Question about AME chassis rear coilover modification

[65 drop top]

I have an AME chassis for my 55 Chevy. It has 2” drop spindles up front. From all of the cars and pictures I’ve seen, many have just a little more rake than I’d prefer. I’m thinking about relocating the rear upper coilover mounts up a little bit to lower the rear and level out the stance. I have a modified trunk pan and mini tubs so I think I have plenty of clearance. I don’t want to modify the lower mount, as they hang pretty low as it is. So my questions are

1. At ride height, with a full weight car, how much clearance is there between the axle tubes and frame rails? I’d like to know if lowering the car an additional 1-2” in the rear would cause it to bottom out. My car is still in the build stages and completely gutted so I have no way to check this.



2. Could I remove the stock upper coilover mounting tabs from the frame, drill a hole through the curved tube that is attached to the cross brace, reinforce that hole with a sleeve, then reinstall the mounting tabs (or new modified tabs) in the new position. This almost seems too simple. Am I missing something here, or would this be an easy mod to do?

3. How do you determine the angle that the coilovers are mounted at? Would I just try to use the same angle as the coilovers were originally mounted? I don’t want to cause any changes to spring rates or cause binding.

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated. Thanks.