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Successful spring cutting....

AzPete

Well-Known Member
Went over to Midlife's small/crowded garage on Sat am to lower the front of my '66 about a inch or so. We cut half +1" off a coil and it all seems good for now. Did a minor alignment adjustment and all is good. If I ever pull the springs again, I may do another 1/4 coil cut off which I don't see in the near future.

Don't ask what springs I have as they are a PO thing. The tire size is 195/60/15.

One problem we ran into was with the spring compressor. It seems with the roller perches installed, the normal inside clamp compressor would not allow the upper hooks to go inside the springs. The bolt head of the acme treaded rod would bottom out on the roller bearing casing and not allow the top hooks to close together. The rod was between them. Only solution we found was to shorten the acme treaded rod about an inch or so. This allowed the hooks to touch above the end of the rod, allowing them to slide inside the coil spring mount. Not sure if this a a normal thing but we saw nothing else that would work. Anyway, thanks to Midlife for the garage space and assistance plus allowing his compressor to be modified.

And, here is the difference.
Before...
lowered001.jpg

After....
lowered002.jpg

Just a bit lower now. There are 5 inches difference from the front wheel well (25") to the rear wheel well.
lowered.jpg


And the Wattles was nice and cold by the time we were done. Started at 8am, finished around 1:30pm I think.
 
Do you get the feeling you're tipping forward now?




:ecit
 
"hivewax" said:
what kind of coil springs did you have on there to bring the front up so high?

Have no idea....they were installed by the PO.

"lethal289" said:
Your front end sits higher then mine.

What does yours measure from the ground to fender....centered on the wheel?
 
i have 1" drop 620lb/in MU coils and didn't have to use a spring compressor... it flopped in and out! just sayin'...
 
"lethal289" said:
Your front end sits higher then mine.
"lethal289" said:
Through the center of the wheel to the fender lip i get 25-1/4". Whats yours?

Hah....25"........dang you front end is high.......lol
 
I'm gonna have to measure mine, I keep getting asked if my car has hydraulics or air bags. I always say no it's just slammed from a Big Block!
 
"70_Fastback" said:
I like it Pete.

Though I think you need more rubber under the rear.

I agree. The wheels I have now are running more offset than needed. That makes them stick out and appear wider from the outside. Right now, the edge of the tire sidewall bubble is just past the fender. A wider tire would put the tread out past the fender. I hate to spend more money on different wheels. I did think about old school steel wheels and baby moons but even getting a set of steel wheels with a deep dish ie pricey anymore...... I will try wider tires just to see as soon as they are needed.
 
While wider is always good, I think what he's saying is taller. Fill in the wheel opening a bit more. Too much gap between the top of the tire and the quarter lip. Love the old school stance but kinda got that air shock look going on.
 
Being the tire sidewall is not inside of the fender lip, I need the clearance for tire movement up and down. The springs are new and designed to give the needed lift. If I carry passengers in the back seat or a lot of stuff in the trunk, tire clearance becomes critical.
 
Correct!

Pete, sounds like you need to narrow your rearend and get some taller tires. It's only money - you can't take it with you. Plus gives you more reason to use Mid's garage and drink more Wattles. What other encouragment do you need?
 
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