Tire to Fender gap with WWW 7.50X16's

[Martin]

Any suggestions for lowering the rear end of my 29 Coupe. The gap is almost 4 1/2 inches between top of tire & bottom of fender. Tire size is 7.50X16. Not sure if the gap should be even all the way around or if the tire should be level with or inside the fender lip
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/macajabr/PC290389.jpg

[Martin]

http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/macajabr/PC290391.jpg

[Davey_Joe]

get rid o' some spring leafs martin........ or fill 'er full o' bricks!!....

[34ford]

Martin:eek:You can try the leaves on the bottom of the axle . You can add spacers to drop it lower but then you have to worry about the scrub line . If that doesn't work to your satisfaction cut out the springs and put a 4bar system in and coil overs .That should get her down . We dropped a 28 chev that way 5".Now that also presents a problem .Once you get the rear looking good the front will be too high so cut it out and put a mustang II style front end in to get it lowered .
Now once you get it looking cool ,you'l have to chop it to get it looking real cool .Get rid of the wimpy motor and put in a serious motor with overdrive transmission and a 9" Ford rear end .
Bob

[johnny37]

the front will be too high so cut it out and put a mustang II style front end in to get it lowered .
Now once you get it looking cool

NOOOOOOO!!!!! Mustang 2 in a Model A has got to be the worst thing you can do to one of those. (My opinion only, but I'm pretty sure others out there agree) They look like crap to me. Bubbles in the fenders to clear the A-arms, that rack hanging out front of the crossmember in full view. Yuck. Maybe, and I do mean maybe, an IFS with rear mounted rack, but even thats a stretch. Martin has said here earlier that he wants the car to be lower, but still look relatively stock. A Mustang 2 is not the ticket to that. This is one of those rare occasions when a Mustang 2 is not the ticket. Actually, to me anything 34 or older should never have a Mustang 2 in them. My opinion only though.

[Bash and scratch]

How much work do you want to do? I have used a model T spring and crossmember in the rear to bring things down and then you can also play with spacers and the number of leaf springs careful not to make it too soft as to be bottoming out, one can as well reverse the eyes on the main leaf. The front, I have reversed the eyes on the main leaf and also played with the spacers and springs as well. Of course for the front you always have the option of a dropped axle? This all is assuming that the suspension on the car is as original as the car looks in the pic?

just some things to think about? food for thought... Bash

[Martin]

front of car is on axle stands at the moment which is why its still high,
dropped axle is waiting to go in as the bungs in my split wish bones are being welded in tomorrow, also have reversed front spring.

and as for the muzzy IFS, me thinks not on this one, not the route I wanted to follow and same for the rear.

Have found out that OCC (posies) supply an A spring that drops the rear
2 1/2 inches so that may well be the route I take. I'm kind of loathed to chop up the old parts at the moment.

Friday/Saturday should see it back together with the front end not so much in the weeds but more like the snow.:D

[Davey_Joe]

...... reversing the eyes in the mainleaf will be the 'start' of getting it down.... the springs on the "A"s are directly over the axles, so you are limited.... an' J37 ain't the only one thinkin' 'bout MII frt ends under slenderfender cars!!!.... it should not be done!.... UUUUGHLYYY!!.....

[Kustomshoebox]

The day will come (in the next 5 years) fingers crossed) that I will build an A.... Nice lookin car Martin... the second good lookin A to come in here in the last little while.

[Gramps]

A 68 mustang rear with air bags should bring the back end down.....stuff a 502 with a blower in the front end should bring it to the proper level without a MII front.:D
MII fronts are comonly used because of future replacement parts are easily available almost everywhere you go. That is a big consideration.

[34ford]

:DJohnney37:D TCI makes a IFS system that you don't have to modify the fenders etc and is rear steer .It looks great and you can run the car at highway speeds .Don't get me wrong but I like the car original .Most of the fellows out our way say 50 mph is about as fast as you want to go . But on the other hand I like my comfort and speed . 100 year old Buggy technoligy scares me at 75mph .:cool:

[johnny37]

34, IFS and Mustang 2 are completely different animals. Different control arms, different ball joints, different spindles, different crossmember, different rack and pinion(yes, rear mounted), and they use coilover shocks instead of gas shocks and coil springs. The terms "IFS" is used pretty loosely sometimes, and people often think an IFS and Mustang 2 are the same. Not throwing stones at all, just pointing out how they are different. An IFS does work under 34 and older vehicles quite nicely, but they are about $1000 CDN more than a Mustang 2 setup. And as pointed out earlier, Martin wants to keep his car looking relatively stock from a visual standpoint. As for the highway speeds, I have friends with both IFS under a 34 Ford, and drop axles under 32 and 33 Fords. No problems with either one at 75mph plus. A properly set up drop axle will handle quite nicely at highway speeds. I'd drive either one to California and back. One of the keys is getting the correct caster into the front end. If that isn't done correctly, then you are right, no more than 50 mph. B-Bob is an excellent resource for this type of information, for how to get the caster in, and how much to put in. He's done it once or twice so far.:rolleyes:;):D

[34ford]

:DJohnney37:eek:You are right on the money about the difference between the two .I use the term mustange II style because most people don't know the difference . Your right about the price difference largley due to the price of the coil overs .I have just purchased another one of the IFS and installing it on a 37 Ford . The price gap now is about $800.00 .I like the alignment method for caster and camber .Its quick and easy . Maybe you can post pix to show the difference between the two .Thanks again for the comments :eek:

Bob

[Fortyseven]

You really dont need a MII front in an A. A dropped axle and split bones work well and keep it low as you want. The car will handle pretty well also. I was happy with the A that I built with a complete tci chrome tube axle front end. They look good fenderless or fully fendered.

[Alcan AV8]

I have tried many different combos. Taking leaves out and then putting some back in. Also moving the short ones from the top of the spring to underneath as spacers. Had it too soft and it was bottoming at one point so had to put another leaf back in. It was trial and error but I kept notes of what I tried and it works pretty good now. I have a 2" gap from the top of the tire to the lip of the fender. I think there are 3 leaves on top of the main leaf. I can't remember if there are any short ones on top of that. The main leaf has reversed eyes as well. I did not want to mess with the frame as I would have had to modify the p/u box. My rear tire is a 7.00-16.

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r449/AlcanAV8/DSC07591.jpg

[John in Oz]

Going by your other post about the front end it sounds to me like really you need to go to a coil over rear end, that way you should get less body roll and still be able to have the car lower or face the fact do you want a Hot Rod or a restored car because with those old things once you change one thing then it will throw the rest of the car out somewhere else, the A chassis is designed to flex and if you are not carefull you are going to have a real shit fight on your hands chasing problems around and around next thing you will have doors popping open and the list goes on, why not just build a rod chassis and be done with it and drop the original looking A on that, now there's a thing make all quick hitches and then you can lift the body off and on from the rodded chassis to the original one when you want to mix it with the resto boys.

C'ya, John

[34ford]

Martin:DI was pulling your chain about the Mustang II . I think your car should be left alone. If it's all original it would be a shame to alter it .I think those cars look great just the way they are. :rolleyes:

Bob