Thread: My 32 rides so rough I need suggestions on set up!

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I have a 32 Ford with a dropped front axle and four link rear end. Is there anyone out there that might be interested in helping me get a smoother ride? Every little bump jars your teeth and frankly shaking the crap out of my car. I would love to have someone who would give me suggestions on how to correct. Ready to spend whatever it takes to fix.
Will try and post pictures of any angle or view you would want to see in order to diagnose the problem.
All help would be appreciated!
Frank

First Welcome aboard Frank!! It's good to see you here..

Next - we are picture hounds around here so any pics you have and wish to share is all the better!

Can you give us any info at all regarding the parts that may be installed? Is this an all new build or something older? How many leaves in the spring pack, how wide and how thick is it in the middle? A pic of the spring would be helpful!

A lot of guys here have built many dueces and will be glad to offer their advice! So break out the camera and notepad...

There are some tech articles at the Ridetech website that may be helpful. I read one where they claim that in the past, it was common to use springs that were too stiff, with too little range of travel.

Spring Rate Calculator « Ridetech – Tech

As an example, the back springs on my Oze '37 have a spring rate of only 200 lbs./inch and have a full range of travel of 5 inches. The springs are canted at about a 15 degree angle. Apparently it's not uncommon to find cars with a similar setup that has much stiffer springs and far less travel range. To get my current ride height, the length adjustment is set such that there is no preload on the spring, it the car is raised off the ground, on a lift. No preload is ok, but if the length adjuster is turned down much more, the springs hang loose and don't automatically center themselves around the top mounting area. When the car lowered, you have to let the tires touch the ground slightly to get some preload, then push on the top of the spring to center it.

My car rides fine on a smooth road, but a big mismatch in the pavement still seems to produce a pretty hard reaction. Someday, I'll contact ridetech to see what they think about reducing the spring rate a little more.

I will get pics sent out tomorrow! Thanks for quick reply!

the pictures will go along way to starting to work out which end is causing the problem or wether both are at fault
this is the front of my 30 pickup an it rides smooth as.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...p/P1020457.jpg

notice I only have 4 leaves in the front spring, and as they have said above, some photos that show similar in yours would be helpful
look forward to being able to assist.

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