Dose anyone make dropped spindles for a 59? Or dose any one know if these spindles are interchangeable with any other car I've been meaning to buy a interchanging parts book for my car but havent.
I am also looking for dropped spindles and help on a disc brake conversion for my 59'. If you find anything please let me know. cory2669@yahoo.com
The spindles look like a lost cause I dont think they made enough 59-60 buicks for anyone to make them. Air bags would be pretty easy to do the back end is practicaly set up for it cause it was an option. It's just the front end thats a little bit expensive. Is there any other companys beside Air Ride its the only one that comes up on my searches?
Dropped lower A-arms do work on cars with pressed-in rubber bushings & stamped steel lower A-arms, but '59s have forged "tubular" lower A-arms and those over-engineered screw-in steel bushings. It's not impossible, but it's a major re-engineering job to swap out the stock lower A-arms on a stock '59 frame. To my knowledge, there are no aftermarket dropped spindles currently available. '59s (and whatever other years use the same spindles) are pretty much unique- even the hub diameter is so large that aftermarket wheel spacers don't fit over them. I think without spending a huge amount of time and/or money, you are limited to lower-profile tires and mildly shorter springs... unless you'd prefer doing a (completely redundant) front clip swap. Or as mentioned: fabbing in an air bag set-up. Good luck.
I'm just going to cut the front springs for now. The rear I think I'm going to air bag soon,and just fill them manualy untill I get the money for the pumps and do the front end all at once. The guy at northwest customs(I talked to on this board) said he did his 59 for like $1200. Wich is'nt bad, but I'm working class and that will be a while. I'm already all over the smaller tires(p205/75r15) skinny whites on the steel wheels for now. The previous owner had damn mini van tires on it. I'm going for that 60's custom look. Now all I need is my car back from the transmission shop and all the real fun will begin.
A stock '59 front tire is a L78-15. That's equivalent to a 235/78-15, which is 29.5 tall overall. If you were to go to a 225/70-15, that'd be 27.5, which will gain you a 1-inch drop. Get 1" or 2" dropped springs and now you're 2-3" closer to the pavement up front. This is the combo (225/70 and new 1" dropped springs) that I intend to use on my '59, along with 30" tall rear tires. This will give a 2.25" drop front to back- should be noticable without being excessive (or expensive). Be sure to cut the springs mechanically rather than using a torch.
It sure would be nice if I could wack the rear springs to but with how they mount you cant. I contiplated heating them but you now how crappy that is. Eaton on my buddys car said two inches is the most theyll go. I dont know if that just on chevy springs or on all of em. The only reason I want air bags is so I will be able to get in and out of my drive way with how low I like my cars. The things I do to look cool.
I have a completely different rear axle/suspension in my '59- very adjustable. Greater range of motion in the rear than in the front, whcich is nice in that I can have rake or ride level (which would be low).
I just put those p205/75r15's on my car and got almost 2 inches drop. Got me thinking that maybe just running 2 inch dropped springs all around will do it. With the frame and how it sits lower than the rest of the car its about as low as I can go. It sure looks alot better lower to the ground. I just started shaving everything off it to. I'll post pictures one of these days when I get or borrow a digital camera.
I wanted to go with a bit wider tire up front, as I am upping the HP a bit. 225 is as narrow as I'd like to go- 'cause 205s start to look narrow to me. Look forward to seeing some pics! Always nice to see another '59 being worked on. If the weather ever clears up here, I will try and get a pic of my car's chassis. I wil check back here from time to time...
