What is the proper/preferred suspension height? (front/back) Options

[skaufmann]

I got my 72 on her feet again after 13 months on stands. My first observation is she's sagging a bit in the rear (yeah what should I expect for a 40-year old).

What I have is the rear tire sits about 1 inch into the well. In other words, looking at it broad-side about 1 inch of the top of the tire is covered by the wheel well. The front tire is opposite where there's about 1 inch of space above the tire to the wheel well. This definitely gives it a taildragger look.

How do I want it to be? Balanced so its even front and back or do I want the front a bit lower? Also, where is the best point to measure from? I haven't looked closely yet but in my head I'm thinking from the ground to somewhere on the suspension that stays with the body.

Thanks ahead of time for all your responses.

[falconfp2001]

The front height depends on your tie rod linkage. When sitting, the tie rods should be level to the ground. This is the neutral position and can be adjusted at the A arms, if you can't adjust it properly then remove the adjusting bolt and re position it. After any adjustment you will need to get it re-aligned. I didn't right away and ended up wearing my tires just ever so slightly that I needed a new set to align properly.

The simplest and least expensive way to lower the front is to use Bump Steer spacers which will let you drop about a 1/2 inch. The best way is to get an adjustable bump steer kit so you can drop as you please but if you drop to much you may end up damaging your A arms as they will hit the weld just above them on the pan.The car should be slightly raked dropping about 3/4 of an inch. That's my opinion not stock specs. You can check this by using the top of the rocker panel at both ends as your guide. I left mine about a 1/4 inch higher on the drivers side as it evens out when I am the only one in the car usually.


There used to be a great web site that covered all this and explained it in detail but it is no longer up. It would have been great to archive that page in the tech article area but it is gone (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)