[hduff]

I recently purchased for re-sale a '37 Plymouth coupe that was built as a show car. Then my wife saw it and wanted it to be "her" car (sorry guys, she doesn't have a sister). Now I need to make it "streetable".

The car uses a Mustang II front suspension and a Nova rear suspension with adjustable coil-overs in back. Since it was a show car, the ride height is _very_ low. Looks good, but is too low for the street.

The rear ride height will be easy to adjust, but the front is a problem. The Mustang II assembly was installed so that the suspension geometry was correct at the very low ride height. While I could just use some taller springs, that would throw the geometry out of whack. Other that re-install the front suspension, I could use taller tires to get the 1.5" lift I'm looking for.

Any advice or comments? Thanks.

Hoyt

[tm454]

Bigger front wheels and tires?


Tazz


Rat Rods Rule!

[hduff]

What would your suggestion be? I'd like to avoid removing the front suspension assembly just to move it 1.5 inches. I can get the hight increase by moving to 70 series tires from the current 60 series. The fully polished 5-spoke 15" Americans stay on the car.

Hoyt

[Deuce]

I would install a new set of coil springs. Then have the front suspension re-aligned. There should be enough adjustment to align it correctly. The top A arm can be shimmed out. A common deal on independent front suspensions.

[hduff]

But I also need to replace the tires. The current tires are "show tires" that have no sidewall support and allow the car to move laterally, a very disconcerting feeling. they do have a pretty bulge to them when you look at them, however.

How do I determine what springs are on the car now so I can select an appropriate replacement?

Hoyt

[5.0 freak]

put in adjustable shocks/struts if you can. Then if you put in new coils it will raise the car then set the shocks/struts to max firmness to hold.

[trees]

You probably have dropped spindles on the front. Replacing them with OEM spindles and going to 75 series tires will pick you up 3 + inches.

Trees

[jpd37]

I would concur with the suggestion from trees. Replacing the spindles will rais the front without spring replacement. You should probably check how much vertical travel the suspension has too. If the builder set it up for looks only, you may find the suspension will bottom out and that's a serious handling problem. Take the spring out and work the suspension without the spring. Then you will know precisely what you are dealing with. Normal ride position will have the A arms resting horizontal with the suspension loaded. The 75 series tire profile will give you a softer ride than a 70 series but I personally prefer the 70 series tire for the improved handling.

[hduff]

The spindles are stock and I doubt anyone makes _raised_ spindles.

With these stock spindles, the lower A-arms are paralle to the ground. It seems that the Mustang II front-end assembly was deliberately installed slightly high to provide a low ride without suspension geometry problems.

I'm also having trouble locating radial blackwall tires in appropriate widths and diameters for the wheels, especially for the 10" rear rims. So far it looks like I have more options for 17 or 19" rims, so I may need to sell the fully polished American five-spoke rims now on the car. I'd like to avoid that if possible.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I'll keep looking for the "perfect" tires again.

Hoyt