79 T bird spindles with Aerostar springs

[jvo]

I have been reading most of these threads and haven't gotten the answers I am looking for so far.  I now have the frame for the Ranchero project blasted, and today I got the suspension back under it so I can push it in and out of the garage.  The front springs right now are wood 4 x 6's, between the frame and the lower control arm.  My buddy is going to bring me some big washers and all thread to put in place of the springs until I get a little farther along. 
Now, the problem I see here is excessive camber, the tops of the tires are leaning out, and I have taken ALL of the shims out from behind the upper a arms. 
I got the spindles from the local auto wrecker, with new rotors and pads that still had paint on them.  The owner of the auto wreckers used these same spindles on his 57 Ranchero.  From what I have read on the net in various places, these spindles should not drop the front end, so I bought a new set of Aerostar springs.  However, before I dismantled the rusty Ranchero, the measurement from the bottom of the front frame rail to the floor was 14 1/4 inches.  So, I lowered the frame three inches, as that is what I have read that the Aerostar springs will lower the car. 
After that, the upper a arms are at a terrible angle, and I can't imagine the geometry being proper.  If I have to, I will move the mounting point for the upper a arms in a little towards the centre of the car, so as to reduce the camber.
Did I use a set of spindles that are not compatible with the 57?  They seem to be almost the same as the stock ones, except that they have disc brakes. 
I just don't like the angle of the upper a arms in the lowered state, looks goofy, and I don't imagine it will handle properly.  I could be wrong, but its never happened before. 
Don't have any good pics, as the camera battery is dead, so here are a couple of cell phone pics.

[hiball3985]

Sorry I have no experience using that combo of spindle and spring but what happens if you raise the frame back up to your 14 1/2" original measurement, does that remove the camber?

Just wondering what the cross member added to the front frame rails is for?

[jvo]

One shot of the frame at 14 1/4 inches stock ride height before I disassembled rusty Ranchero, and one shot ad 11 1/4 inches frame height ( cause I was told the Aerostar springs will lower the car 3 inches).  You can see the difference in the angle of the upper a arm.  The camber seems to be approximately the same.  Hard to see, but I put a level on the outside of the tire, and the top of the tire is leaning out about 1/4 inch.  Haven't actually measured with an actual camber gauge yet, but its visible to the naked eye when you are standing in front or behind the car.

The other two shots show the sway bar I fashioned up, and there is a little write up in my build thread about that.  Late model Dodge pickup sway bar, thirty bucks from the local pic a part, bent the ends to fit. Maybe controversial, but oh well.
The crossmember on the front supports the front part of the rad support bracket.  I cut the bottom of the rad support bracket off, so as to tuck the sway bar right up underneath it.  The stock factory angle brackets on the front of my frame were torn off, I presume from pulling this car out of the ditch a few times during its previous life, so it was an easy decision to mount up something different.  The bumper bolts are still accessible. Thanks for looking.

[7 liter chevy eater]

I am going to do the same spindle swap on my 57 Fairlane. I did this swap on my 61 Galaxie and didn't look right till I dropped the engine in. Have you tried to put about 600 lbs of weight on it to see where it will sit or drop the engine in?

[jvo]

Nope, haven't tried with weight on it yet.  I won't bother too much with the suspension stuff till I get the car back together again, I think.  Its all painted, so it can sit outside now till I get the body ready to go back on the frame.  I'll worry about it then, and make whatever changes I need to.  Thanks.

[canadian_ranchero]

you may have got spindles from a 79 ltd.i tryed a set of the ltd ones and had the same problem.went with granada ones,they fit better

[jvo]

"If" I have to change spindles, will the rotors and calipers fit the Granada spindles?  I got lucky with these wrecking yard parts, cause both the rotors and brake pads are brand new, still have oem paint on them, no scratches on the rotors whatsoever either. 
I would also consider shortening the upper arm length slightly inward, but that might have an adverse affect on geometry?
I was asking my buddy that builds race cars about building a set of tubular upper a arms that are about 3/4 of an inch shorter, and he suggested just sectioning the stock ones, as easier and cheaper.  Thoughts anyone?
That would move the top of the spindles inwards and give me some room for spacers to space them back out to where the alignment needed to be. 

[canadian_ranchero]

look at the spindles for a casting number,that may tell you what they are from

[jvo]

Thanks, I haven't taken them apart yet, and so far from the inside, I haven't been able to find a casting number.  Probably have to pull the rotors off to find it. Thanks.

[lalessi1]

John, I personally would not alter the control arms. Suspension geometry depends on all components working together. I have similar if not the same spindles on my car and I plan on putting stock ones back on at some point in the future.

"If" I have to change spindles, will the rotors and calipers fit the Granada spindles?  I got lucky with these wrecking yard parts, cause both the rotors and brake pads are brand new, still have oem paint on them, no scratches on the rotors whatsoever either. 
I would also consider shortening the upper arm length slightly inward, but that might have an adverse affect on geometry?
I was asking my buddy that builds race cars about building a set of tubular upper a arms that are about 3/4 of an inch shorter, and he suggested just sectioning the stock ones, as easier and cheaper.  Thoughts anyone?
That would move the top of the spindles inwards and give me some room for spacers to space them back out to where the alignment needed to be. 

[Lucky'57]

For what it's worth, I just had my 500 aligned after dropping the front 3" with the Aerostar spring set (new radial Coker's and 14" 1980 Mercury wheels). We ended up having to put in the maximum amount of shims we could get in there (about 5/8") while still leaving enough thread on the bolts to fill the nut. Now within the factory spec tolerance, looks good, feels good.

[lalessi1]

For what it's worth, I just had my 500 aligned after dropping the front 3" with the Aerostar spring set (new radial Coker's and 14" 1980 Mercury wheels). We ended up having to put in the maximum amount of shims we could get in there (about 5/8") while still leaving enough thread on the bolts to fill the nut. Now within the factory spec tolerance, looks good, feels good.

My car had a 3"drop and needed a ton of shims as well. I raised it back up.

[Lucky'57]

My car had a 3"drop and needed a ton of shims as well. I raised it back up.

I hear you. She's a little bit on the low side in front with the Aerostar springs, I'm about 3/8" off the bump stops. I bought some 1" spring spacers that I'll be adding on top of the springs when I get back. I also dropped the rear end by 2". It's a little low as well, I've bottomed out a few times on some not so serious dips in the road. I'm going to change the drop blocks to 1" and see how that works out.