in back i.e. 20" 200 spoke wires in front with 18" wires out back. Who'll be able to tell?
BTW, the wire wheels seem to be the only thing I can find that look good on a stepdown, but I don't want to clean them.0 -
nhp1127 wrote:Jay,
While you are misguided and the heat has gone to your head, your still ok.LOL
Touche Neils! LOL!!!!0
This discussion has been closed.
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