lowering front end 1960

vermbird

vermbird

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Joined
Feb 23, 2021
Thunderbird Year
1960
want to lower the front ride height on my 60 t bird. had new suspension put in 15 yrs ago but ride height is too high. how much should i lower it to make it look "bitchen" will involve cutting a coil or 2 off the front springs. how hard is this to do for an average diy home mechanic. i have a lift in my garage to help out although i think its best done on the ground so one can jack up the lower control arm to reinstall the cut spring.
 

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I don't quite understand the current trend to drop classics but the easiest and easily reversible step would just put in some spring compressors. It will ride like hell but you'd be styling.
 
vermbird said:
want to lower the front ride height on my 60 t bird. had new suspension put in 15 yrs ago but ride height is too high. how much should i lower it to make it look "bitchen" will involve cutting a coil or 2 off the front springs. how hard is this to do for an average diy home mechanic. i have a lift in my garage to help out although i think its best done on the ground so one can jack up the lower control arm to reinstall the cut spring.
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i had a 57 kit car with stock ride height. cut 2 coils in the front and i think either 2 inch or 3 inch lowering blocks in the rear. looked good
 
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I've removed springs on my 54 Ford and 56 Bird. It's not an easy job and you have to be very careful in both removal and reinstall as there is a lot of tension on the springs. If you have some mechanical experience it's possible to do it. And your correct in that the car should be on the ground although I imagine the front end shops have tools so they
can do it in the air

QUOTE="vermbird, post: 69857, member: 19567"]
want to lower the front ride height on my 60 t bird. had new suspension put in 15 yrs ago but ride height is too high. how much should i lower it to make it look "bitchen" will involve cutting a coil or 2 off the front springs. how hard is this to do for an average diy home mechanic. i have a lift in my garage to help out although i think its best done on the ground so one can jack up the lower control arm to reinstall the cut spring.
[/QUOTE]
 
i measured the distance from the center of the wheel (knock off Kelsey- Hayes) and its 15 1/2 inches to center of fender lip. thread on this site a year or two ago by Buckaroo for his 58 said it should be 14". i don't want it to look like a lowrider but right now it looks like its about to take off( in response to ward 57 above). my concern is can i do it safely and get the spring in and out safely to cut off about 1 1/2". vermbird
 
Firstly, determine how much you want to drop it. Generally speaking, 1 coil = 2". Whatever you do, don't use a torch; better to use a cut-off wheel. Popping ball joints to remove springs is not fun. I damaged an upper on my 55. The new replacement is defective,making steering too stiff. Secure the spring with a chain/cable to prevent their flying out when you lower the control arm. You might have to raise the car higher than floor jack will raise it to be able to drop the control arm low enough to remove the spring, even when folding the spindle and brake drum down and out of the way. I would rather not do it again, and will let the alignment shop replace the upper ball joint when they do the alignment. I rebuilt front/rear suspension and steering, but I'll let trusted professionals check it out before putting it back on the road.
 
60 shop manual gives instructions on how to do it. i 'm still a little scared but someone on the fordthunderbirdforum.com site said they did it and it went ok, even though they were not a seasoned mechanic.
 
Ward 57 said:
I don't quite understand the current trend to drop classics
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You don't need to though since it's not your car, right? Different strokes for different folks. White car for some, black car for others.
 
If you out the front of the car up on jack stands, put floor jack under brake drum, just touching, loosen nut on upper ball joint, rap on side with big hammer or mini sledge until it pops loose, drop out shock and remove nut from ball joint. Slowly lower jack and spring will fall out
 
or? you can tie the front bumper down to the hieght you want then go under the car and heat a couple of lower coils to just start to glow red do the othe side and walk awy until they cool, realease the bumper and check your hieght...it realises the tension on the heated coils and should bring it down just take your time and be careful, may have over pull it to get down enough, you will have to determine.... I used to do it on stock cars...lol
 
if you want to just replace the springs, I think a lot of tool rental places have spring compressor tools. they allow you to compress the springs safely without tearing the whole front end apart. Might check into them.
 
There are several spring companies that can supply you with custom made springs wound to fit your desired ride height.
 
thank you for your input. on a budget, easier to just cut off some of the spring to lower it. the spring was replaced 15 yrs ago and has 4k miles on it.
 
Attached is an interesting article I read last week that you might want to read before starting your project.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue
 

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  • Spring Swapping.pdf
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