There are many ways to lower a Deuce. One of the ways that has worked well for chassis guru Denny Lesky (Ionia Hot Rod Shop) is to yank out the stock '32 rear crossmember and swap it for a '35-40 Ford crossmember that has been squeezed flat.
Denny says this wild idea was actually copied from his friend Paul Beck, who owned a five-window back in the '60s that sat way too tall, but became the inspiration behind the procedure.
Replacing the crossmember allows you to replace the '32's curved spring with a longer, tapered leaf spring that rides a lot better. Another advantage is that the replacement crossmember centers the tire and wheel in the '32 wheelwell or fender, instead of almost an inch forward of the fender centerline as in stock form.
According to Denny's measurements, the distance between the top of the stock crossmember to the spot where the springs sit is 4 1/2 inches. That's a heckuva drop. It's probably way too much for a fendered car, but you'll see how the job can be modified to reduce the amount of the drop. And the full 4 1/2 inches works wonders for the highboy roadster pickup Denny's got going together for the '06 Grand National Roadster Show.
Welding WellOnly a skilled welder using adequate equipment should handle welding any portion of a hot rod frame. This is not a good project for learning how to weld. The average weekend hot rodder can accomplish most of this project successfully, but when it's time to start welding, leave that 100-amp MIG in your garage and turn the work over to someone with a TIG and lots of experience using it.
