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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Lopsided '38 coupe

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Lopsided '38 coupe -- page: 1 2     ford38v8 04-11-2011 @ 11:13 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2883 Joined: Oct 2009 Moxie, the Aussie Fords don't lean to either side. They are suspended upside down and hang straight as a plumb bob. Alan MOXIE 04-11-2011 @ 7:32 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 102 Joined: Oct 2009 My car has the same problem, as does nearly every other old ford. I fliped my springs and it still leans toward the driver side. I wonder, after having only the driver sit on that side for nearly 70 years, if the frame might be a little twisted. It would be interesting which side the austria cars dip. Stroker 04-11-2011 @ 5:55 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Well folks, my statement regarding the application of a transverse spring obviously was a little too absolute. What I probably should have said was that Ford was the only one to embrace the "Three-Point-Suspension" both front and rear. In 1940, they did address it's overly liberal freedom of movement by installing a torsional anti-roll bar in the front to limit body roll in corners, but it was kind of a stop-gap measure to squeeze a few more years out of a buggy suspension. I guess I didn't consider an IRS with a transverse monoleaf quite the same as a buggy suspension, nor would I consider the early 90's GM midsize FWD cars (Regal, Monte Carlo, etc.) that used a similar fibreglass monoleaf at the rear as well. My daughter had one of these fail on her 92 Regal, and it was akin to losing both rear wheels. I'm a great fan of the early Ford suspension, and it will handle just about any horrible road condition you can throw at it. I does, however lean in crosswinds, corners, and sometimes while just resting in the driveway. 37RAGTOPMAN 04-11-2011 @ 4:43 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1992 Joined: Oct 2009 stroker. I sold my 66 L79 CORVETTE CONV, about 1 1/2 years ago. owned it for 4 years, yes you are correct about the rear suspension,with independent trailing arms,they are high maintence, but it did have a transverse spring, if your springs and suspension is in good condition,in your FORD you do not get a lot of lean, its were you have worn parts and stiff suspension ,bad shocks or frozen shocks,, etc,binding shackles etc, from lack of use,that it will lean My 3 cents,,,37 RAGTOPMAN and keep on FORDIN,,,!!!! ford38v8 04-10-2011 @ 6:00 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2883 Joined: Oct 2009 Ragtop, While you are correct in that the Corvette adopted transverse springs in 1963, what you missed in that revelation was that they abandoned the solid rear axle at that time. Independent axles change the geometry more than the configuration of the springs themselves. Alan 37RAGTOPMAN 04-10-2011 @ 5:14 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1992 Joined: Oct 2009 stoker CORVETTEs used a tranverse rear spring in the rear, GM used these for many years 1963 up, my 3 cents 37RAGTOPMAN Stroker 04-10-2011 @ 3:42 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Tim I: Those of us who grew up with pre 49 Fords have dealt with this issue all our lives. The Ford transverse spring set-up is a carryover from the buggy. No other major automobile manufacturer ever used this system. Buggies lean; Fords lean. The upside is that no other system accommodated the road conditions that made Ford's famous, particularly in the Model T era. The twisting forces caused by say, the right front and left rear both being in a rural bottomless pothole were easily handled by the Fords, while other contemporary cars would transfer these opposite loads to either twist the frame/body, or simply get stuck, because the rear tire in the hole couldn't reach the bottom for traction. Having said this, I believe that O'l Henry embraced the idea that Fords should be "torsionally" flexible, long after the need existed. The idea that the front axle would have a high degree of freedom to twist due to the ball at the apex of the wishbone; and the rear axle likewise could twist around the ball at the front of the torque tube, made a lot of practical sense before most roads were paved. Our Fords are blessed or(cursed)with this feature that modern off-road Jeep enthusiasts deal with today by disconnecting their anti-roll bars. It is part of the heritage of the Early Ford. supereal 04-10-2011 @ 2:46 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 If the car stays where you push it, it can be a sign of problems with one or both springs. The springs depend on the leaves sliding on top of one another as they are flexed, and so they can rebound. More often than not, pits have formed where the ends of the leaves above have worn from years of gathering dirt and rust, effectively locking the springs into one big hunk. In some cases, a broken tie bolt, the one that holds the spring together in the middle, is broken, and only the U bolts are holding the spring together, allowing the spring to become off center. This is particularly true of the springs that have lost their arch from decades of use. Disassembly is called for, with repair and or replacement as necessary. Often, the shocks, particularly the lever type, have deteriorated and hastened spring damage by permitting excessive and rapid flexing. 39Tudor 04-10-2011 @ 11:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Nov 2010 Yeah, mine will settle whichever way I push it. Not an issue yet, since it isn't running, and fortunately when I push it to the center it stays there, too. The suspension seems stiff when I push down on the front or rear but seems like it will have a lot of body roll when I get it on the road. This message was edited by 39Tudor on 4-10-11 @ 11:22 AM 39Tudor 04-10-2011 @ 11:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Nov 2010 Yeah, mine will settle whichever way I push it. Not an issue yet, since it isn't running, and fortunately when I push it to the center it stays there, too. The suspension seems stiff when I push down on the front or rear but seems like it will have a lot of body roll when I get it on the road.

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