I've never seen "dropped spindles" for any kind of straight axle.
Dropped axle:
good: fully spring travel still available
bad: geometry change from pitman arm to steering arm may
cause bump steer
$$$$
Remove a leaf or two (what I did, mine had 8 leaf heavy duty springs):
good: cheap
bad: geometry change from pitman arm to steering arm may
cause bump steer
reduces the load carrying ability, may get a little
"bouncy"
Mono leaf:
good: easy to do
bad: geometry change from pitman arm to steering arm may
cause bump steer
reported as more "bouncy" by many users
if "reversed eye", very little travel until it hits the
"bumper"
15" tires:
good: relatively cheap
bad: depending on how wide they are steering may be harder at
very low speeds
depending on how wide they are they may rub against drag
link at the pitman arm
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of David Raphael
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 5:28 PM
To: Oletrucks
Subject: [oletrucks] Lowering the Front End
Suddenly, lowering the front end of my '49 Chevy 3100 pickup has
become
more complicated and challenging. I started out asking members about
their
experience with removing a leaf from the front springs in order to lower
the
truck. Well, I got a lot of feed back, thanks, but also some
conflicting
advice. Some have warned against removing leafs for safety reasons.
Others
have suggested "dropped spindles", "a dropped axel", replacing the
current
suspension with a "mono-leaf" spring, or simply switching to 15" wheels
and
low-profile tires. Anyone out there know enough to compare these
various
approaches? Do they even make dropped spindles for my '49 pickup? Any
guidance will be appreciated. Dave
Dave in Portland
'49 -- 3100, 3-window
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