Lowering Front Springs????????

[oldfartrod]

Can somebody tell me where I can buy Coils to lower the front of my 66 MK1A about 1 1/2 inches, on many occasions in the past I have cut coils but don't want to wreck the originals,in this case, thanks

 

[Cal44]

Dales sells coils with a one inch drop engineered into the spring. I think they are 450's. I will be installing mine next week. I bought front and rear.

I dropped my '70 Mustang about an inch and a half. Should have stuck with one inch. Remember when you cut coils it increases the spring rate and decreases the travel. I think I have that correct............

I don't think cutting Alpine v8 coils is an option. Without heading to the garage I remember the coils are flat on both ends.

Mike

 

[66TigerMK1A]

............

I don't think cutting Alpine v8 coils is an option. Without heading to the garage I remember the coils are flat on both ends.

Mike

When I bought my car, the coils had been cut...obviously too much as each side had a couple of aluminum coils spacers wound into them to try and gain some back ... you're right, they ARE tapered until someone torches them straight off ! That blunt end was digging a hole in the top doughnut ! Needless to say, the thing rode like a truck !!

You can get the car a little lower by cutting that top rubber doughnut down some... I wouldn't get rid of it altogether although I know some who have...
I think one of the best ways to lower the car without any suspension compromise is to run 'dropped' spindles from a later model Minx... unfortunately, the U.S. spec cars didn't come with them... only U.K. , N.Z. , OZ and Canadian cars got them. I have a set on my car ( lowers it 7/8" ) and have spent considerable time and effort sourcing them from those countries. I've acquired and sold about a dozen sets in the last couple years and will have another set soon...

Jim
B382000446

 

[Moondoggie]

There are two ways to lower the front end....If you can find a set of Hillman Minx
spindles they will lower the front 7/8" due to the axle location. This option is pricey
since the last set that I missed out on Ebay sold over my $850 bid !! The other
option is Dales springs which lower the front about an inch. I have a set of Dale's fronts and rears sitting in the shop waiting to go on my Tiger and I would replace
everything at once. The rears are much more robust than the originals as are the fronts and expect to pay around $800 front and rear.

Bill D

 

[0neoffive]

Lower that nose, she said.

From my long gone racing days, I have a set of lower A-arms with a drop-cup welded in them that nicely lowered the car without sacrificing spring & suspension travel. It needs the higher available spring rate and a front end re-alignment of course. If you want photos or buy em', give me a holler. randy

 

[oldfartrod]

Hi Randy,as to some of the other answers I do know what the coils look like that's why I am not cutting them,I am interested in a drop pocket lower a-arm but want to keep mine stock,do you have the higher rate springs as well to go with the lower a-arms????What are you wanting for the package? thanks Rod

 

[TigerBlue]

Private Message (PM)

These last two posts are a good examples of things which PM works well and privately to communicate. Exchange E-mail addresses or something.

A post on the General Interest Forum should not be used for one on one business or offering specific parts or services.

Rick
CAT WWW

 

[0neoffive]

the shame of it all

With apologies to all for the way I worded my last insert. My aim is to offer up bits of experience & knowledge from the bloody knuckles education system. Let humor prevail . . . . . . .randy

 

[0neoffive]

For the curious only

Photo and dimensions availble for the curious and inovative experimentors.

 

[TigerBlue]

Cake and eat it?

From post above (italics added): "...that nicely lowered the car without sacrificing spring & suspension travel."

I was curious as to how the mod would do both? With gap between A arm bump stop and crossmember unmodified? The geometry is unchanged? i.e. the location of axle is same in relation to A arms.

Rick

 

[0neoffive]

Not the ideal

The geometry does, of course, change and requires the higher spring rate and a tougher shock like the special 1-3/8" gas piston to keep that bump stop from getting aged before it's time. The same thing happens with the shortened spring trick. Re-alignment specs will be affected by terrain driving habits, and the smart driver always "reads" the tyres to see where it needs to be kicked. I never had a bottoming experience with the bump stop, so I'd have to say it was not a problem. It all worked fine at the time (them 60's) and the car sat neatly with it's nose-down attitude. The valence remained unhurt but I had to find a new spot for a front plate. The ideal solution remains to find the dropped spindels. r

 

[rab123]

Spring sources

A couple other spring sources. tigerengineering.net has springs and many other things. I got my new front springs from Coil Spring specialties in Kansas (google search should find them). My car was not stock, and was lowered when I got the car, the Coil Spring Specialties springs I recieved were 450# and the height seems to be the same height as before (whick I am sure was lowered some). At the time Coil Spring Specialties which much less expensive than the other sources I found.

Randy B.

 

[67tiger]

Dale's front coils helped with my car and then instead of using the thick coil spring rubber insulator pad, I purchased a spring pad for a mustang II. The mustang II insulator lowers the front end about another .5 inches, the car still isn't riding as low as I'd like but looks a hell of alot better than stock.

 

[66TigerMK1A]

The geometry does, of course, change and requires the higher spring rate and a tougher shock like the special 1-3/8" gas piston to keep that bump stop from getting aged before it's time. The same thing happens with the shortened spring trick. Re-alignment specs will be affected by terrain driving habits, and the smart driver always "reads" the tyres to see where it needs to be kicked. I never had a bottoming experience with the bump stop, so I'd have to say it was not a problem. It all worked fine at the time (them 60's) and the car sat neatly with it's nose-down attitude. The valence remained unhurt but I had to find a new spot for a front plate. The ideal solution remains to find the dropped spindels. r

Per my previous post, I am sourcing those spindles on a reasonably regular basis but don't want to hijack the thread into a 'parts for sale'... If interested in that 'ideal' solution, send me a PM and I'll see what I can do...

Jim
B382000446