How do I lower a car?

[Mick5s]

The title pretty much says it all. I want to lower a roadster for a rat-road build. How do you do that?

Thanks

[scampy72]

this is pretty easy i think....

for the front-- use sheet styrene and cut a rounded triangle big enough to mount the wheels on. figure out how low you want to go, use that to measure how big the triangle needs to be, it should connect to the frame. if it needs to be real tall you may have to create a brace on the back to support it. in order to mount the wheels, cut off the stock mounts and glue them in where you need them, triple check measurements to be sure the the same on both sides other wise itll be wonky

for the back-- again figure out how low you want it to be, then there are two ways. easiest is to cut the leaf spring til they fit on the frame when at ride height. harder but better looking is to get rid of the leafs all together and make coil overs. i found a good way to do this is to use round styrene rod and the springs out of old click pens, make them however big you want and then apply so the ride height is where you want it..

this is the ways that ive used and they have worked for me. good luck, hope i helped.

marc

[Mick5s]

Thanks for those methods. I am new to models and I am having a little trouble visualizing what you mean.

Also, is styrene a 'default' material? Does everyone use it? Becuase it sounds like everyone uses styrene for something.

Thanks

[VW Dave]

this is pretty easy i think....

for the front-- use sheet styrene and cut a rounded triangle big enough to mount the wheels on. figure out how low you want to go, use that to measure how big the triangle needs to be, it should connect to the frame. if it needs to be real tall you may have to create a brace on the back to support it. in order to mount the wheels, cut off the stock mounts and glue them in where you need them, triple check measurements to be sure the the same on both sides other wise itll be wonky

for the back-- again figure out how low you want it to be, then there are two ways. easiest is to cut the leaf spring til they fit on the frame when at ride height. harder but better looking is to get rid of the leafs all together and make coil overs. i found a good way to do this is to use round styrene rod and the springs out of old click pens, make them however big you want and then apply so the ride height is where you want it..

this is the ways that ive used and they have worked for me. good luck, hope i helped.

marc

I'm not sure if I get the 'rounded triangle' thing.....have any pics of it?

The coil-over thing might not be the way to go if the OP is doing a rat rod

Depending on the front axle being used, making it into a 'suicide' style setup is a good way to lower the nose and gain a few scale inches worth of wheelbase as well. On my 'Channel Surfer' '32 roadster I separated the leaf spring from the axle, drilled out the spring ends and drilled corresponding holes in the axle, and pinned it together for gluing. The one on the left is the modded one, and you can see the difference in height at the frame horns. For mock-up and comparison purposes I used the same wheels & tires on both frames, and the axles were both Revell kit-supplied parts.

Edited March 31, 2012 by VW Dave

[Mike Kucaba]

Styrene is the plastic that generally refers to what most of the models are molded in. I'd suggest you spend some time going thru the "on the bench" section to get some ideas of what can be done.In Lowering a car,you raise up the item that the wheel/tire mounts to,usually a spindle (front) and axle(rear).This is a very simplistic description,and some research will help you understand it better.

[MikeMc]

You can Z the frame, and use a dropped axle...as all of these show. Follow my signature to photobook for many WIPs

[Mike Kucaba]

Excellent examples of the craft!!

[scampy72]

sorry, i dont have many pics of what i mean. im new to the forum too. but what i was saying is to basically cut a triangle then round the points off so there arent sharp points. i do this because i find that sharp points tend to break off a bit easier then rounded ones. situate it with the longest point up. as said sheet styrene is plastic, that is almost the same as what models are made of, its just a bit more pliable. the other ideas on here are good too, z-ing the frame may actually give it a more rat rod-y style.