^^ Agree... If you've already got the front springs out then you're only one step away from having done the Shelby/Arning Drop.  At that point it's just a matter of drilling 4 holes and putting it all back together.

If you're going to have the spring out anyway and you're going to have to get an alignment anyway then there's no reason not to go ahead and do the Shelby/Arning Drop unless you just don't want to drill holes in the shock tower.

Here's a link to Day's article on how to do the Shelby/Arning Drop:
http://dazecars.com/dazed/drop.html

 

As you will no doubt find out here there are several ways to go about this. My goal when I lowered my 66 coupe was to do it right without throwing a bunch of money at it and at the same time not compromise safety. As previously stated don't be afraid of the " Shelby drop" it's a very simple mod with great rewards. See Daze Cars for details. In addition to the drop I used 620 lowering springs on the front of mine with Monroe shocks and a 1" sway bar. In the rear I went with 4 leaf standard eye springs and2" lowering blocks with Monroe shocks.
A word on shocks and lowering blocks. The lowering blocks work fine for a street driven car. If you're going to do any racing I would go with a mid or reverse eye spring. I used Monroe shocks because by the time I got to that point my budget was depleted however they do work fine.
Another option for the front would be dropped spindles. I have no experience with them just putting that out there.

FYI,  also run the 620 coils in the front.

The issue with lowering blocks is that they create a lever against which the rear housing can rotate.  On a high powered car it creates spring wrap, wheel hop, etc.  Its just like lift blocks on a lifted truck.  You're always better off with a proper ride height spring.  If it were just a cruiser, 6 cylinder, etc. it wouldn't concern me that much, but my stuff gets run hard on occasion.

good to know..yes I read about the Shelby drop and the benefits from it..i have seen it done  online etc and really looks pretty easy...if I decide to do it which im leaning to doing now I may be looking for that template

TKOPerformance wrote:

First off, the Shelby drop isn't huge.  It only lowers the front end maybe 3/8".  Lowering the car is not why people do the Shelby drop.  They do it to get much, much better suspension geometry and a car that handles properly without the need for extreme alignment settings that prematurely wear out the tires.  If doing ANY suspension work you need to do the Shelby drop.  By the time you remove the springs the rest of the drop takes maybe an hour.  Cost?  Literally about nothing.  There's always people on here that have templates they will send you to use for the cost of shipping, myself included. 

For the rear use either a mid eye or reverse eye set of springs with somewhere in the 4-5 leaf range.

For the front I would just take 1/2 coil at a time off a set of GT rate springs until you get the height you want.  A work of warning though, you need to let the springs settle after cutting and installing them. 

good and appreciated advice friends...when I pull the coils I think ill do the drop ..im still trying to get pictures on here through my phone with the tiny pics app but the app is horrible

whlnut wrote:

Don't forget the need for adequate tire clearance with the lowered stance.

​Yes.  A lowered car cannot handle as large a tire in the front.  I had to go from a 225-50 to a 215-50 when I changed to 16" wheels from 15".  Even so I rub the driver side front a little in hard right turns.
 

TKOPerformance I messaged you

TKOPerformance wrote:

First off, the Shelby drop isn't huge.  It only lowers the front end maybe 3/8".  Lowering the car is not why people do the Shelby drop.  They do it to get much, much better suspension geometry and a car that handles properly without the need for extreme alignment settings that prematurely wear out the tires.  If doing ANY suspension work you need to do the Shelby drop.  By the time you remove the springs the rest of the drop takes maybe an hour.  Cost?  Literally about nothing.  There's always people on here that have templates they will send you to use for the cost of shipping, myself included. 

For the rear use either a mid eye or reverse eye set of springs with somewhere in the 4-5 leaf range.

For the front I would just take 1/2 coil at a time off a set of GT rate springs until you get the height you want.  A work of warning though, you need to let the springs settle after cutting and installing them. 

I ordered mid-eye 4 1/2 leafs ...hope it looks good...im obviously gonna do the front first and see how it sits and take it from there...

almcgee wrote:

For a nice stance, "Grab A Track" 4 1/2 leaf reverse eye matches the Shelby Drop with 1 inch drop lowering 620"s in the front.

ok so I have received my 620 1" drop springs, 4 1/2 mid eye leafs (all grab a trax)....i did print a templet for the Shelby mod and measured it .all measurements seem to match up good..... .only problem is its on paper lol...,so I have to figure something out in that aspect of the mod on how to make a metal one...just to make clear before I start...(I plan to start this project possibly tomorrow) ..when I pull all this stuff off then drill the holes..i put everything back together and take it to an alignment shop right?...or am I missing something?..it all seems simple enough..i just don't want to screw anything up..thanx again .

very good advice!...all my suspention  is pretty new about 3 years old id say..(I bought the car like that) so I will be leaving the lower control arms there..i love the laminate idea!..yes the coil springs got me a little worried as ive never done some but im pretty sure I can handle them..as for the shims I plan to mask them together so I don't loose them ..

TimC wrote:

Be real careful when working with those coil springs.....

When taking the suspension apart, be sure to keep track of the number & location of the shims on the UCA.  You will want to put them back in the same location temporarily, to get yourself to the alignment shop.

Trace the bolt pattern onto the inside of a cereal box, or get your piece of paper laminated if you don't have a metal template.  I held the template in place by bolting the uca back on.  Mark the spot to be drilled with a good, sharp punch, and drill away. 

Once everything is reassembled, yes, you will need an alignment.  Be sure to find a shop that has some old school techs that know about aligning with shims.  Be sure to give the shop the alignment specs that Daze has on his website, and be sure to get an "after alignment" print out.

Are you removing/replacing the lower control arms?  If so, make sure you do not tighten the bolt that holds the arm to the frame with the suspension dangling.  Make sure the weight of the car is on the front suspension before torqueing them down.  It will make for short bushing life if torqued with wheels dangling.

I remember being told years ago by an old engineer, that when drilling pilot holes, to use a bit that's 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the finished hole.
Not to use every size in the drill set.
JMHO.

I have plenty of time to do this project..so I deff will start small and work my way up measuring im sure every other second lol

50vert wrote:

I remember being told years ago by an old engineer, that when drilling pilot holes, to use a bit that's 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the finished hole.
Not to use every size in the drill set.
JMHO.