ride height question

[Busey]

My chassis is still on the bench, I have the suspensiom mocked up to the static ride height I want.
How much settle in the front leaf spring should I expect under load ? I have a 26"x 1 3/4" reverse eye spring(speedway) mounted spring behind- SBC engine with turbo 350. I realize this would be a estimate but I would like to be close . Thanks

 

[2old2fast]

If possible , show a pic of your spring perch & the it mounts to the batwings , be easier to give a guess..... best estimate w/o info ..... 2-3 inches

dave

 

[meangreen]

It really depends also on how many leaves are in that spring. Also, a short spring like that is fairly stiff. The good news with leaf springs is you can change the spring rate later by adding or deleting leaves if you have to... A completely assembled 350 - 350 combo with oil and trans fluid weighs approximately 700 pounds, but not all that weight sits directly on the front end; it is distributed about 60 - 65% front / 35 - -40% rear. A friend of mine and I recently stood on the front of his Model-A frame near the front crossmember. It has an all-chromed front axle, spring, radius rod assembly from Speedway and it only settled about 1 1/4 inch (1.25"). Our combined weight is about 460 pounds and I think the spring has 5 leaves.

 

[Busey]

Thanks guys- it sounds like its going to settle more than I figured. The spring is a four leaf and it seems pretty stiff. I'm going to make a temporary spring perch and get some weight on the frame for measurements.