rene040269

Hi guys,

I am trying to get my 1980 Vette back on the road after a couple of years but i noticed the leaf spring somehow looks distorted.

Right side:




Left side:




Center bolt connection:




Yes i know she is a bit rusty....

OK, what is wrong here? The upper leaf pack somehow rotated along the center bolt compared to the lowest leaf spring, or vise-versa.

You see the lowest leaf spring is shifted almost half a spring width offset to the rest of the pack. It rotated back on the passenger side, forward to the driver side.

Although i cannot push the spring pack back into its original position i am a bit worried because if the upper spring pack decides to shift a bit further the leaf spring can collapse with all kinds of nasty results.

Anyone seen this before? Shouldn't there be some sort of clamps around the leaf pack to prevent this from happening?

And another strange thing:

I lifted my car up with both rear wheels free from the ground, but the rear leaf spring arches so much down the rubber touches my tire and rim, blocking my wheels. Is this normal?



Thanks for your advice

Alan 71

Hi Rene,
Yes, the spring leaves are 'spread'.
It appears that one of the 3 bolts from the spring mount, shown in your next to last picture, is missing.
That would cause your problem.
It also appears the carrier has been stripped because the 2 bolts that are present have nuts on them which isn't typical. Probably the nut came off the third bolt and it fell out.
Regards,
Alan

doorgunner

Jacking the rear of the car will cause the main leaf to move close to the tires down low....but the out of line spring isn't helping.

Is one of the spring mounting bolts broken off under the spring-to-differential mounting plate--3 bolt system? (my '68 has 4 bolts to prevent shifting springs)?

You either need a new springpack......or you need to remove that pack/disassemble/clean (paint)/re-install it to see if that makes it look--work better when the car is sitting on the wheels.

I'm a rookie....so wait for experts to reply.

Illegal Vette

Don't drive it! It looks like it will do a come apart.

rene040269

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice

The car is far from 'drivable', i have just climbed underneath her to see what i have to do to make her safe and fully operational, the words are "a h*ll of a lot..."

I have bought this car a year ago from someone who left it to rot and i will restore it back to the Beast is was. But for now i am definately not going to drive like this.

i have to take a second look at the whole setup because i didn't noticed a possible third bolt missing but the front two bolts have indeed 2 nuts each stacked on top of eachother so there is something not right, i assume a stripped thread in the carrier as Alan already pointed out.

I will remove the whole leaf spring, clean and paint it, check all the threads and other hardware and remount it the way it should.

Does this multie leaf spring comes originally with clamps around it to prevent the individual blades from shifting like mine did?

I have seen that on other leaf springs.

69Vett

that's not a standard C3 rear end with bat wings, and 3 mounting bolt locations.
Normal is 4 bolts on the early C3, not sure about 1980. it looks like a C4 setup.
If it were me I would remove the spring clean install new liners, and reinstall.
No the corvette spring does not have spring clamps, you can remove the spring pack clean and reinstall.
I would not trust that spring currently, especially with the 3rd bolt missing.

the diff. looks like it is cracked and leaking on the left side ?

here is a 69 C3 spring Dissassembled

rene040269

Well i certainly do not hope the diff is cracked but looking at the amount of rust on the rear end of the driveline i do not suspect a cracked diff, the whole rear suspension is as dry as a desert.

The front end of the driveline was completely rust free. A leaking engine, leaking power steering pump and leaking AC pump kept everything underneath all oiled up and rust free (after i removed a ton of greased dirt...)

I will take a closer look at the diff, spring and connection because you guys are right, something is not as it should be.

It is a 1980 manual, don't know what diff these normally have? I do know the car is not completely original, it has a Goodwrench 350 crate engine, do not know of a diff swap.

Mike Ward

No, the original springs did not have bands around them. Aftermarket springs had them for shipping purposes only.

mrvette

I THINK '79 was the last year for iron springs in the rear, the 80+ had plastic from the factory, and that diff housing, is it aluminum with bat wings up to the frame?? 80 was first year for the aluminum also....

I would go with a single 360 monospring from Vette Brakes & Products.....and bilstein shocks....my '72 is really happy with that in the rear....

rene040269

When i bought it i was under the impression that it was an '81 because it was registred as such (*), although all the CCC and smog crap was missing.

(*) i am from Holland/Europe, the car has been imported 25 years ago.

But i became suspicious when a lot of things didn't match up with an '81 so i checked the VIN with my Black Book saying it was an early '80. So much for the missing CCC carb and smog stuff...

I understood a '81 manual had a steel multi leaf spring and a '81 automatic started with the composite spring which became the standard from 82 and up, all Vettes before '81 had a steel spring. (right?)

rene040269

69vett you certainly got my attention with your answer....

I crawled back under the car to take a closer look. The diff is not cracked as far as i can check, thank goodness.

And it is a 3 bolt setup, not 4 as i see on every 80 and later batwing picture i google...? The batwing was introduced on the 80 vettes or the 78s? I can not remember.

And the proof that Alan71 is gifted with special powers: indeed the third bolt has snapped of, he can see more from a picture than i can laying under the car....oops

So what is the deal? No other car than a Corvette had the batwing right?

Alan 71

Hi rene,
Yes, I believe all Corvettes had a steel spring prior to 1981, and 81-82 is as you describe.
So the 3 bolt mount would be for 80-82 cars.
Regards,
Alan

rene040269

Well anyway: Thank you guys all VERY MUCH for pointing me in the direction of the missing bolt!!

If the spring wasn't shifted i would probably not have looked good enough and this is a very dangerous situation. If the whole upper spring pack somehow finds its way to freedom the whole leaf spring would have collapsed leaving me with only the lower leaf, which is probably not enough to keep the Vette's *** off the ground.

Now i definately will remove the entire spring and center mounts and check every nut & bolt.

Thanks to all

rene040269

OK, i cannot do a normal internet search i just found out.

Indeed a 80-82 batwing has a three bolt pattern, not four.

So everything seems original, except from the stripped threads.

Alan 71

Hi Rene,
Both my wife and I are of Dutch heritage. All of our grandparents were born in the Netherlands.
We have enjoyed quite a few trips to visit over the years. We have some good friends in Amstelveen.
Regards,
Alan

havesometo

Everything under the rear end looks exactly like mine does except the one missing bolt. And mine is a1980.

rene040269

That is a nice coincident, and yes, Holland is quite nice to drive around.

Only not in a C3 Corvette with our gas price of 1.80 Euro/Ltr, don't know what that is in miles/gallon but please do not compare that to US gas price or i will start crying....

I will take the rear end apart and keep you guys informed.

Once again, all thank you very much for the help!

muskegonbrake

The spring is probably fine, it's just starting to spin because of the missing bolt. If you need some hardware let me know.

Andrew
800-442-0335
http://www.muskegonbrake.com

CaseyJones

My '80 spring had clamps (the bands you mention) around it and it is very original.

Mike Ward

Can you post a pic of your spring?