Dropped spindles, narrowed beam and comfort

[AntLockyer]

I saw a comment in another thread about narrowing to restore the stock width when using discs and dropped spindles.

I only took out 3 1/2" coz I wanted it to look as stock as pos but have no rubbing issue's , mission accomplished , only thing I will say is that the ride is a bit harsher due to the shortness of the springs "not enough length for a bit of spring twist I guess" .

Now if you were only using drum brakes would you be better off dropping the 2.5" using a stock width beam with adjusters or narrowed beam with spindles in terms of comfort?

I'm not really interested in running the front of the car super low.

[Zach Gomulka]

Wheels are the biggest factor. And there is no track difference between factory drums and discs from the same era. Is it a b/j or k/l?

[AntLockyer]

1967 balljoint but I'd be running a wide 5 disc 'probably' either that or Porsche pattern if it makes things easier and from the sounds of it that is the case (redrilled factory stuff) but the dropped spindles still add a couple of inches each side right?

[Zach Gomulka]

I'm not up to date on what's available for b/j wide 5 disc kits, but going the re drilled Porsche route will definitely be cheaper. They say dropped spindles ad a 1/4" to each side but I never measured a pair to confirm. Not only do drop spindles ad track width, they also allow the suspension to compress like it should... which might (depending on wheel offset and tire width) put your tire into the fender on a turn.

[leec]

Alex at Defcon 3 has a 2 inch narrowed beam on his black 67 with 2.5 inc dropped spindles and VW discs with Porsche pattern and 4.5 inch Fuchs. That from a passengers point of view was the nicest lowered beetle I have ever been in. So smooth.

Lee

[AntLockyer]

Thanks Zach, only 1/4" per side, well that is a different matter. While the redrill is cheaper I still need to buy new stuff and a set of wheels so I think we are only talking 100 here or there.

Lee thanks for that info, it certainly has the wheels where I'd like em.

[richie]

Ant

On a ball joint car start with drop spindles and figure it out from there, I agree on Zachs 1/4 inch each side estimate, that sounds pretty close to me for CB drop spindles and factory disc brakes, some of the early welded spindles proberly increased track more but I don't know as I never used any.
I like a stock width beam, drop spindles and welded in adjusters set so that when they are in the middle of there adjustment its the same position as the stock grub screw is, so you can go up and down 2inches 

cheers Richie

[AntLockyer]

Thanks for the advice.

[hotrodsurplus]

welded in adjusters set so that when they are in the middle of there adjustment its the same position as the stock grub screw is, so you can go up and down 2inches

The guy who built my first 'big' engine in 1992 turned me on to that and I'm grateful for it. It has served me well.

The only dropped spindles available at the time were stock ones modified by Jatech. The company advertised that they widened the track 3/8-inch per side. I ran bubbles with 145s and never had rub issues even when I planted the nose. I've also heard that the manufactured dropped spindles widen the track by only 1/4-inch per side. That theoretically would let another 10mm wider tire to work and still clear the fenders as well as the 145s did.

To the best of my knowledge only three wide-five disc kits don't increase track width or widen it minimally: So Cal Imports, Airkewld, and CSP.

I wouldn't buy the So-Cal brakes with YOUR money because they weigh a TON, won't fit dropped spindles, the company has maintained a terrible customer-service policy for decades, and the owner treated me very badly (unrelated to the customer-service deal).

The Airkewld products seem to be very high quality but I wouldn't run a rotor that's been drilled or slotted through on a four-wheeled vehicle as the inconsistent surface area creates stress risers that could lead to cracks. I think you can get them with solid rotors. And the price is reasonable.

I really like the CSP brakes if only for the truly vented rotors. I admit that I don't know how much they widen the track but I haven't heard anything damning either. The price is just forbidding high. At least for me it is.

Narrowing a beam corrects track-width changes that result from poorly designed disc conversions or wheels with more negative offset than stock; however, it doesn't address the bigger problem that most people don't understand: the altered scrub radius caused by those wheels or brake conversions.

The scrub radius is the distance between the steering axis where it hits the ground and the centerline of the tire. Wheels with insufficient positive offset or brakes that push the wheels out a lot increase the scrub radius. Excessive scrub radius amplifies the steering feedback which increases driver fatigue, reduces the steering on-center feel, increases twitchiness over bumps, and can reduce control in hard-braking applications.

Before I consented to run a brake system that increases track width or wheels with poor offset (pretty much all wide-five wheels) I would convert to OEM-style brakes and drill them to fit a wider wheel with an offset close to stock. You can get that with Porsche wheels.

If you simply must narrow a beam and you want to preserve ride quality then you must correct the increased spring rate that results from making the springs shorter. The best way to do that is to pull plates (leafs) from the pack. You can make up shims to restore the pack thickness at the mounting points.

hope this helps.