Thread: How to build an early hotrod frame

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Everybody wants to get their front ends as low as possible. If carried too far, this makes for a miserable car to drive, as you have to be worried at every speed bump, manhole cover, and peice of roadkill that you come to. From a safety point of view, if any part of your chassis hangs below the lowest point of the wheelrim (without the tire in place), then you will immediately lose control of the vehicle if you blow a tire. This can kill you, and in many states/provinces is sufficient to keep your car from getting a "road worthiness certificate".---not good!!!
---The attached .jpg shows a typical "spring over axle" set-up, with a "dropped axle". This is the preferred method of lowering the front end of an early vehicle, as this requires no real changes to the chassis. The spring still bolts to the underside of the front crossmember, same as the stock original did. The fact that the ends of the axle have been "dropped" will effectively let the car set down lower (by the amount of "drop" built into the axle ends), yet you still have the full suspension travel of the front spring. Although some people market a 5" dropped axle, in my opinion a 4" drop is about the safe maximum. I know I will take flack on this issue, but remeber, this is building chassis AS I SEE IT.