Rear suspension question
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Byron Center MI
Rear suspension question
Hi all -
I bought this car a few months ago and am going to start working to get it on the road this summer. The previous owner told me it had been sitting for almost 10 years.
The rear suspension setup seems awfully high to me, almost 6 inches from the top of the tire to the car body. Would replacing the shocks bring this down or does this require replacement of the whole leaf?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
I bought this car a few months ago and am going to start working to get it on the road this summer. The previous owner told me it had been sitting for almost 10 years.
The rear suspension setup seems awfully high to me, almost 6 inches from the top of the tire to the car body. Would replacing the shocks bring this down or does this require replacement of the whole leaf?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
The shocks have very little to do with ride height. The spring and or the bolts that connect the trailing arm to the spring is what controls ride height. You need a longer bolt to bring the ride height down. A replacement spring will usually increase the ride height. It does not look like you have anything new back there so I'm curious on why the ride height would be so high. That is not a normal ride height. You are way up there.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24,160
Likes: 78
Shocks have 0 effect on your ride height.
From the looks of things, the p.o. has cranked that rear spring up as high as it can go. Do you see a lot of thread in that bolt below the cushion (pic 3)? Can you take another pic like that except show us the entire bolt this time?
From the looks of things, the p.o. has cranked that rear spring up as high as it can go. Do you see a lot of thread in that bolt below the cushion (pic 3)? Can you take another pic like that except show us the entire bolt this time?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,156
Likes: 3,965
From: Connecticut, USA
Something sure not right there. The original spring and bolts are in place- curls on the leafs,cotter pins in the bolts. That should be down 4". The whole IRS needs attention, the bushings are dry rotted for one. It appears the spring bolt in the RH side uses a nyloc nut instead of the castle nut and pin. Are the bolts the same length? Was any frame or body work done?
Last edited by GTR1999; Mar 27, 2009 at 01:05 PM.
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Instructor
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 200
Likes: 0
From: Falls Church Virginia
Mat I have to agree with everyone in this tread. Shocks have nothing to do with the height. Looks like you need a new spring and bolts. Suggest a VBP mono spring about 330 lbs and eight inch bolts. Once you mount the spring and eight inch bolts. Have the nuts cranked up about a inch up on the car after you lower the car it will be sitting really low. Start ajusting the car higher by cranking the nut up till you reach the heigh you want. Just my 2 cents looks to me by the PIC you may have other issues to address with the car. Rubber mounts (cone with your bolt kit), possible U-joints, shocks, and T/As. Just my thoughts being age of car with all original stuff. Love the color of car. Take care
sgm2004
sgm2004
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,590
Likes: 403
From: Nashville TN
St. Jude Donor '09
When you push down on the rear bumper, can you see the rear suspension move up and down? Just wondering if it may have been stored on jack stands and the suspension has gotten frozen in the "extended" position. I know it is a reach, but as high as it's sitting and everything appears to be stock or normal.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 69
Likes: 7
From: Byron Center MI
Thanks all. Appreciate the input. I'll try seeing if the suspension moves up/down to see if it is frozen. Looks like I'm in for some work. That's why I bought the car though. It's pretty solid all around; I looked at a lot of cars in Michigan (most had swiss cheese frames) and this one seemed pretty good for what I paid for it.
