Thread: Uh-Oh . . . too Low

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Just set the 34 chassis on the ground. Must've made a mis-calculation. I don't have a scrubline problem, but the oil pan and the center of the front axle are only 3.5" off the ground. There's no way the axle is going to hit a speed bump, but the pan is starting to look a little nekked.

Front tires are 205/50-R15 (23"tall)

I think I'm going to a 225/70 (27.4" tall), which will give me 6" under the front axle and 5.5 under the pan. That also gives me room to adjust my front coil-overs down a bit. They're cranked up too high now anyhow - trying to gain clearance. If I bring the shocks down an inch, the pan clearance goes to 4.5, and the front axle stays at 6"

Check the photo for how high the shocks are cranked up.

Whadda ya think?

By the way . . . is there an easy way to get rid of Raised White Letters?

Too low???? If you're not givin' worms a headache it's not low enough!

Too bad you already painted the frame, otherwise a raise of the engine and trans would be in order.

As for the white letters, they can be ground off, but unfortunately the white is a layer under the outer black, so the white will still be there. You can use tire black to disguise it, but will need repeated application. If you're going fenderless it would be better to find tires without the WL.

Henry I had(like a lot of us probably had) the same problem but my crosember was only 3" from the ground. Didn't take to long driving it before I bottom out to many times on the great roads of NYS. I raised mine to 5" and did what you are doing except I don't have coil-overs. I used a different shock and spring in front and added a extra leaf in the rear and it's worked fine for me. Nice looking car by the way.

27.4 is a pretty tall tire.....how tall are your rear tires?
You might want to mount them on the front for a quick
look to see how it looks IF they are in the 27 to 28 range.
A few inches of diameter makes a big difference in the looks of the car plus the affect on the rake!!

Too late to put an axle in with less drop? Turn the axle
over?

"it must be true, I saw it on the internet"

Bob,

Raising the engine trans was never an option. The body's channeled over the frame, and I had major tunnel/firewall work as it was (remember the Gibbon post?)

Robot,

The back tire is only 26.6, so it would probably look odd. I'm not worried about the rake, though. If I raise the axle centerline by 2", and drop the coil-overs by an inch or so, I only net 1" off the rake. Oh, and flipping the axle can't work.

Maybe I'll go with 205/65's. They're blackwalls, and that gives me 4.5" under the pan if I don't adjust the shocks. 4" if I do.

The whole problem here is with tire height - both front and rear. I went with what worked on my model "A", and it's not working on this one. I need a taller tire in the rear also. The 295/50-15 doesn't fill up the rear fender area.

What I really need is a par of Hoosier 25 x 7.50 radials on the front, and 29 x 15.50's on the rear. But that's about 10 Ben Franklins.

Anybody need a matched set of Firehawk big 'n littles . . . .

Ratz

Just checked my 'Vette. It's only got 4" of freeboard. Maybe I'll leave it alone and just drive around the dead possums in the road . . .

Was just kidding about turning the axle over....

The tallest firehawk listed is 29.1 in a 15" rim.
The least expensive thing to do is nothing.
The next least expensive thing to do is to put the
rear tires on the front and buy two new bigger rears.
The 255 70x15 tires are $69 each plus UPS

That would get you the taller front tire as well as keep
the rear tires larger than the fronts......

The Tire Rack page for Firehawk sizes:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...ehawk+Indy+500

mike