[madtexan]

I have a 69 GTO with rebuilt stock front end and factory disc brakes. I switched to 15x7 inch wheels up front from the stock 14 inchers and noticed that my tires scraped the lowest part of the front fender when I turned especially while backing up. I have to run 215/60/15s up front to keep from scraping. I was thinking by putting the tire deeper up in the wheel well it might not scrape at this point and I can go back to 225/60/15 up front.

The car sits a little higher in front than I like but don't want to do a major overhaul of the front to drop it maybe 1-2". I read many threads about dropped spindles, shorter springs, different upper/lower control arms and so on. I thought just changing the spindles would be the least painful way to drop the car but then I see in some threads say I then have to change my upper or lower control arms and go to taller ball joints as well.

So what is the least painful way to drop the car say 2 inches up front and still drive ok?

Mike

[b-man]

Buy some lowering springs, or cut your existing springs. Shortening the free height of the spring by 1" will result in a 2" drop.

Easiest way for sure.

[madtexan]

Thanks B-man. To cut the springs do I need to do it with a torch or will a hacksaw do the job? Does it matter which end gets cut?

Are there spindles that lower but work with my current OEM setup?

[george kujanski]

Heating with a torch will change the spring tension. Instead I suggest using a 4.5" angle grinder with a cutoff disc and try to keep the spring coil cool.

Hacksaw will work too but the angle grinder makes short work of it.

george

[b-man]

Use a cutoff wheel (fiber disc) on a grinder, a hacksaw will take forever.

Protect yourself with safety glasses AND a face shield. Stay out the path of the cutting disc, they can come apart and hurt you pretty badly.

I would purchase some drop springs that have a little more stiffness to prevent bottoming rather than cut the springs. That said, I usually trim the top of the spring when cutting front coils.

You may need to heat the cut end of the spring red hot about 1/2 coil from the cut end and push the end of the spring down on the ground to flatten it a bit so it will seat in the spring pocket, quench with cold water afterward.

I would not recommend using drop spindles, they move the entire lower A-arm closer to the ground and can cause outer tie rod end interference with some smaller-diameter wheels (14 & 15") with deep backspace.

[Chris65LeMans]

What they said about the angle grinder - we used those all the time back in high school. I don't even want to think about how long it would take to cut through that with a hacksaw!

Good info about the drop spindles.

[madtexan]

Thanks a bunch guys. Any suggestions on a set of springs that will drop in wihtout any troubles? Sounds like cutting and bending the cut end of the existing ones aren't worth the hassle compared to buying another set to try plus I can always fall back on these if I have problems with the 2" drop.

I see a bunch on FleaBay. Is there any manufacturers I should stay away from. Seems like the prices vary from under $100 to over $200 a pair.

I forgot to mention my car has factory AC and I know that adds weight.

[b-man]

Call Mark at SC&C, he'll set you up with the right springs:http://scandc.com/new/