Had read about the use of Aerostar springs to lower ride height on 50's Ford, though no specific reference to tbirds. 

Took a leap and bought a new pair for $50 (anybody want em for $30 + UPS)

My concern is now that they stand about 4" shorter than the stock springs I removed, so my immediate reaction was... Doh!!!

Then as I was repacking the box, I noticed an advisory printed on the side that said 'replacement springs will be shorter than OEM, but are designed for proper ride height'. There was also a generic illustration showing an OEM spring being about 3 coils taller than the replacement.

I am shooting for a 1" drop with dropped spindles for disc brakes, and another 2" or so with the shorter coils, but faced with the possibility of a total 4"-5" drop (1" spindle + 3-4" coil), I'm not sure what to do.

Before I go forward to test/verify the outcome by actually installing everything, I was wondering if anybody here has attempted Aerostar coils on a `57 tbird?

Cheers... Brian

Cylinder Index = 84

Current Experiment = `57 Tbird, Grand Rapids, Michigan

That is a big difference but spring rates "may" have something to do with it. I have read about this on 57 Fords but nothing definitive. The posts do specify the springs should be from a 90 Aerostar 3.0/4.0 V6 that is not AllWheelDrive. Hey, you can always take them out if they don't work. If they do work, you have blazed a hotrod trail for early Bird owners. If the springs don't work an alternative would be to cut a coil off the stock springs to use with the dropped spindles. All of this does bring up the old "bump steer" issue.



Mark Hebard




57 Black Tbird 312/auto

Y-Guy Mark:      If you look at the coil diameter it's usually a larger

                 gauge which means it won't compress as far. A lot of

                 older ford 4x4's lift kit companies used this to make installation

                 easier without a spring compressor.

                       Can't wait to hear if it works..........

                                           Bill

 

Bill

Pelham,Al