VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 lowering

I have a 46 fleetmaster. I would like to lower the rear end and was wondering how to go about putting 2' lowering blocks in and would it affect the drive trane or steering?

What is you reason for lowering it???Is the car still stock??

It's pretty much stock. After I put 15'' radials on I don't like the gap between the top of the tire and the fender. I always thought the rear ends of the old chevies looked to high.

2" wont affect anything.

Thanks.

Keep close track of the fluid levels in your transmission and rear end. If the seal on your drive shaft is bad more oil could pass to the rear end. Your manual will give you the correct fluid levels.

You may also upset the gaskets on your torque tube ball area by changing the angle of the drive shaft to the transmission causing fluid leaks in that area. The following is a past post covering that topic.


Torque tube gaskets

You should also take off your rear brake drums to see if the rear seals are in good condition. Any sign of oil contamination will be magnified if there is a higher fluid level in the rear end.


Good luck, Mike

P.S. I would tend to be more cautious if I did not know the history of my transmission, drive shaft, and rear end components. Mechanically, you should not have any problems, but before you do anything I would take a long ride to make sure I felt no vibration in the drive train, braking inconsistencies, shifting problems, tire performance, unusual noises, etc. I would do this so I would not blame one of these problems on your new set up!!!

Thanks Mike.

You might read the opinion on the Eaton Spring Co. website about the use of lowering blocks before using them. As a retired mechanic their reasoning makes sense to me.