15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

I did this once before, but used 18" wheels and had no binding, I gather the smaller wheels complicate things.

I'm working on a 68 SWB and have swapped the front Xmember to an '84 for the 5x5 & disc brakes. I would like to use the McGaughty or comparable 2.5" drop spindles to bring the front down a little.

My question: At what wheel width can I anticipate rubbing and do the drop spindles antagonize the problem or help relieve it? If there is a certain brand spindle that is preferable I'll certainly consider them. Thanks in advance.

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

Do not believe it will work at all with out a wheel spacer. I used 2 1/2" drop spindles on my 68 with 15" weld wheels but had to add a wheel spacer to get it away from the tie rod

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

A 2 1/2" spindle drop will cause the wheel to rub the lower control arms in turns when using 15 x 8" wheels with 4" back space. A 7" wheel may not rub, i'm not sure.
We gain the necessary clearance to run 15x8 wheels by grinding the lca cup/channel around the ball joint area and sometimes the outside of the tie rod mount area of the spindle. I did this to my drop spindles and used no spacers. Lots of threads pertaining to this in this forum and suspension forum.
Also the larger diameter rims are less likely to rub since the rim lip is further away from the lca.

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

It's all about wheel back spacing when using 15" wheels with drop spindles.
Usually a 3.5" bs is safe.
But I've installed up to a 4" bs with a 3" Belltech drop spindle.
There are many threads about trimming the lower a-arm at the balljoint area of the arm.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=416186
Some brands also require trimming some of the excess casting on the arm that connects to the outer tie rod.

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

Thanks for the tips and the links guys. One follow on question and I'll solve the rest of it with the search function -

Do replacement control arms, like CPP tubular arms, work out of the box or does the problem follow them too?

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

I'm running McGaghys on a 68. I'm using the 70's 6 lug rallys. There are different styles of wheel. Look at the actual rim area on the back of the wheel and you can see that some are flat in the width while other hump up sooner. (if that description makes sense). Some wheels were used with drum brakes that did not need the clearance for the caliper. Later disc brake wheels were designed to be flatter in the area where they would have hit the caliper. BTW my stock rims hit the caliper and my Rallyes are 8 in wide with (IIRC) 4 in backspace.

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

Heck, dropped spindles came out when everybody ran 15s...years before larger diameter rims came into vogue. Most were running 8" wheels. A little grinding may be necessary for certain profile rims and 4" backspace is the max, I'd say. The clearancing needed is no big deal. I'll be running 8" steelies on my '67 with dropped spindles. If these wheels are the same as ones I have run in the past, they'll clear. I believe those wheels are 3 1/2"-3 3/4" backspace

Re: 15" Wheels & Drop Spindles
 

This would also help a great deal, as the profile of them is much smaller than factory arms, if you want to spend the extra money for them is the question