3" Farman drop spindles

[Gibson68]

I am looking into putting the 3" fatman drop spindles on my custom 300. Have any of you guys put these spindles in your car? 3" drop sounds like a lot but I do plan to run 15" cragars. If anyone has a picture with 3" drop I would love to see how it looks.

[RICH MUISE]

There's not a simple answer to your request......
Seems I recall a few have gone the Fatman route, but most here have gone to the Granada spindles which can be had with as much as a 2 1/2 drop. It usually gets to be a much more complicated and frustrating thing than just choosing a certain spindle and ending up where you want to be. Many will change the coil springs "while they're at it" and that opens a whole new can of worms.
We've had many lengthy threads going on here on many topics that affect ride height. I know zero about the Fatman spindles (for drum or discs?), but I'd check with Dave at drop n' stop about what options are available for the Granada kits, and I think you'll find a big $ difference between what he offers and Fatman's.
Some have dropped their front by just switching to Aerostar coil springs, and have been happy with that. Of course that doesn't get you the disc brakes.
Coil springs are the biggest factor in ride height and that is going to vary with almost every car because of major differences in weight of engine/drivetrains in any modified car.
So, what I'm trying to say is what works on one guys car may not (probably won't) work on another to obtain similar results.

[Gibson68]

I failed to mention that. Yes these will be disc brake spindles.

[57imposter]

I would be careful and cautious on a 3 inch drop in the front. reason being it is much easier to lower a car than it is to raise it. I was down about 3 inches on mine with 15" tires and was bottoming out on almost everything, including hitting the filler cap in a grab and go parking lot so hard that i knew if it was anything but the frame, I was going to be in real trouble and 1500 miles from home. luckily it was the frame. when I got home it cost me a second pair of new spindles and new coil springs to fix the problem. Moral of the story is, it is best to sneak up on ride height. like Rich said, you can get 2 inch spindles from stop and drop. you can take 1/2 a coil off stock springs to get about another inch. if that is too much, you can take the 2" spindles off and ream them to fit all the way down on the ball joint and that will make them 1 1/2" spindles for very little cost.     

[gasman826]

Another issue that has not been brought up recently, like rear disc brake conversions, the tread increases.  Several front disc brake conversion kits using OEM spindles include a .250" +/- spindle spacer that moves the inner wheel bearing outward.  The Granada style spindles also increase the tread width about 1/2" overall.  A 1/4" per side doesn't sound like much but everyone who has attempted larger tires has fought for a 1/4".

[BBoswell]

I no longer have my '57s but I still enjoy keeping up with you guys who do.

On my Custom 300 we went old school. We used Granada spindles with new front springs in (so there was no age sag) and then cold cut 1 1/2 coils off each spring. The car sat pretty low and only scraped a couple of times while I owned it . . . and I literally drove it everywhere. Also there weren't any alignment problems.

But it's like Rich said "what works on one car may not work on another."

[RICH MUISE]

You set this up perfectly, Bos.
Perfect example of what I was talking about.....I think, lol. Mine also has dropped granada spindles with 1 1/4 coils cut off new springs. BUT mine sits higher than Bos' even though my back end is WAY higher than his. The reason for this is the drivetrain. If I remember from seeing this car in Phoenix when the new owner was showing it, it has an FE motor(460?). My car has a 4.6 dohc. all aluminum block, heads,radiator, tranny case, driveshaft. probably hundreds of pounds lighter than BOS'. I have yet to bottom out or even hit against a concrete parking lot stop thingy.

[Gibson68]

I spoke with Dave or Dan (I am terrible with names) at stop em drop em. I really liked what he had to say on the differences on his spindles vs others. I like that his are not welded, multiple drop options, machined in house. We talked about the differences in the original ford springs and what is available today as far as front spring rates go. He recommended going with either the 1-1/2" or 2-1/2" drop spindles, reuse the original springs, label the springs to make sure they go back in the same side they were removed from, cold cut the coil as needed for additional drop.

[RICH MUISE]

It's Dave. He's a very helpful guy, even when it isn't going to make a sale.
Correction on my previous post...I cut my new (Eaton) oem replacement springs 1 1/4 inches, not coils.
If your looking for a drop, and disc brakes, Dave is the way to go imho. I totally agree with the point 58 Custom made...it's easier to do further drop if necessary by altering the springs.