intro and lowering my 4` coupe

1980gold

1980gold

Junior Member
I don't know where on the site if people do intros Just wanted to say Hi. I finally have an old ford (41) at 50 years old. This is a good site and helped me when I was looking for a car. My 41 sits pretty high in the front probably not gonna do a dropped axle till spring but I heard you could remove every other leaf except the first 2 in the front and it will lower it a bit. I just wanted to find out if it will ride a little softer and if it will drop at all. Its a stock front end w/ a chevy drivetrain in it the wishbones were split when I bought it Thanks for any help
 

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Think you might be better with a reverse eye spring, don't think they are too expensive ( in the Us.) . The fun will be removing and replacing ...
 
A reversed eye spring will lower the front end 1 inch. A 4 inch dropped axle will lower it 2 more inches. You will also need dropped steering arms. Removing spring leafs is the easiest way to go and cheapest.
 
19 fordy probably gonna start w removing some leaves. if I do every other spring do I have to change the steering arms. also how much will it drop. It rides like a mack right now.
 
You're asking for trouble (like loosing control in a turn) with a leaf spring that's been degraded that much. Wait and do it right with a dropped axle or reversed eye spring.
 
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Agreed! $20.. you would get charged $20 just to walk into a shop over here, and a dollar every word after :rolleyes:
 
39topless said:
You're asking for trouble (like loosing control in a turn) with a leaf spring that's been degraded that much. Wait and do it right with a dropped axle or reversed spring eye.
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I am kinda new to the straight axle game but how would this affect steering? I have no issue w getting a reverse eye spring but why is that safer. Thanks for the help.
 
The leaf spring is engineered to provide stability from side to side as well as vertically. Sort of like the stability provided by an outrigger on a small boat. This keeps you from tipping over as the weight of the car shifts during a turn. If the spring is degraded, by removing leaves, you will loose that stability. I am speaking from experience.
PS. welcome to the forum.
 
I have a '41 Fordor and I run a reversed eye main leaf, every other leaf removed, radials in an otherwise stock front suspension.Key to "losing control" is a good steering box and a front sway bar in IMHO. Couple things I have discovered while experimenting with my '41 is stock front shocks are adjustable and you can "tune" the stiffness of the front. You have a Chevy drive train so I assume you mean parallel rear springs. I had no luck with gas shocks, too stiff. I went with hydraulics in the rear with a rear sway bar. I can cruise 75-80 on the highway all day and my '41 is extremely well behaved. I even took it around Watkins Glen racetrack couple weeks ago and was very comfortable with it's stability and even surprised seeing it's a fordor.Removing spring leaves is a cheap alternative to a dropped axle without contending with a steering arm issue ,just watch for proper tire clearance in fenders especially in a sharp turn
 
Removing spring leaves is a very common practice to soften the ride on both cars and trucks! I have removed several on both the front and rear of my 33.
 
the car has power gm power steering not sure which box it steers fine. it came with tube shocks in all 4 corners which are likely 30 years old I may start out by changing those first. tomorrow I am gonna take one off the front and one from the rear see if they are totally seized and drive the car around the block and see if the suspension is any more flexible. I found a reverse eye leaf on speedway for it also not expensive thanks again for the help everyone
 
Looks good just like it is.[ old school\. easier cheaper and will drive better You do it your way. I did mine my way. good luck.
 
1980gold said:
19 fordy probably gonna start w removing some leaves. if I do every other spring do I have to change the steering arms. also how much will it drop. It rides like a mack right now.
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I have never removed spring leafs so I can't provide an answer to that question. I would start by reversing the main spring leaf. It may "settle" even lower than 1 inch after a while. If you do decide to use a dropped axle be very sure than your tires will have adequate fender clearance when turning.Before you install a dropped axle speak with a company that actually drops axles and ask tons of questions. The folks on HAMB speak highly of Sid. Look here:
http://royboyproductions.com/2013/11/19/shop-visit-nostalgia-sids-dropped-axles/
 
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good morning my 46 rode like dump truck talk to posie spring told me to back off shackle bolts boy did that help:):):):)
 
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