55 customline front springs

50mercfan

50mercfan

Member
hello, fellas. i just bought a 55 customline 2 door sedan. the former owner put in aftermarket front coil springs and jamco shocks. looks good ,but, i want to raise it back up to stock and lower the rear a little.

the way it is now the car has about 2 inches between the lower control arm and the frame and it bottoms out and rides really bouncey.

where can i buy some factory front spring? how much block can i put in the rear without causing problems?

on another subject, i want to get rid of the stock 272 cross over exhaust manifolds and go with rear dumps on both sides for duel exhaust. what manifolds am i looking for? don't need real fancy, just duel exhaust.
 
50mercfan said:
hello, fellas. i just bought a 55 customline 2 door sedan. the former owner put in aftermarket front coil springs and jamco shocks. looks good ,but, i want to raise it back up to stock and lower the rear a little.

the way it is now the car has about 2 inches between the lower control arm and the frame and it bottoms out and rides really bouncey.

where can i buy some factory front spring? how much block can i put in the rear without causing problems?

on another subject, i want to get rid of the stock 272 cross over exhaust manifolds and go with rear dumps on both sides for duel exhaust. what manifolds am i looking for? don't need real fancy, just duel exhaust.
Click to expand...

Try Eaton Spring, they have the patterns for just about any vehicle going back to when God was a buck private. As far as the rear blocks I wouldn't go lower than 2". That's what I have on my Merc and I still have to sneak up on some driveway transitions, railroad crossings, etc. Any passenger car dual exhaust manifolds should work on your 272.
 
Curious what springs he used,a bunch of guys on my forum http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/1952-59-ford-social-group.282/ used the Ford Aerostar springs and they will improve the ride and handling and no bottoming out issues, the car will be 2 1/2" lower with those.I would suspect he cut the coils these are the Aerostars:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moog-CC850-...her_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item486e47b9a3&vxp=mtr Another issue may be the rubber spring pads under the spring may be shot after 60 years of use you could use these to replace them and gain some height:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mr-Gasket-1...pt=Race_Car_Parts&hash=item4185ce71ed&vxp=mtr The dual manifolds are getting pricey you might try www.owenssalvage.com for those or go this route: http://reds-headers.net/index.php?m...id=166&zenid=2a0e4b099b57b680f5225d139d944217
 
here it is. thats a 1 inch block in the rear. the front springs are black powder coat, so not cut coils with jamco shocks. maybe jamco coils? they are not good. i've been on the hamb since 04, i know about the aerostar springs. i'm wanting stock front and lower rear.

the spring pads could be an issue. i keep seeing those pop up when searching. thanks for the insight.
 

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jeff, i ordered some aerostar springs. i'm going to try that. on the exhaust, i just noticed that they won't work on a 3 speed car because of the shift linkage on the column. i'm going to do a c4 swap soon though.
 
The aerostar springs measure around 11" tall, stock springs are around 15-16". I have a set on my '59 and with no engine or trans it sits about level.
 
It's not real obvious from the picture, but the aerostar springs are wound progressive. They get stiffer as they compress. That's why so many of us like the ride (it's soft on the little bumps), but the car doesn't bottom on the big ones. Also more level in a hard turn. The rubber spacers can be used within limits to adjust the ride height. Best value for the $ I ever did on my 55 bird. Way better than the slightly cut stock spring I had before.
 
The aerostar springs have a rate of 610 while stock springs are around 400. But you're right about the progressive coil wind. Open the box and you see it right off.
 
'57 and later dual exhaust manifolds have a larger gas path and flow better if that matters to you. Actually, the later ones look a bit better too once you've seen them. As far as fit and form, they all work just fine, just be sure you don't mix the early and late as any Y-block guy will notice them right off.
 
50mercfan said:
on another subject, i want to get rid of the stock 272 cross over exhaust manifolds and go with rear dumps on both sides for duel exhaust. what manifolds am i looking for? don't need real fancy, just duel exhaust.
Click to expand...
Here's a link to a chart with casting numbers for y-block exhaust manifolds, so you'll know which ones you're looking for, or looking at.
http://www.y-block.info/casting/exhaust.html
 
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50mercfan said:
jeff, i ordered some aerostar springs. i'm going to try that. on the exhaust, i just noticed that they won't work on a 3 speed car because of the shift linkage on the column. i'm going to do a c4 swap soon though.
Click to expand...
Ran across these manifolds: http://tucson.craigslist.org/pts/4626592788.html You might ask if they came from a stick shift car.Could not tell from the picture about the coils.Let me know how the coil swap works for you.
 
will do jeff, i picked up some manifolds this morning, from the chart that dmsffr posted, the left is 55/56 std. s/w and f/l. whats fl? does that means standard shift? or standard for that car? passenger side said 57/

edb9430a
edb9431b

they sure look like they might clear the linkage
 
50mercfan said:
will do jeff, i picked up some manifolds this morning, from the chart that dmsffr posted, the left is 55/56 std. s/w and f/l. whats fl? does that means standard shift? or standard for that car? passenger side said 57/

edb9430a
edb9431b
Click to expand...
From the chart, F/L = Fairlane and S/W = Station Wagon
Check the casting number chart again,
It looks like you have a matched pair from 'any' 1957 car (except T-bird).
1957/ A,S all R,H. B7A 9430-A EDB 9430 A
1957/ A all L.H. B7A 9431-A EDB 9431 B

I don't know if some '57 cars came with column shift or if it makes a difference.
Clearing the column shift & clutch linkage may have been part of the reason the earlier/272 cars had the exhaust crossover pipe & fwd facing exh manifold on the driver's side.
If the left side 9431-B manifold won't clear the shift linkage in your Customline you may need to find someone who has a similar manifold to borrow and see if it will fit. I don't know what they all look like.
The truck manifold casting numbers are on the same page I linked before, just scroll down. http://www.y-block.info/casting/exhaust.html

Depending on if and where the manifold & linkage interfere w/ each other a T-Bird manifold might work, but you won't like the price. Here's a picture of two driver's side manifolds, a T-Bird one above and the 'car' below. Not too evident in the photo, the outlet flange is approx. 1 to 1.5 inch closer to the block / farther from the steering column, and a bit closer to the firewall.
 

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