lowering a 41 ford

[oldskool]

i have the original banjo rear and the car is sitting much to high in the rear,i would like to get about 4" lower without braking the bank,is anyone still using lowering shackles?i know i would need to have a swaybar setup because my wider tires 225/75/ 15 are only about 1" from the spring.i have a sway bar setup from a 47 for but it will it will hit the tire,maybe 41 fords have a special set up?any input will be appreciated...al

[Vic Piano]

You can use shackles but I wouldn't recommend it. I lowered our '47 convertible in front and back with a set of reversed eye springs. You'll need a spring spreader to remove the old springs and a floor jack and bottle jack to install the reversed eye springs. The reversed eye springs dropped the rear almost 4 inches and the front just under 3 inches.

[oldskool]

thanks vic ,where did you get your rear spring i have a new speedway catalog and they sell posie's brand super slider that lowers it only 2 1/2 " are you still using the hudillie shocks stilll ?

[Vic Piano]

I got the springs directly from Posies around 8 years ago. I still have the Knee action shocks but I never got around to cutting the frame bumpers so the car does bottom out when it hits a bump or a bad stretch of road. I forgot to mention that I'm also running 15" '46 Merc rims with radial tires the equivalent of 7.10x15's so that also drops the car down a bit.

[Henry/Kokomo]

I have a '46 that was lowered with long spring shackles before I got it. Based on what I've seen, I wouldn't recommend it. I intend to replace the stock springs and long shackles with Posies reversed eye springs. Good luck.

[42guy]

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I had a new main leaf made with reversed eyes for $65 at a truck spring shop. Had front and rear done and sets the car about 3-4 in. lower. It's a nice look. Stay away from thr shackles.

[imnezrider]

Just my experience, but I lowered my '40 Ford convertible with shackles in the early 1950's while in high school and drove the h*ll out of it as teenagers do. No problem, therefore wouldn't hesitate to do it again, especially considering the difference in labor and other costs. However, back then, lowering the rear was the only "accepted" look.

[Mart]

My 40 is lowered in the back with long shackles and a panhard rod. On paper the geometry should be bad but in reality it works great.

Mart.

[sturgis 39]

What about a mono leaf spring? They should really lower the car. I guess you can add blocks between the spring and the frame to raise or lower the car. I am not sure if you are talking mono leaf spring with reversed eyes or a standard spring with reversed eyes.

[Labold]

I ended up removing 5 leafs out of my rear Posie Super Slide spring to make it sit like it does (and am using a 1" shackle). It lowered it about 5 inches total in the rear.
Here's a before and after photo.

[Marvin/TN]

It's your car but I much prefer the before look. I never liked the look with the top of the tires up under the fenders but like I said it's your car do what you want to with it.

[Rich/Alabama]

What about the wishbone hitting the frame up front? I haven't done it yet but want to use the Posies springs without changing anything else.

[Labold]

Hey Rich/Alabama
You shouldn't have any problems with the wishbone hitting the frame with just the spring swap. If you decide to go even lower you will need a dropped axle. If you use a magnum, you don't have to split your wishbone.

[Rich/Alabama]

Labold,
Just going by what the Posies text says about the springs; don't really want to go lower than that anyway for practical reasons. Posies says split the wishbone or convert to 4-bar and don't want to do either because it drives and handles fine right now. Like your car BTW, especially the color.

[jerry grayson]

Originally Posted by oldskool

i have the original banjo rear and the car is sitting much to high in the rear,i would like to get about 4" lower without braking the bank,is anyone still using lowering shackles?i know i would need to have a swaybar setup because my wider tires 225/75/ 15 are only about 1" from the spring.i have a sway bar setup from a 47 for but it will it will hit the tire,maybe 41 fords have a special set up?any input will be appreciated...al

I don't think that you will like long shackles because the 41 is the most evil handling of all the early Fords because of their spring shackle set up and long shackles will make a bad situation worse. In 1942 they corrected some of the problem and in 46 with more sway bars and panhard bars made it much better.JMO

[Teich]

48 Ford, lowered it by removing three spring leaves from the top to the bottom sits real nice have 215's on the front and 235's on the rear. Tires fill fender opening very nice could hav e photos but still haven't got that to work! laurie

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by jerry grayson

I don't think that you will like long shackles because the 41 is the most evil handling of all the early Fords because of their spring shackle set up and long shackles will make a bad situation worse. In 1942 they corrected some of the problem and in 46 with more sway bars and panhard bars made it much better.JMO

i have owned my share of early fords and maybe mine is and exception but my 41 drives handles better at any speed than any old ford that i have owned,maybe due to the fact that i run radial tires ? i will go with a reversed eye spring and hope handling will not be compromised..

[Mr 42]

Lowered my 42 with long shackel's in the rear, and narrow dropped axle and Posie spring in the front.

Had to do some minor job on the frame so the unsplit wishbone so they did not hit the frame. http://www.brandow.eu/42fordparta3.html

[Labold]

^^ That's one tough lookin '42!

[makemc]

Hey Mr. 42.. what measuring stick is that, what does that
translate in inches..Thanks