I hesitate to bring this up....again....but just added a set of 2wd aerostar front coils to my '56 Victoria. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The old coils were 56 years old and had been cut with a tourch sometime in the past (to lower it) the new coils set the car a 1/2 inch higher but I think they will settle about the same as the old but the handling and "bumps" are unbleavable. So if anyone is thinking of doing this..do it. I got the coils from O'rilleys for $67 for the set. Just thougt I'd pass this on if anyone is thinking of lowering their car about a 2" to 2 1/2" in the front. Part # Moog PH CC850 and made in the USA.

Location:Washington,Ia

yep, want to do this too

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

Thinking of doing this myself. With the aerostar springs how close is the rubber stop on the lower A arm to the frame when sitting at ride height?



Best price I've found is on Amazon.com, $55.88, free shipping.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

If you search "Aerostar" my post on the bird comes up with my before and after measurements, including the old springs free height. After several months and 800 miles or so, they settled 1/4 inch. Best $70 I've ever spent. Bottoming has not been a problem due to the progressive rate.



Master Cylinder- if you're looking for a bird measurement, I'll go measure for you. Just post back.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Miker, my bad. Should have mentioned I was curious about a car measurement. When i replaced my FOM with a C-4 the car actually raised ~1 1/2". Didn't think the FOM weighed that much. I want to get it back down.



I have Granada spindles and 1" spring cup spacers so I don't to lower it too far. But than I guess I can remove the spacers if need be.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Just ordered them from Amazon.com, be at my door on Wednesday.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

WOW! Came home today and my MOOG springs were on the front porch. Gotta hand it to AMAZON.com. Free shipping and beat their estimated delivery time by TWO days.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Hey all. Put my MOOG CC850 (Aerostar) springs on my Ranchwagon this morning. All went well but thought I would pass on a few observations.



Since I had replaced the ball joints in the last year it came apart relatively easy. I just undid the lower ball joint and sway bar. I left upper ball joint and tie rod connected. I had to undo one bolt on my caliper and rotate it out of the way so I could use my home made ‘ball joint presser outer’.

Removed shocks and old springs. Noticed that Aerostar springs where quite a bit shorter. Per instructions, tight wound coils up.

Bolted everything back up. Then the fun started.



Attempted to reinstalled the shocks (KYB Gas-A-Just), but couldn’t compress them. Appears with the original spring fully extended, the upper rubber bumper compresses enough to install the shock bolts. Since the Aerostar springs are shorter they don’t exert any pressure on the rubber bumper. In fact I could move the spring with the suspension fully extended. I had to used my bottle jack to compress shocks so I could install the bolts.



Buttoned everything up, installed wheels, removed car stands, dropped the jack and… couldn’t get my floor jack out from underneath. I had put a 4x6 on my jack in order to get the car high enough to get the old springs out.



Jacked car back up, reinstalled car stands, removed 4x6, etc.



Looks great, may be a little too low with the Granada spindles, 1” spring cup lowering blocks and Aerostar sprigs. The trimmed lower A-arm bumper has ~1” clearance. From the center of the front fender cutout (passing through the center of the spindle) to the ground is 23”. We’ll see.



Thanks for listening to my rant, maybe help someone else when doing this.


"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

MC, don't feel alone, the shock and jack problem happen to all of us. Even though I don't own a full size car, it would be interesting to know the free length of the springs that came out. Might help the next guy. No one ever told me if the springs I removed from my 'bird were stock height or not. That the Aerostar springs raised my bird, then settled to where it was leads me to believe mine might have been cut.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Miker, I just mentioned the shock/jack situations so others will be aware.



I will measure the free length tomorrow, I already put them up in the attic (of the garage). Don't know if it makes any difference but they are from my Ranchwagon. I know the rear springs are heavier than a sedan (more leaves).



Your comment about your car settling. I hope mine doesn't settle too much. Don't think I want it any lower.




"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL