Need advice - lowering a 1959 or 60 Buick

My 59 LeSabre needs to be lower. Much lower. In the weeds. Slammed. You know.

Can anyone lend me advice about how to go about this? Are there air bag or dropped spindles available for the front? I haven't found any.

Will I have to replace the torque tube set-up or can I keep it? If I replace it can I keep the dynaflow?

My dynaflow is newly rebuilt so I wonder if I can just replace the tailshaft somehow with one that mates to an open drivetrain?

I know it will not be cheap or easy, but I want a plan formulated before I start so I can avoid mistakes and avoid spending extra money.

Please any advise would be wonderful.

Tim

 

Here's a guy did it with a '55;
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=213114&highlight=55

 

Call Boris, he does it all the time and sells the parts.

Street Machinery

Sales and Service
21734 St. Clair Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44117
216-481-5219

http://www.streetmachinery.zoomshare.com/0.html

He goes by way2lo2 I think on ebay. He built the 61 in my avatar.

 

The dropping of the car should not necessitate the replacement of the torque tube. The suspension height of the rear is all about the springs- as long as you do not get completely ridiculous you should have enough travel in the torque ball to allow for a significant drop in height.

Going to an open driveline and maintaining the dynaflow would be something else. I am no engineer, but I don't think it would be very easy. The universal in the dynaflow which mates the two yokes is wet-fed by the trans. The very tail end of this setup is an output yoke which slips into the bushing of the torque ball. This is wet-fed too- the ultimate seal is the propeller shaft seal on the front of the torque tube. This seal is the one that keeps fluid from leaking out of the torque ball and into the tube. So I can't see how you would keep fluid from leaking past the torque ball unless you engineered some sort of seal on the front of your new driveline. I just don't see it working.

 

Are you saying the tail shaft of a torque tube dynaflow cannot be replaced with parts from a later model drive shaft dynaflow to accept an open driveshaft?

Also if I bagged the car with the torque tube intact, would the repeated raising and lowering cause the trans/torque tube union to leak even more than it already does? (which is a lot)

Tim

 

What I did on my 60 is a little more extreme but it works great. Pulled ALL that stuff out! (aka engine, dynajunk, twistytube, and rear) Put in a 64 401 (try to use a 65 & up nailhead for the TH400 trans ~ and maybe a 425? ~ The 64's 400 has a different bellhousing. You want the later TH400 for fitment purposes - reptions. The only reason I used a 64 was because the car it came out of had 55,000 original miles and the 400M was rebuilt 150 miles ago! I got the whole package for 500 bucks!!! Used the tilt column to boot!) Put in an open driveshaft , welded in the complete suspension and 10 bolt posi rear out of an '87 caprice wagon. Used the '60's panhard bar. Put in an Energy Suspension polyurethane trans mount to keep it in place.This opens up a whole new world for you on upkeep and parts availability. Sell that rebuilt Dyna@#*@ to a purist and use that 'scarole for something a lot more reliable. You can also find alot of overpriced adapters to mate up any trans you want including that sahweet 6 speed TCI autotranny! Or that nice deep first gear in a beefed up 700 or 4L80E!!! I'm gonna stick a Gear Vendors O/U/drive on mine.(would've loved the TCI, but you run what ya brung and 500 bucks is a no-pass-up!) Hope this helps! Good luck!
Rob

 

I'm thinking you can;t make the later Dynaflow parts work on this Dynaflow.

The repeated raising and lowering is not something I considered. All that being said, if you are going to modify the car in a radical or semi-radical way, I would consider a later trans and open driveline. You would have to devise some sort of suspension links- the only thing that holds that rear in place is the torque tube. Think of it as a one-link suspension.

 

The '63 full size Buick has an open-driveshaft Dynaflow that can be installed in a '59 or '60. It has a different case then the torque-tube Dynaflows. I don't believe that much will interchange between the torque-tube Dynaflows and the '63 unit. Be aware that if you do convert to an open driveshaft, the drive wheel thrust will now be taken by the rear suspension. The torque tube thrust is taken by the thrust plate on the transmission mount. In other words, with open drive, the rear suspension must be strong. Having a "slammed" car is not ideal for maximum performance; I wouldn't get too crazy about modifications to improve performance if slamming is your thing. I'd leave the torque tube.

 

I have not had significant issues with leaky torque balls over the years. If yours is leaking, it has a problem and needs to be taken apart and resealed or repaired. Torque balls move constantly. Raising and lowering the car shouldn't affect it appreciably more then normal operation.

 

Thank you all, good info. I have someone lined up who can correctly install a suspension to hold a new rear end. It looks as if I will need a new trans (turbo 400 or open rear dynaflow) if I go that route. Also I have no desire for any performance mods, so that is not a worry (strictly a cruiser).

Any one have any advice about the dropping the front of the car?

Tim

 

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