'56 Ford Fairlane suspension

G

Grumpy Rick

Senior Member
I have had a few 50's fords and this thing wallows like a whale. It is a '56 Fairlane Victoria that was frame off in 1990. It is showing a bit of wear over the years, but still looks pretty nice. I have had it maybe 20 years.

It has a '86 Mercury 302, with EFI, AOD trans, 9" rear with 4:10's. Not fast, but runs nicely, and looks decent.

The problem is the suspension. It is stock, except for Koni shocks in front along with disc brakes 2" dropped spindles and new (10 years ago) springs. The rear has the usual sagging leaf springs, with air shocks that didn't help much.

I had a '55 Tudor, with a Chevy 350 in it that was a pleasure to drive, went right over railroad crossings with no drama. Didn't handle like a sporty car, but it was capable, and not irritating to drive. I want this one to drive well also.

The obvious things would be the front springs, a HD sway bar, and new shocks, then in the rear, a sway bar, the right tension springs and new shocks. Then I am thinking of removing the original narrow wheels and cheap radials, and putting on 17" American Torq Thrusts, in a 6 or 7" width.

Looking through catalogs, I don't see many choices. I have tried the 17" wheels from my '03 Mustang GT on the car, and they don't clear the steering knuckles, too much inset.

I would even consider coil overs, but don't really want to change that much.

Not trying to make a sport sedan out of it, but would surely like 'sporty'.

Anyone know which spring rates/sizes and sway bars to start with?? All suggestions welcomed.

Grumpy Rick

PS: This car goes to my son and grandson in a few years.
 
2-inch dropped spindles may have had a negative effect on steering geometry. New rear springs may be a good idea. Leaf springs generally don't need much help with sway like coil types do. The OEM front sway bars are small diameter on the older cars. I don't know if heavier duty ones are available or not.
 
Here’s an old HAMB link on that question. Read till the end, there’s a post from 2021.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/56-fairlane-sway-bar-upgrade.676026/

I can’t comment on the dropped spindles having never done that and not knowing which ones you have. But there’s an Aerostar front spring I’ve used on my bird and a lot of guys use on various early Fords. It’s a bit of a drop, but it’s a progressive wind and gets stiffer quick. Gives a soft ride over the little bumps and doesn’t bottom on the big ones. Those and a good front bar and fairly tight shocks seem to be popular combo, and sure worked for me on the bird. A search here, yblocksforever , or the HAMB under “Aerostar” will turn a lot of results. You might also look into the social groups on the HAMB. Unless you really like them low and are willing to drag them occasionally, don’t do both the Aerostar spring and the drop spindle. I do know that bump steer seems more noticeable as you go to wider more low profile tires (I’m talking 15” and 60 series here, not rubber band tires on hoops), so you might want to check rotor’s comments on bump steer/dropped spindles.



Different people say different things but I’ve got 15x7 rims on the front 3.5” backspace. That’s as close to the upper ball joint as I’d go. Some guys say 4” will clear. While the bird frame is narrower, the control arm/ball joint/wheel mounting surface are the same as the pass car or wagon. Tire sidewall comes into play here also, and that can vary.

Certain larger wheel and tire combos can be difficult to change on the rear. They clear and drive ok, but you need to drop the shock to change a tire. Not ideal on the side of the road.

There’s a solution out there for what you want, you’ll just have to dig a bit.
 
Thanks guys, One problem I do not have is steering. It is smooth and linear, and I have noticed no problems there, except having to belt in really tight to keep from sliding over on the bench seat.


I am thinking about how 15" radial tires on thin original (5"?)wheels must bulge out more, and must flex a lot more than the lower profile larger wheels, which seems to me would cause a lot of sideways movement when turning. I run 38# all around.

I suspect my first move would be a larger sway bar, but only one I find on the interweb is not all that much bigger, forget the size right now. I also do not know whether a tubular bar and a solid bar differ much per size. Love to be educated on that. Urethane bushings too?

What size has worked well for you and where to find it is a start for what I am seeking.


I will look for that suggested thread.

I do not want the front much any lower, but I do want the rear up a couple inches, maybe a re-arch with a leaf added? Then new rear shocks?

I am just not that sharp on the details of this stuff.
 
Here’s a link to Larry’s Thunderbird, right in your backyard. 1 1/8” is pretty stout. A lot of the bird guys seem to have branched out into the passenger cars too.

https://www.larrystbird.com/product/front-sway-bar-kit-5456-1-18/

Wider wheels and lower profiles do result in more traction’s and more precise turn in. It’s why you see them on modern high performance cars. But they do have drawbacks. I ran stock size radial replacements on the bird for years on 15x 5 wires. They worked and drove fine. But to my eye anything less than a 60 series doesn’t look right, and I’m marginal on them. Then the fitment/removal problem I mentioned above.

I’d get the suspension squared away first. If you’ve got the rear too low and drop spindles in front, something back there is changed or worn. That and proper shocks, then make a decision about tires.
 
The '55/56 Station wagon models had a heavier front anti-sway bar than the passenger cars did. Only problem is, no one offers bushings with larger holes for the wagon bar. If you could get a wagon anti-sway bar and buy a pair of new car rubber bushings, maybe you could somehow ream them out to the larger size.
I am using P205-75R15's on front and P215-75R15's on rear, all on stock wheels and I detect very little side-to-side deflection of the tires when cornering at high speeds. OEM 670x15's or 710x15's would roll over like a dog on these curves.
Once upon a time, you could get a set of "helper" coil springs and assemble them on your rear shocks. When I installed mine on the 4-dr sedan, I jacked the rear then tightened the spring end clamps to achieve a barely noticeable lift in the rear. This helps a little on cornering. I don't know if those helper spring kits ate available anymore though.
The '56 model was the last year the car was designed with a high center of gravity. They lowered the '57 and later models to help do away with excessive body roll.
Tire selection is probably going to be your best deal. The ones I mentioned above are close enough on O.D. so that it is not necessary to swap your original speedo driven gear. The rear's (215's) are a bear to get on due to the width of the tire (a little over 8"), but it is worth it. Neither tire (205's or 215's) interfere with existing suspension or wheel-well space.
 
Daves55Sedan said:
The '55/56 Station wagon models had a heavier front anti-sway bar than the passenger cars did. Only problem is, no one offers bushings with larger holes for the wagon bar. If you could get a wagon anti-sway bar and buy a pair of new car rubber bushings, maybe you could somehow ream them out to the larger size.
I am using P205-75R15's on front and P215-75R15's on rear, all on stock wheels and I detect very little side-to-side deflection of the tires when cornering at high speeds. OEM 670x15's or 710x15's would roll over like a dog on these curves.
Once upon a time, you could get a set of "helper" coil springs and assemble them on your rear shocks. When I installed mine on the 4-dr sedan, I jacked the rear then tightened the spring end clamps to achieve a barely noticeable lift in the rear. This helps a little on cornering. I don't know if those helper spring kits ate available anymore though.
The '56 model was the last year the car was designed with a high center of gravity. They lowered the '57 and later models to help do away with excessive body roll.
Tire selection is probably going to be your best deal. The ones I mentioned above are close enough on O.D. so that it is not necessary to swap your original speedo driven gear. The rear's (215's) are a bear to get on due to the width of the tire (a little over 8"), but it is worth it. Neither tire (205's or 215's) interfere with existing suspension or wheel-well space.
Click to expand...
how big is a wagon f. sway bar. I've seen them on rock auto for 5/8" and up
 
I think I will start by getting that sway bar from Larry's T-Bird. Then go from there.

Be away for a week or so.

Here are a couple pics of the car. As you can see it is not lowered in the rear, just sagging. Front is lowered 2" with dropped spindles when we did the Disc Brakes about 15 years ago. I do not want the car lowered at all in the rear, just stock ride height and firmer springs.
 

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56sedandelivery said:
Off topic but how do you tell is read springs are shot other then driving it? Mine look OK but that could be deceiving.
Click to expand...
The springs need replacing or rebuilding if... the car leans to one side or the other, sags at one end or the other and bottoms out too easily.
To check for side to side leaning, measure from the center of the headlights or tail lights to the ground then compare the L and R measurements.
 
Dave is right, but I did an aftermarket set of bushings that worked just fine. I wrote a blog post about this sometime ago - maybe it will help?

https://www.hotrodreverend.com/post/2017/09/09/55-ford-fairlane-restoration-blog-part-6

Daves55Sedan said:
The '55/56 Station wagon models had a heavier front anti-sway bar than the passenger cars did. Only problem is, no one offers bushings with larger holes for the wagon bar. If you could get a wagon anti-sway bar and buy a pair of new car rubber bushings, maybe you could somehow ream them out to the larger size.
I am using P205-75R15's on front and P215-75R15's on rear, all on stock wheels and I detect very little side-to-side deflection of the tires when cornering at high speeds. OEM 670x15's or 710x15's would roll over like a dog on these curves.
Once upon a time, you could get a set of "helper" coil springs and assemble them on your rear shocks. When I installed mine on the 4-dr sedan, I jacked the rear then tightened the spring end clamps to achieve a barely noticeable lift in the rear. This helps a little on cornering. I don't know if those helper spring kits ate available anymore though.
The '56 model was the last year the car was designed with a high center of gravity. They lowered the '57 and later models to help do away with excessive body roll.
Tire selection is probably going to be your best deal. The ones I mentioned above are close enough on O.D. so that it is not necessary to swap your original speedo driven gear. The rear's (215's) are a bear to get on due to the width of the tire (a little over 8"), but it is worth it. Neither tire (205's or 215's) interfere with existing suspension or wheel-well space.
Click to expand...
 
56sedandelivery said:
Off topic but how do you tell is read springs are shot other then driving it? Mine look OK but that could be deceiving.
Click to expand...

You would measure the TRIM HEIGHT of the car. The SPECS should be in the WSM.

Also if HD SHOCKS still allow it to wallow and bang, that would also be a good indication of spring condition (considering all components are sound). They are how old?
 
KULTULZ said:
You would measure the TRIM HEIGHT of the car. The SPECS should be in the WSM.

Also if HD SHOCKS still allow it to wallow and bang, that would also be a good indication of spring condition (considering all components are sound). They are how old?
Click to expand...


Original as far as I know.
 
When just replacing the front coils on my 55 Tbird with Aerostar springs, the difference in ride height was insignificant. However, the Aerostar springs seem to make a bigger difference on full-size cars that have more weight over the springs. I then added Dave's Drop 'em, Stop 'em 1 1/2-inch drop spindles and had new leaf springs re-arched to lift the rear 1 1/2 inches. I prefer the look over stock and am no longer concerned about rear tire clearance with 215/70R15 tires mounted on 15 x 7 wheels/w 3.875 backspacing. I also have Bilstein shocks all around, Hotchkis front/rear tubular sway bars, and Traaction Master bolt-on under-ride traction bars in the rear. How does it handle? I don't know, yet; my car is still a work-in-progress.

Everything I've read indicates that shorter springs will change the steering geometry, but drop spindles will not.
 
Here is a basic tutorial - http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/suspension.html

You need (IMO) to get the stance you want and then begin measuring for wheels/tires to ensure they fit the first time ($$$).

Follow the suggested URL on the site - EATON SPRING - as they supplied FOMOCO during this period and can do custom work.

You want urethane/polyurethane for everything (IMO).

You plan on running liquor ... :D

EDIT - A brief tutorial for measuring tire/wheel clearances -

http://thewheelsmith.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Wheel-Fitment-Article.pdf
 
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Thanks for all the sites to peruse. I will be outa town for a week starting in the morning, and will get back to it then. I did find some good info on solid Vs tubular sway bars. Basically a tubular one slightly larger than solid seems to be about equal (7/8 Vs 1"). Going by this, the 1 1/4 (appears) tubular from Larry's T Bird should be quite a bit stronger than the 5/8" original that I now have on the car (haven't checked yet to make sure that is what I have)

As far as I know the leaf springs in the back are original, the car sagged in the rear when I got it 20 years ago, which is why I put the air shocks on it. When there are passengers in the back seat it settles a lot.

Main goal here is making it handle properly along with not having a tail dragger look, which I don't like. Too 'back East', like fender skirts and continental kits for me. I'm a West Coast boy. Dago all the way, small but there, in my old age. I want to drive it more than I have lately.

To be resumed in a week or so, going on a riverboat ride, St. Louis to St. Paul.
 
Might be worth a call to Detroit Eaton Spring. Don't know if they could help with your dropped spindles though. The few times have bought from them they delivered exactly what I wanted. Shipping is high for heavy things and wait times are a way of life. But in the end if you receive what you wanted it's worth it. I believe on my droopy tailed 63.5 they built me a set of wagon springs. Ended up with stock height, slightly firmer and no droop with load. Better than air or helper springs on shocks. If your car was restored 20 years ago you may want to check on suspension bushings again. It's just an age thing. Best of luck. You are going on that new Mississippi cruise boat just launched?
 
Although a lot of people use air shocks, I'm not a fan of them, particularly when used to compensate for worn-out springs. Shock absorbers are not designed to support weight; that's what springs are for. Shocks control rebound and dampening.
 
As far as I know the leaf springs in the back are original, the car sagged in the rear when I got it 20 years ago,
Click to expand...

All FORD's of the period squat after a few years.

Remember when reversing the rear hangers were the big thing?
 
498187

​

... damn that thing is pretty ... ;)

I never cared for a pre-1957 but the more I see here I begin to realize what I missed ...

BTW ... :rolleyes:

If and when you get the rear stance you want and it turns out the tires are close to the quarters, a rear roll bar will help the rear end from moving side to side depending on design and bushing type. If that doesn't stop it (tire rub) you may have to go to a pan-hard bar. I assume you don't want to modify the sheet metal?
 
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