starting my 4.6 swap

[lalessi1]

Out of curiosity I ran the comparison of your 215/75/14 tires against my (newly changed size) tires of 215/70/15. Because of your 75 sidewall height, your 14" tire dia only comes up .150 difference, so your 14's will only be a lower ground clearance of .075 than mine.
I'm curious if the 215 wide tires on yours hits the hd sway bar at full lock....I'm guessing since your turning radius isn't limited like the R & P it does hit.??

the tires clear by about a 1/4 inch.when the car is at ride height,i should have a little more clearance

My tires dont even come close to my swaybar?

[canadian_ranchero]

No problem... If we assume your car's weight applies a 1900 lb spring load compared to the original 2025 lbs, that means that instead of the spring compressing to the 9.6" stock length, it will compress to 9.85" That will raise the car by only 1/2" over stock.

The numbers you gave me for the spring are a little off. The 500 lb/in spring will compress 4.05" giving a compressed height of 9.7".

What is the spindle drop on tthe Grenadas?

some people say a 2.5 drop,some say less,so i am not sure.the spring numbers came from the aug 1958 ford service letters

[canadian_ranchero]

My tires dont even come close to my swaybar?

the borgoson box and the granada spindles have more turning radius than stock

[lalessi1]

The numbers I am looking at are in the 1957 Ford Shop Manual...close enough.

Basically, if I understand correctly, you would like a spring that would raise your car 2-2 1/2" overstock?

If so, I would consider cutting the long spring. If you cut 1 coil... you would have a spring with approximately 15 3/8" free length. The spring rate would go up to 411 lbs per inch, the installed compressed length would be 10.75" and the car would sit  about (10.75 - 9.6) x 2.12 or 2.4 inches higher than stock.

I would suggest measuring the spring to a 15 3/8" free height and cut it there as a starting point.

PS, not to be an alarmist but I would wait and see how Rich's car compares to the numbers after he gets his springs installed. All good designs verify numbers with prototypes.   

[canadian_ranchero]

The numbers I am looking at are in the 1957 Ford Shop Manual...close enough.

Basically, if I understand correctly, you would like a spring that would raise your car 2-2 1/2" overstock?

If so, I would consider cutting the long spring. If you cut 1 coil... you would have a spring with approximately 15 3/8" free length. The spring rate would go up to 411 lbs per inch, the installed compressed length would be 10.75" and the car would sit  about (10.75 - 9.6) x 2.12 or 2.4 inches higher than stock.

I would suggest measuring the spring to a 15 3/8" free height and cut it there as a starting point.

PS, not to be an alarmist but I would wait and see how Rich's car compares to the numbers after he gets his springs installed. All good designs verify numbers with prototypes.   

i had not considered cutting the long spring,good idea.yes i agree with you on waiting for rich.now his engine is back more than mine,somethink else to think about

[RICH MUISE]

Other stuff which may or may not change things....
I may be wrong, but I thought Lincolns were a little different than Granadas. I thought the Lincolns only dropped 1 1/2, and the Granadas could be reamed for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 drops. In a previous discussion, I thought we had determined because of the way your spindles sat high on the ball joints like mine, they were Granadas reamed for the 2 1/2 drop. I think what Lynn is asking/trying to verify...you went to the dropped spindles (to get the disc brake setup), but want to overide that change to get it back to stock height?
I'm kinda thinking the lighter weight of the drivetrain, with the stock springs, might get you not to far from that, if that's in fact what you want.

[canadian_ranchero]

Other stuff which may or may not change things....
I may be wrong, but I thought Lincolns were a little different than Granadas. I thought the Lincolns only dropped 1 1/2, and the Granadas could be reamed for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 drops. In a previous discussion, I thought we had determined because of the way your spindles sat high on the ball joints like mine, they were Granadas reamed for the 2 1/2 drop. I think what Lynn is asking/trying to verify...you went to the dropped spindles (to get the disc brake setup), but want to overide that change to get it back to stock height?
I'm kinda thinking the lighter weight of the drivetrain, with the stock springs, might get you not to far from that, if that's in fact what you want.

the lincoln spindles do not need to be reamed,they have the correct size hole,so they are as ford made them.i do not know how much drop the lincoln spindles will give me.because i want to pull a trailer i think a more stock ride height will work better.want to see how your cut springs work out.still not sure what way to go with my springs

[hiball3985]

I would probably take a different approach, which of course would require more work then trying to calculate the math. There are just too many variables with modified suspension, engine weights and locations. I would install the stock springs and wait until all the sheet metal, bumpers  etc etc are installed. That will give you a know reference point and you can work from there. Yes, it's more work changing the springs afterwards, I know I need to add a spacer in mine but I have been to lazy to pull it apart again 

[RICH MUISE]

Exactly what I'd normally suggest, but for Gary, he's got a very similar setup to be able to compare to...something I didn't have. We both have the dropped spindles and the same drivetrain, so whatever ends up working for me, he should be able to take some direct references from....of course he does have the lift to make life a bit easier should he decide to wait, lol.

[hiball3985]

Yes Rich they are similar but not the same, different spindles and he wants closer to a stock ride height from what I gather. I don't think there is any simple answer, each persons car and mods are different and looking for different final results, rake vs stock etc. I think the only way is trial and error unfortunately, and hope you are lucky and hit it right the first time. I only wish I had a lift too, floor jack and stands gets old for me.

[RICH MUISE]

Looks like tommorrow is the day for my coil spring swap getting done, so I (we) won't have to wait two weeks to find out if plan 3 works.

[hiball3985]

Looks like tommorrow is the day for my coil spring swap getting done, so I (we) won't have to wait two weeks to find out if plan 3 works.

Hopefully this time will be the charm. I've been driving two years on plan 1 and I hit a tire stop in the parking lot with the sway bar this morning  I just don't park in lots often enough to remember or it's just old brain fade 

[canadian_ranchero]

Looks like tommorrow is the day for my coil spring swap getting done, so I (we) won't have to wait two weeks to find out if plan 3 works.

i think i will put the stock springs in for now,but will wait to see how rich's springs work before i put the springs in [about a 1/2 hour job with the front end off]

[RICH MUISE]

Gary...I'll try to post some more info/pics later,but I'm really happy with where the ride height is now..just a tad higher than perfect, but I suspect it may settle 1/2" or so, and be exactly where I wanted to be from the start.

[canadian_ranchero]

i am going to put the stock spring in with a 1/4 spacer,finish putting the car back together and see were it sits.if it is not right i will try cut the other springs