update on Rich's build

[RICH MUISE]

The control arm bolts were loosened before I installed any of the weight..engine/tranny, all the engine compartment stuff and were left loose right thru all the sheetmetal installation. That's one of the reasons I wanted to take it around the block...to help settle things in before I tightened the bolts.
Did I fight the springs getting them in? yes, but was it more than normal?...I don't know, like everything else it was a first for me.I don't remember if or how much longer the springs were over the old ones, but I would think 55 year old springs wouldn't be as long as their new exact replacements. Could be a wire dia. difference also. I did not keep the old springs to compare.

[Limey57]

Up in the air or down in the weeds, it's shiny and in one piece so looks cool to me!  I know from experience that a few miles under the belt can drop a rebuilt car quite a bit, my previous car sat too high so I changed the springs and within two weeks had to take them off again as it then dropped too much.  I'd get it all finished and put a few miles on it before touching the springs.

[lalessi1]

Gotcha. My 6 cyl springs had been heated (3 coils were collapsed) and my car was almost on the suspension stops. I bought 2 Edsel springs (who knows the specs) on eBay, put 'em in and my car seemed level. I have changed springs, cut springs, put spacers in springs in an effort to raise and lower cars before, mostly to my chagrin the changes didn't go as planned. In almost every case the final results seem to take time to manifest themselves but they didn't always pan out the way I thought. I guess that is why I think this is fun?

[RICH MUISE]

I may have to retract a statement I made earlier about my control arm bolts loosened before any weight was added. I definetly did loosen the upper control arms..not so sure I did the bottoms after thinking about it. I remember planning on loosening those when I pulled the car up on the driveway to install the motor, and I'll bet I never did. I'll try and get that checked out this weekend. Kinda thinking out loud here searching for reasons the suspension is sitting like there's no weight on it. Maybe bottom bolts tightened when the front was empty and new springs would be enough to hold it up...at least until a few good bumps in the road?? Your thoughts on this posibility??

[lalessi1]

I have seen that happen before. You can over stress the rubber as well (I think). My experience was on Datsuns but the bushing designs are similar. It may be an easy "fix". I also think front end alignment can affect initial suspension settling. These are gut feelings based on related experience.

[RICH MUISE]

I just got done fitting the nice shiney bumper on...love that shiney stuff. Have I mentioned that before?
On to suspension....my plan is to jack it up, let the bottom control arms loose, spray some lubricant on them, then go thru a round of jacking it up and letting the jack down quickly. Hopefull I can get the jack to drop quick enough to simulate some road bumps.

[hotroddonnie]

It does sit nice Rich. It's nice to finally see the car outside. For two years all I ever took were inside pics.

[GaryI72]

Looks good. Great to see it outside.

[JPotter57]

Hey Rich, your check engine light is probably because of no exhaust, no oxygen sensors connected.    If there are no sensors hooked up, it will throw a code for that, plus, Lincolns had 4 O2 sensors, 2 at the exhaust manifolds and 2 downstream just before a crossover in the H pipe.  Any one of those not hooked up will cause a code.  Glad to see your car out of the garage.  Looks great with those wheels and that color...wow.

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks, James. I've been getting alot of positive comments on the wheels.
All the times I started the engine, the only time the check engine light came on was that trip around the block...hasn't come on since. The Ron Francis kit only requires the front two O2 sensors, and they are in place, as is all the necessary electronics to make the oem computer function as it was meant to...without throwing codes. The O2 sensors are on the downpipes close to the exhaust manifolds. The exhaust is only in place to just after the H pipe.
I need to search for an OBDI code reader when I get some spare $. I bought a cheapie, but the pins in use within the connector are different than the pins in use on my harnes connector. I guess we all know from our daily drivers, even a loose gas cap can cause a check engine light to come on...It'll have to be a mystery until I can get a reader. OBDI's are hard to find....at least reasonably.
I checked all the control arm bolts yesterday, and I had one bolt that was still tight that I apparently missed loosening before I installed the engine..the rest I had loosened. I did the jacking up of the front off the ground and letting her drop about a dozen times yesterday..didn't seem to help much. It was dropping hard enough to bounce a little when it hit the concrete. I figure that has got to be a good simulation of driving.
I also jacked up each side under the control arm just to see how much the upper control arm moved away from the frame, and it was probably less than a half inch additional. It just appears the coils are too damn strong to compress with the '57's weight.
I couldn't see anything visually that looked wrong. The only thing modified on the suspension is the dropped spindles/disc brakes and the hd sway bar. I can't see any way the sway bar is interfering.

[hiball3985]

Rich, just for a point of reference I measured  2" gap between the upper A arm and the outer edge of the frame. Your car will settle after a while but I wouldn't expect more then an inch. P prefer mine being lower in the front and if that is what you are trying to achieve I'll bet they sent you the wrong springs. The car looks great but would looking better lower in the front 

[RICH MUISE]

Also....I've been buffing out the car to remove some overspray and 3 years of grime. With the Texas silt that's always blowing around, I have to keep hosing and sponging the car off before I start a section. The good news is I haven't detected any leaks. I do have to get up under the dash with  flashlight after a hosing, just to make sure, but it's looking tight so far.

[RICH MUISE]

Jim...yep, agreed on everything. Thanks for checking your control arm placement. How is your car lowered? spring or spindles?

[Ford Blue blood]

Rich I have to believe that the coils are the problem.  The sway bar will have no effect on ride height.  I also think the 60 lbs difference is way too small, with an aluminium block, aluminum heads and less weight in front of the axle center line that 4.6/AOD should be close to 100 + difference.  The bumper should have helped a little.

A friend in TN put in the Areo springs (heaviest out there) and a 1" rubber spacer in and has the perfect stance (IMHO) with the stock 312 and a T-5.  His car rides and drives perfect, has been back home twice (NH) and many rod runs.  He is not a computer guy or he would be here with us.  He has had his 57 since 1968 and just finished a complete black paint job.

[RICH MUISE]

When time comes to get it changed, I'd go with the Aerostar springs, but then with my dropped spindles, I'd probably end up too low as other guys have. I think first order of things is to figure out exactly what I have, then I can go from there. I'm going to go thru boxes of receipts and hopefully find an old invoice from Eaton's. Of course, that's no guarantee that what I got is actually what's on the invoice, but Eaton's is suppose to be a reliable company.
At any rate, I'm not sure I'm even up for a spring change (lol...I'd almost rather pull the engine), so I'll probably wait until the car has been driven a bit so I'll be 100% sure instead of 95% that they need changing, then have someone do it for me. Also, my 4th wheel won't be in for several months, so that's another factor I have to wait on.