I want to lower the front of my Comet about an inch or so. It's a 73 with a 250 and no AC. I can use the stock front springs that are in it or I have a set of front springs from a V8 66 Mustang. Which springs should I use and how much should I cut to lower the front 1" to 1 1/4"? Thanks!!!!! Jon
You should get new springs, and since your going to be cutting them then go with V8 ones. No one can tell you haw much to cut, since all cars are different. Best bet is to cut a full one off, then cut half a coil until you have your desired height.(be sure to let the spring settle after the first cut) More info here: http://www.maverickman.com/Suspension.html
i would cut the current stock springs. when i do it i measure the space from the top of one coil to the top of the next coil when its siting at ride hight. now if you cut one full coil off it should lower it about the amount that the measurement was. now its not exact so cut off less than you think you need to then try it out and see where it sits.
At this point new springs are out of the question. I think I'm going to use the Mustang springs and see where it gets me. I'll do the measuring thing and go from there. If I screw it up I can always go back to the stock springs. Thanks! Jon
Why do you want to use 45 year old springs? Why not use the 37 year old springs? New springs are less than $100. Your Comet weighs more than a Mustang so it might have a higher spring rate (or it is the same). 1540 lbs vs 1582 lbs. Without knowing more on what you have other than a 250 wo/A/C I can't tell you your spring rate. Can you still see the color code paint stripes? Are the Mustang springs from an automatic transmission? Did it have A/C or power steering?
I'll check into the $45 specials. Damn. I was just at NPD to day. Which springs did you get? Did you cut them? Keep in mind that I have a 73, 250 with no AC. Like I said before I'm looking for an inch or so. It's really to keep up with the sag in the rear just until I can fix everything. Thats why I was thinking of using the 66 Mustang springs.
I cut 1 coil off of my stock springs and it dropped it about 1.5 in. at the wheel. You can check my images and see what you think. My car is a 250 with out a/c.
Short answer ... one coil cut off my stock Comet springs resulted in a drop of a little more than an inch. Long answer ... you can get a pretty close estimate by measuring the spring height when it is loaded and comparing it to the unloaded height. Then figure out the final loaded height you want after it is cut. Multiply the final loaded height by the initial unloaded height. Take that number and divided by the initial loaded height. The number that you end up with would be your final unloaded height. NOTE ... this only works for standard coil springs. Some cars come with progressive coils, where they are wound tighter in one area than another, and this formula will not work there.
i went with one coil off... 1 1/2 inch, did 2 coils off on my impala. that was around 3 inches. similar a arm lengths, this is alot of trial and error before you get what you want. but let them settle before you go chopping them again.
