Parallel rear springs

Woodie UK

Woodie UK

Member
Hi Barners,
Has anybody out there in barnerland ever fitted a parallel rear spring conversion kit, such as that available from Speedway.

I plan to change the gearbox on my '36 (to give me overdrive ratios for better highway cruising) and as this would mean converting to an open drive shaft I was wondering about changing the rear spring set up at the same time.

Food for thought????
Colin
 
Colin, I'm working on a 40 two door and have used chassis engineering's set up.I have zero miles on it, so I don't know how it will handle, but it was easy to install, and I used a 8" differential out of a 65 fairlane. The diff. was just right width, you do have to change the spring mounts. If you are going to try this on a woody make sure the springs are heavy enough, they weight alot more than a sedan. Good luck Chuck S.
 
I've installed several of these spring kits in old Fords. You can see the Chassis Engineering kits @ www.chassisenginering.com. If it's going on a 35 or early '36 there is a difference in the rear bracket & they show that. On a '37 pickup install, the rear bracket and the lower rear fender had a slight clearance issue. As Chuck said, some open drive rear ends are nearly a bolt in. I used their sway bar and the improvement was worth the effort.
Dick
 
I have the parallel spring kit from Chassis Engineering Inc. installed on my '46 Ford woodie. The kit comes complete with everything you need and easy to understand instructions. I also have their sway bar. The car rides great and I would recommend this kit to anyone contemplating this job.
 
I have used the Chassis Engineering spring kits in several cars. Easy to install and the springs give a super great ride. I did use TCI on one occasion. They make nice brackets and they install easy, but their springs ride very harsh and make the car sit to high in the back.
 
Your plot might intail more than meets the eye.
An early Lincoln 3 speed/overdrive trans will mate to your flathead bellhousing. Or an adaptor made by CornHuskers will enable you to use a GM overdrive unit. ( the GM Saginaw trans is fully synchronized) Either way you will have to alter the frame Xmember slightly.
If you choose to convert to a parallel spring set up you will need to decide to convert your rear end to an open shaft, or change the rear axel to a modern type.
The young men at "HOT ROD WORKS" in Caldwell Idaho makes an excellent open drive kit for your original rear end. Really wonderful people to deal with, great products.
Depending on which gear ratio you decide to use, it is easy to gear your car too high in overdrive. Should you have a 4:11 ratio with a 27% overdrive these work quite well.
Great hobby, have fun.
 
I have also used the Chassis Engineering rear mounting kit on my '36 coupe. I have included a few pics showing the parallel leaf springs mounted over a 1980 Ford Granada rear end (3.54:1). I used a 1985 GM T-5 transmission with a Speedway adapter (wished I had used the Cornhusker's kit as the Speedway adapter needed some modifications). the car runs well at highway & interstate speeds.
 

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Woodie UK said:
Hi Barners,
Has anybody out there in barnerland ever fitted a parallel rear spring conversion kit, such as that available from Speedway.

I plan to change the gearbox on my '36 (to give me overdrive ratios for better highway cruising) and as this would mean converting to an open drive shaft I was wondering about changing the rear spring set up at the same time.

Food for thought????
Colin
Click to expand...
How about a mitchell overdrive? I like mine on my 36 woodie!
 
I also used the weedetrs kit with a Bronco rear, 3:50 posi and a T5.
Kit bolts in very easily and rides great with the gas shocks.
 
In my opinion brand X suspension design has no place in an early ford.
Ford style / radius arm suspension is a superior design and should be kept in place.

Cross spring hangers on your open rear end - long PJ style ladder bars or strengthened ford arms and a new small cross member to mount them to and your done.
 
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