The excitement is building

[Gerry]

That's a LOT of car sitting there.

 

[Island Girl]

Quick question . . . .

Is there anything that holds these springs together when they're not bolted to the perch . . . .

If I order the one from Speedway with the eyes down, can I take the longest leaf from the original one that comes out and add it to the new Speedway one?

That way I'd gain ground clearance by changing from eyes up to eyes down, and spring rate from the added leaf, to compensate for the extra weight of the big block.

The car has just about the right amount of "rake" without the engine, so I'd like to try to get as close back to that as feasible.

 

[Island Girl]

That's a LOT of car sitting there.

I'm hoping that it's a LOT of fun, excitement, and reclaimed youth . . . couldn't get much better than that

 

[DonnyRay]

Some springs are 1 3/4"s wide & some are 2"s wide. Hope this helps.

 

[old round fart]

I’m loving those headers! That car is away cool!

 

[Island Girl]

Some springs are 1 3/4"s wide & some are 2"s wide. Hope this helps.

Mine are 1 3/4" wide.

I believe Spirit sources a lot of their parts from Speedway, as it's kind of a one-stop source for all things hot rod.

 

[Island Girl]

I’m loving those headers! That car is away cool!

Thanks, . . . I'm really looking forward to hearing how they sound

Hoping it has enough G-Force for Indycars' seal of approval

 

[HenrysT]

There is a center bolt that holds the spring pack together, you might need a longer one if your adding a leaf.

 

[Neshkoro]

You need to be careful when you remove that center bolt. There is a lot of energy in that spring. You might need a couple of big C clamps to assist you.

 

[lincolnuT]

I would try a couple spacers before I changed springs...............I just use a piece of Alum that wide start with 1/2 inch and go up from there. You may need longer u-bolts either way you go.........

 

[Island Girl]

Thanks for the info guys,

I take it that it's the top leaf that's threaded and the bolt comes thru by a quarter inch or so to locate it properly on the perch ?

I'll order the "eyes down" one from Speedway on Tuesday, along with a few spacers, 1/4" is all they have, and see what that looks like installed.

That will give me the original one to steal a leaf from, and I'll see if I can manage to take it apart and put it back together as a test run before trying to add the leaf to the new eyes down spring.

I have plenty of big C clamps . . . (and a press)

Looking back at previous pictures, the shocks are now about halfway compressed with the engine installed from where they were before . . . . that added weight really took away a lot of suspension travel. (hence the desire to add a leaf)

The tall deck block and 4.750" stroke crank must weigh more than a regular Chevy production 454 by more than just a little..

 

[Spanky]

Looking back at previous pictures, the shocks are now about halfway compressed with the engine installed from where they were before . . . . that added weight really took away a lot of suspension travel. (hence the desire to add a leaf)

Driving it will be the final test, but I've found that most of these little cars are very stiffly sprung. Go slow on adding a leaf (JMHO)!

(PS - 1/2 compression on the shocks with powertrain in place may be about right, allowing for jounce & rebound.)

 

[Neshkoro]

Every spring that I’ve ever seen uses a bolt with a nut on the other side. No threaded holes. Just clearance holes in the spring. Some may differ.

 

[Neshkoro]

In the past when I disassembled a leaf spring was to clamp the spring on both sides of the bolt, get a long piece of threaded rod and matching nuts, remove the original bolt, insert the threaded rod, tighten the nuts, remove the clamps and slowly loosen the nuts to disassemble the spring. Reverse the whole procedure to reassemble.

 

[EWTALLEY]

IG, If you are going to take the spring apart you may want to add some leaf spring liner. I don't have it in my spring but wish I had, mine shows some rust places at the ends of each leaf. I don't know if this will help but just a suggestion, what do yo guys think?.
Leaf Spring Liner with Lip, 1-3/4 Inch

 

[Island Girl]

In the past when I disassembled a leaf spring was to clamp the spring on both sides of the bolt, get a long piece of threaded rod and matching nuts, remove the original bolt, insert the threaded rod, tighten the nuts, remove the clamps and slowly loosen the nuts to disassemble the spring. Reverse the whole procedure to reassemble.

That sounds like a really good method to go at this . . . .

As far as spring liners, these springs have some sort of plastic anti-friction tabs at the ends of each leaf, so I'll be good there.

 

[HenrysT]

IG, If you are going to take the spring apart you may want to add some leaf spring liner. I don't have it in my spring but wish I had, mine shows some rust places at the ends of each leaf. I don't know if this will help but just a suggestion, what do yo guys think?.
Leaf Spring Liner with Lip, 1-3/4 Inch

I think IG has Teflon buttons on the leafs, don't know what her new leaves are going to have, if any. always good to have the leaves sliding instead of having friction.

 

[Neshkoro]

Good luck IG! I hope that’ll do the job for you. One step closer to the first ride around the block!

 

[Island Girl]

HenrysT left a really good link for taking a spring apart over in a thread in the Suspension forum.
It shows with pics what Neshkoro described.

Tip of the hat to you guys for the wisdom and experience.

How to separate a Transverse or Buggy Spring | Eastwood Blog

 

[HenrysT]

I knew you'd see that! I believe the rear springs are more explosive than the fronts due to that arch in them. Just be careful taking them apart.