Issues with "new" leaf springs-Any ideas?

[Al K]

Well,got the brakes together,wheels on,got the car off the jackstands and was anxious to see how the car would sit with the new rear springs from McVeigh's in Mio,MI. Supposed to be HD equivalents(six leaves per side,including the 'short' one). This is NOT good;the car sits like a '60's-era stocker-nose up and butt down. Not what I wanted-at all. This is such an effin' bummer;what with all the work already into getting that whole rear end situation dealt with. Here's some pics;I'm off to work,and I'll check on this later. Effin' depressing,I'll tell ya.

 

[HitIt]

That's not exactly what I would expect from new HD springs, but the height looks about stock to me. Did they list these springs as having increased ride height? Here is how my car sits with 6 leaf springs... excuse my 60's stocker look...:tongueflap:

 

[HitIt]

Oh, and your torsion bars look pretty cranked up too. What's the story with your front suspension?

 

[Al K]

Oh, and your torsion bars look pretty cranked up too. What's the story with your front suspension?

Glad you asked,and it may be part of the problem-and possibly my fault.:black_eye: The car sat on jackstands for the last few months,and the front end was just hanging there. Front wheels weren't on until this past weekend,so not a lot of extra weight. Might the front suspension hanging like that have screwed up the torsion bars? I just got home from work;checked on the car and the front is still up and the azz is still down. For reference;those are 235/60-14 tires(all around) with a 25.5-26" diameter. Fortunately,just about everything I've worked on has come apart fairly easily-haven't needed tons of PB or WD,so I hope I can get the bars cranked back into proper position. Still,I had hoped to be able to run my new wheels and tires;doesn't look like that's gonna happen unless I put the Super Stock springs on there.:no: They ain't going to fit with these springs. I'll be contacting McVeigh's tomorrow as well-with pics.

Another question: would the torsion bar issue(and there seems to be one) have the effect of pushing the rear of the car "down"? It would explain a lot.:yes:

 

[Al K]

Oh,HitIt;your car freakin' rocks-thatsa beauty.:yes::yes::yes: I don't mind that slight "nose-up" look-and it's "period correct". I wanted(considering the tire combo) to duplicate the S/S look-a level or slightly "nose-down" attitude. Saw a great pic of Lindamood's '64 car;that thing sat l-o-w front and rear-kinda liked that look as well,but I'd prefer mine a wee bit higher to clear the roadkill around here.

 

[64BEL]

Al,

I just tore my whole rear suspension out yesterday. I'm putting SS springs and a '68 GTX rearend in it. One thought - do you know the dimensions of your new springs in relation to your old ones? In my case, the SS springs are a bit shorter - requiring longer front spring hanger brackets. If I install the SS springs without them, I won't get the height addition I want. Could this be your issue?

Dave

 

[5.7 hemi]

Al, send them to me, and in return, I'll send you mine. Crank down the torsion bars till you get the look you want, then get an alignment.

 

[Al K]

Al,

I just tore my whole rear suspension out yesterday. I'm putting SS springs and a '68 GTX rearend in it. One thought - do you know the dimensions of your new springs in relation to your old ones? In my case, the SS springs are a bit shorter - requiring longer front spring hanger brackets. If I install the SS springs without them, I won't get the height addition I want. Could this be your issue?

Dave

Dave;yes I'm aware of the length difference with the S/S springs. I've got a set of 3400# springs,with the correct hangers,sitting on the counter in the garage. The ones on the car now are from McVeigh's Truck Springs in a town north of me. I've heard from a few folks who have used their product and were/are pleased. There's no length problem with these springs;bolted right up. it just seems that they totally lost their "arch". When I purchased them,I asked for a set to add 1" to the ride height. Seems like someone slipped a set of "lowrider" units in the box.
As far as the front,it's settled a little bit(a 413 will do that...);I still need the tail end a bit higher! My old '64 Fury didn't have this problem,and it was on original springs when I got it and ran with them for a few years. I hope to fool with it this weekend;a bunch of distractive crap has come up and kept me out of the garage-at least to work on the car.

 

[64BEL]

Good luck with it, Al. Let us know how it goes. I'm going to be putting mine back together this weekend. I'll have to experiment with a few options for mounting the front segment to the car to see how it turns out.

Dave

 

[midnightrider1818]

the hd springs are actually shorter then your stock ones. the free length. they will hold about 5 to 10 percent load better and the coils are a little larger diameter. shocks dont change ride height only springs do

 

[Histoy]

Have you taken the car out on the road and driven it since installing the new springs? My '68 Coronet R/T set on jackstands all winter, and when I got it on the ground, the back looked low and the front looked high. I drove it around for 15 minutes and the stance returned to normal.

 

[Al K]

Have you taken the car out on the road and driven it since installing the new springs? My '68 Coronet R/T set on jackstands all winter, and when I got it on the ground, the back looked low and the front looked high. I drove it around for 15 minutes and the stance returned to normal.

No road trip yet. Still need to bleed the brakes,and hope that the leaking trans doesn't totally crap out. And,hope the leaking steering box holds up... And...you get the idea.

Did I mention the electrical stuff? Yes,I think I have...:yes:

 

[66 coronet]

Drive it around the block and hit a few bumps the torsion bars will settle back down, if its still too high you can always crank them down a little.

 

[Al K]

Well... Since the car went back up on jackstands to get the front steering and suspension stuff installed,I figured I'd put the 3400# S/S springs on and see what happened. Mounted the wheels and tires,took her off the rear stands and you know what(all together now: "No,what?")? We've got clearance,Clarence! And,the desired ride height. Damn;can't wait to get the front wheels on and see where she'll sit. Considering the endless string of issues,this was a small victory for me. She'll probably ride like a race car rather than an Imperial(as if I didn't know that...),but so what? She's a hot rod,baby!

After getting the rear wheels on the ground,I pushed down on the rear fenders. Uh,those springs are bloody STIFF! Very little movement,which is fine by me. Now,I'm not saying that I won't run into more things to fret about,but this is a major problem solved. I was thinking I'd need new wheels(different back-spacing) or convert to an A-body axle to run these. We'll see when she actually goes down the road. Some pics-the front is still on stands,including the K-frame-of how it looks. Looks *******,IMHO.

 

[64BEL]

Looks good, Al. Did you use the extended hangers? I got mine done a little over a week ago. It all turned out fine until I drove it. Now I have a bad vibration starting at about 20mph. I believe the whole rearend is too far back and the driveshaft is maxed out on length. My next move is I'm going to take the extended front hangers off and go with the stock ones. But I think that may put it too far forward, though. If that's the case, I'll probably drill new holes in the 2" extended hangers - at about 1". My pinion angle may need some adjustment too. It does ride quite stiff now, as you already noticed.

Dave

 

[Al K]

Yup;used the extended hangers.:yes: Have to with some of the S/S springs due to the shorter front segments. I'd thought about trying the extended hangers with the standard springs (from McVeighs) but figured it might put undue stress on the leafs because of the increased arch.:no: Now,the front eyelet is in the lower hole on the bracket;if I move it to the upper hole,I'll decrease ride height about 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Might try it just to see if the tires clear,and I might like the lower look. We'll see...

...and,it's off to work I go. Gotta pay for this madness somehow.:tongueflap:

 

[64BEL]

I ended up drilling new holes in the 2" extended front hangers. The new holes are 3/4" forward of the ones they came with - right in the middle of them. This gave me 3/4" play both rear and forward for the driveshaft (1 1/2" total). The stock hangers wouldn't have worked. Turns out my SS springs front segment is 19 3/4", and my stock springs front segment is 21". The difference is 1 1/4", not the 2" that the extended hangers compensate for. Test drive confirms my math and theory - no more vibration!

Dave

 

[Manifold]

With moving the front eye location, how did that affect the rear shackle angle? I'd be concerned the rear eye is ahead (towards the front of the car) of the top of the shackle.

 

[Al K]

Good point;I used the B-body brackets for '64-5 S/S applications and had no angularity issues with the rear shackles. They're in an almost vertical position,with the lower eye slightly forward. I'm anxious to see how she rides and steers when the front end is back together-I know right hand turns might be interesting with the spring bias. I'll let y'all know when it happens.

 

[64BEL]

No problem - I have plenty of room for the shackles. The rear spring eye is still way back behind the upper shackle mount.