how to achieve a rake

1930artdeco

1930artdeco

Well-known member
OK, I may want to consider this. I was thinking after reading another post somewhere about raising the rear of the car so that it is easier to change tires. I was thinking that is not a bad idea. So...how would I go about raising the rear of my 57 wagon just about 2" or so? I am not trying to get a huge rake, just enough so that it is easier to change tires on her.

Mike
 
Find a good spring shop in your area. Tell them how much higher you want your car. They will remove the spring's, re-arch them & re-install them. That's the right way to do it.
 
People knock them, but my friends Nomad came with a set of air lift shocks. I don’t know how old they are or the miles they’ve got, but they still work fine and he’s had it 20 years. Picks the back up a couple inches. Don’t know if that would help with changing the tires, his car doesn’t have that issue. But they’re slick with the wagon. They only time he uses them is for a load in the back (which is mainly coolers and chairs for shows, sometimes luggage). Other that that, no maintenance or air loss.

Are the shocks the tire change problem? If you disconnect them, does it drop far enough to get them out?
 
Yup, Pauls idea of flipping both rear spring shackles would usually
raise the rear of the car a couple inches.
We would get a solid iron bar about 4 or 5 ft long and stick it in
the rear shackle and a couple of us would pull or push on the bar
till the shackle flipped, then the back end of the spring sat below
the shackle, thus raising the rear of car higher...:)

I forgot to say, do this on a hoist.;)


.
 
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paul2748 said:
Can you reverse the rear spring shackle? That it how it was done in the old days.
Click to expand...

Paul & Lanny - yes, I remember doing that on my first car, a '56 Country Sedan 4 dr. wagon. I forgot about that trick. And, we did do it on a lift! I think perhaps I might just do that on the '56 Club Sedan that I'm working on now. Thanks guys! - FF
 
Mike you can flip the shackles and have the rake but you really need to put in the longer shocks so the angle drops more when it's jacked up. Also more on my wagon I used the 800-14 radial equivalent radial and the tire comes out easily. I believe my wagon is stock in the rear.
 
Reversing the shackles puts more stress on the main leaf and the spring will droop, especially if they are worn and weak.

The easiest/cheapest way out is with air shocks (IMO). If the springs are shot, it may save them for a while. They are adjustable (vary air pressure) for height and ride.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am just looking for a slight rake-partly for looks and partly to facilitate tire changes. I have brand new springs and the longer shocks. Maybe I will just use the air shocks, do they hamper ride quality at all?

Thanks,

Mike
 
I’ve driven and ridden in that Nomad both loaded and unloaded. But always level. So I don’t know if l lifting it empty would have an effect. I’d guess it would be minor on a small lift.

It’s a nice, tight, rebuilt, maintained car, 350/700R4, front disc. Everything tight and aligned. But it’s a wagon, not a sports car for sure.
 
I don't like seeing the shackles hanging down when they've been inverted. If you hit a pot hole, etc., the shackle(s) could revert to their correct position, thereby upsetting the handling, possibly at the worst time. I'm not a fan of air shocks either because shocks have the job of controlling rebound; springs are designed to carry the load. However, I would choose air shocks over inverting the shackles. I put new leaf springs on my 55 Tbird; they were purchased from General Spring KC in Kansas. After installing them, along with 15 x 7 wheels/w 215 70R15 tires, I decided I needed more clearance. I removed the new springs, took them to Dentoni's (Stockton, CA) and had the new springs re-arched to provide an additional 1 1/2 inches of clearance. Had I known, I could have asked General Spring to build in the additional 1 1/2 inches.
 
Mike.
I had the tires rotated today because I noticed an uneven wear on my front right.
So my new spare goes on there and the rest got moved around. There was no issue with just jacking up the rear.
I'm running radials on that one Coker WW 215/75r14 all around.it supposed to be the 800-14 equivalent.
Here is a pic
 

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Jeff Norwell said:
Rear springs and I use the the good old rubber rake... different sizes of tires to achieve the nose down look I want
Click to expand...

This brings back memories as this look was popular in the day before they figured you need to have large diameter front tires to come off the lights ...

During my first tech years, starting as a REFUELING TECHNICIAN and GAS STATION CASANOVA, a fellow worker was dropped off by his brother. It was at the top of the lot and I couldn't get close to look it over.

He was driving a 49 FORD rag-top, all black, including the top. It had 15" CRAGARS on the rear and 13" CRAGARS on the front with black-wall tires. It was raised the same trim level all around.

It was almost a sexual moment. I never saw it again.
 
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