Rear Spring
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 396
Likes: 3
From: Buffalo New York
Rear Spring
My '76 rides like a truck, and the rear end is up about 2". The distance from the ground to the wheel well lip is 30". I have a 9 leaf, 2 1/2" wide spring, with factory shocks. I believe that this is a heavy duty spring from 79-82. If I install 8" spring mounting bolts to lower the rear end, and good gas shocks, will the ride be a little softer? I know everyone will tell me to put in a fiberglass spring, but I don't want to do that right now.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 492
Likes: 3
From: Temecula CA
I have 72 coupe, and I do believe the heavy duty spring has seven leaves, and the normal spring has nine. This may be different for later years. I have a heavy duty spring, and I put longer bolts in to lower the rear, as it was sitting way too high. The longer bolts didn't affect the harshness of the ride one way or the other. I can't make a suggestion about shocks, mine had gas shocks when I bought it.
Temvette72
Temvette72
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,504
Likes: 139
From: Butler Pa
I had the same problem when I got my '69. The spring had 9 leafs so I thought it was the standard one, but it rode terrible. I took the spring out and noticed that it was really the heavy duty spring and the previous owner had added 2 extra leafs. I removed them and it's much better.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 396
Likes: 3
From: Buffalo New York
That's what I thought. The standard spring for a '76 is a 9 leaf, 2 1/4" wide. In 1979, they switched to a 2 1/2" wide spring, which is listed in the catalogs as a HD spring. Someone apparently switched my car to the newer spring. At any rate, I'm going to try the 8" bolts. Thanks for the input.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 297
Likes: 0
From: Eden Prairie MN
As I replied in th eother ride height post, what is the deal here? My springs are stock (original F41 code tags on the front) and 7 leaf on the rear, and I'm 30" tall at the rear wheel openings. Disconnecting the gas shocks was not the answer. All seems correct. ???? While I can "fix" the issue at the rear, the front would still be high.
Rand
Rand
