update on Rich's build

[djfordmanjack]

looking great !

[RICH MUISE]

Sometime before today and this weekend I'm gonna get the car out of the garage and up on the driveway. I am really anxious to be able to stand back and get a look at it...imposible in a one car garage. I'm also needing to check the stance..something I can't do on a dirt floor, but it's been driving me nuts..just doesn't seem to be anywhere low enough in the front. I was surprised the engine didn't settle the car down lower than it did, but I figured it still needed the weight of all the sheetmetal. All that's on, but the car just doesn't seem to have settled with all that. Only the bumper left to go. I have the 2 1/2 dropped spindles and my tires are almost an inch smaller radius in the front, adding up to almost 3 1/2" rake. Yeah, I still have the old leaf springs in the back, and no shocks anywhere, but the way the car sits on the dirt floor appears to have a reverse rake!...not quite like Donnie's, but....
Hope the new springs I had put up front were the correct ones.

[Ecode70D]

Rich
   It will settle in more after you drive it a little.   I cut the springs in my 58 and it was just the way I wanted it as long as it was sitting in the garage. The very first time that I drove it up the street to the parts store and came back , it was horribly low.  Then I had to replace the springs again.
    I'm not telling you this to discourage you because I know that you have a lot of work to do and don't need another job.   Keep up the good work. Jay

[RICH MUISE]

Well, I got it up on the driveway, and it still has that gasser look. Donnie would be proud. I've still got one old and smaller tire on the back, which makes the car not sit level. The new passenger side rear tire is 3 1/2 larger diameter than the driver's side. Just for grins I jacked the low back side up the 1 3/4 and it pretty much leveled out. The springs will settle for sure, but.....with the car jacked up as mentioned, my rockers are within 1/4 of level where I should have about a 3" rake. I can't see the springs settling that much. The sway bar that Jim said he had trouble bottoming out is 11" from the concrete on mine as she sits. I'm about 95% convinced I got the wrong coil springs from Eaton 6 or 7 or 8 years ago. I'm gonna take some pics of the spindle and get Dave from drop n stop to look and see if everything there looks ok. Just eyeballing the top control arm, it only looks like less than an inch off the frame corner.
Sure was nice though driving the car out of the garage. I even drove it a block down the street. Have to do that quickly..no mufflers and it's not registered or inspected. I'll post some pics later...out in the sunshine!!

[lalessi1]

Congratulations! I always have felt like Dr Frankenstein..."IT'S ALIVE"! Really interesting about the lack of drop given the dropped spindles. It may be a combination of things that will work out though. I tend to agree with Jay.

[RICH MUISE]

I took it around the block....couldn't resist. Actually I wanted to kinda settle the front control arms in because, per Bill's advise, I had left the bushing loose until I had all the weight on the front end. Several issues came up in that .3 of a mile. My check engine light came on.I never did get a OBD I code reader, so I don't know what that was about, but later when I turned the car around, it didn't come on.  The engine is running pretty rough...a far cry from the smooth as silk when I pulled it from the Mark VIII. May have something to do with the check engine light, or just the fact I don't have any exhaust beyond the downpipes. I did get to check out the temp gage for the first time...never got over 180ish after iddling for 1/2 hour.
The steering seems to be a little sticky...may be the loose front end components or the ujoints on the steering shaft. Also now that I can eyeball the front end a little better, the caster and camber are probably off quite a bit.
All in all, issues that may resolve themselves once the work is finished.

[John Palmer]

Make sure that you get the desired ride height sorted out "before" you set the caster/camber/toe adjustments.

[RICH MUISE]

Yeah, or I may elect to do the alignment twice. Not sure how many miles it'll take to settle the springs in, and tires aren't cheap either.
a few pics from today...

[RICH MUISE]

The above last pic....the upper control arm isn't quite as close to the frame as it look in the pic, but it is less than an inch. This is what makes me think I have the wrong springs.
I'm wondering how that compares to other member's cars.
a front shot...

[Zapato]

going to guess your face is hurting from the frozen grin now that you drove it down the block and back.

ZapAto-

and seeing you're online at 11:30 tells me you just can't fall asleep either,lol

almost forgot the car looks GREAT !

[djfordmanjack]

It looks so good outside !!!
The stance fits the car. I would drive it as it sits right now. it has the competion look. I'd forget about the front bumper and add som cromed T bars or a short stainless spreader bar/bumper.
these wheels are perfect for your car.

[lalessi1]

Your car is looking awesome! I still think it will settle quite a bit after driving it and aligning the front end. What Eaton springs did you get? My car doesn't have an engine in it as of now or I would send you pictures of my control arm position for reference.

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks guys
DJ I actually kinda like the look also, but then '57's make the best looking gassers, don't they?
Only problem with the competion look on my car...that's where it would stop...with the look.
If I ever decide to spend some big bucks on getting the 4.6 built up, I can always take the bumper off,  . My concern at this point with the stance is I'm not sure something is amiss. If it's that high because of the springs being wrong, then it's gotta be a harsh ride, right?
Lynn..when I ordered my springs from eaton and went thru all the question and answer stuff with them, they determined that my new drivetrain was within 60 lbs of the old 6 cyl manual. They took into account a/c, etc. I did not want a hard ride, so agreed with them that just a pair of oem spec 6 cyl springs would work just fine. My thought was if those springs didin't support the car adequatly I could always go to an assist with shocks. So, short answer..they are suppose to be oem spec 6 cyl. springs

[Lgcustom]

Rich,

I would leave it as is for a while. It will settle some as you drive it. Did you tighten the a-arm bolts with weight on the suspension? That might make a difference. And as others have said, NICE lookin car!

[lalessi1]

I  would try loosening/tightening the control arm bolts with weight on the suspension as well. It is hard for me to believe the springs are the issue unless you really had to fight them to get them in.