1942-48 Ford Car Rear Parallel Leaf Spring Conversion Kit

• Complete rear suspension kit with all brackets and shocks for easy installation
• Kit uses Speedway Motors’ Super Glide® reverse eye leaf springs
• Modern AFCO Street Rod gas-charged shocks provide a stable, controlled ride
• All brackets formed from 7 gauge steel plate for strength
• Designed to fit popular 3-inch diameter axle tubes, like the Ford 9-inch
• Leaf spring perches require welding and are designed to fit 3-inch axle tubes
• Gas charged shocks and shock brackets are bolt on with included hardware
• 2-1/2-inch wide parallel leaf spring design with four leaves and reverse spring eye
• Compliments aftermarket front suspension kits such as Mustang II systems
• Spring shackles, U-bolts, and grade 8 mounting hardware included for installation

A Complete Rear Suspension Improvement For Your 1942-1948 Ford Car

The classic lines of Ford’s “Fat Fender” era have enthusiasts clamoring to build one still to this day over eight decades later. We know that there are numerous options when building one of these classic Ford cars. Chassis and suspension, brakes, driveline, and more are all decisions that need to be made where all the parts play nicely with each other and fit into your budget and build schedule. No one wants to go into a build without a solid plan, because that’s when project cars tend to languish, budgets go out the window, and interest is lost.

One critical area of your build is going to be suspension, as the original suspension is quite lacking as far as suspensions go today. Both the front and rear suspensions are solid axle with a transverse leaf spring suspension. The transverse Ford leaf spring pack is rudimentary at best and the ride of an ox cart by today’s suspension options that are available. Upgrading not only improves the ride quality but will eliminate many project headaches by ditching the original banjo-style rear end with torque tube. Being able to upgrade to a more commonly used axle housing, such as the venerable Ford 9-inch, with a traditional driveshaft coupling, and drum or disc brakes will make your build that much safer, stronger, and more enjoyable on the road. Our bolt-in parallel leaf spring rear suspension kit not only vastly improves ride quality of your fat fendered Ford but opens the door to all manner of rear axle, driveline, and brake upgrades.

Our nearly 100 percent bolt-in rear Ford suspension kit for your ’42-’48 Ford maintains the stock ride height in the rear, which is often desired on “Fat Fender Fords” to provide a mild rake profile when using a lowered front suspension. To provide the total handling package and additional lowering for the front of your Ford pair this kit with our ’41-’48 Ford Mustang II IFS crossmember and add your choice of Mustang II IFS kit to the crossmember. We also offer front frame boxing plates that will help strengthen the frame as well. Using these Ford suspension upgrades on your 1942-1948 Ford car will provide the classic hot rod stance everyone loves while dramatically improving ride quality!

Improved Ride with Parallel Leaf Springs and Gas Charged Tube Shocks

We know there are a lot of options when it comes to rear Ford suspension systems for the ’42-’48 Ford. Various four-link setups, air springs, coilover conversions, and more. Most tout the fact that they ride better than a leaf spring setup. The factory transverse leaf spring rear suspension not only takes up a lot of room, but the original friction-style shocks are century old technology that hurt ride quality more than they help it these days. Moving to a parallel leaf spring setup provides for more clearance to fit exhaust systems and modern rear axle assemblies. The Super Glide leaf springs in our kit feature four leaves in the spring pack and are standard 2-1/2-inch wide leaves in a bare steel finish. Eye to eye they measure 47-1/2 inches in length, with a standard/reverse eye design. Pairing these springs with modern AFCO Street Rod gas-charged shocks provide an excellent ride and handling improvement without spending thousands of dollars on complicated rear Ford suspension conversions that require major modifications to your Ford’s frame and welding in four-link or Panhard bar mounts.

The front eyes are bushed while the rear eyes use the included shackle kit’s bushings. Together, these springs weigh less than the factory transverse spring pack, reducing unsprung weight for better ride and handling. The gas charged shocks are designed to complement the spring rate for a significant improvement in ride quality. An optional 7/8-inch sway bar kit is available that uses the factory friction shock mounting pads on the frame rails for improved handling as well.

Designed For 3-Inch Axle Tubes to Support Popular 9-inch Axle Swaps

Many builders opt for Ford’s venerable for its strength and vast aftermarket support of gear ratio, differential, and brake options. Knowing this, we provide compatible leaf spring mounts designed for the Ford 9-inch axle tube diameter of 3-inch OD. These pieces do require welding to your axle housing; however, the remaining leaf spring hanger/shackle brackets are bolt-in upgrades once you drill out the factory rivets and remove the original cast iron leaf spring mounts. These brackets are all made from 7-gauge steel (3/16-inch thick), while the leaf spring mounts are 10-gauge (1/8-inch thick) pieces. Also included are our zinc plated universal lower leaf spring mounting plates and zinc plated U-bolts to assemble the leaf springs to your axle housing. These 3/8-inch thick plates also pull double duty as the lower shock mounts, minimizing the welding required on your axle housing and providing maximum clearance for your exhaust system. A pair of weld-on leaf spring pads for your choice of rear axle with 3-inch tubes are provided, as are all necessary shock mounting hardware and upper shock mount brackets.

This is a complete bolt-in kit for stock or aftermarket 1942-1948 car frame rails with only fitment, alignment, drilling of mounting holes required for installation on the frame. You will need to confirm pinion angle and axle centering to tack weld the leaf spring pads to your axle tubes, which then the leaf spring pads can be fully welded with the axle removed from the car. Step-by-step fully illustrated instructions with frame and axle housing dimensions are included to make your installation a breeze and have your fat fender Ford riding smoother and handling better.