adamdinat

I have known this car rides too high and have wanted to lower it for a long time. I measured tonight and the front is 29" and the rear is almost 30" I am going to get the 8" bolts for the rear and am thinking of just cutting the front springs. I have read that some owners swap to a 550# spring in the front but am concerned that would make it ride harder. My questions are what should be the ride height front and rear and what problems am I going to get into on the front? How much should I cut off the springs. Is there a way to estimate that without taking everything apart 3 times?


The car has aluminum heads, intake, radiator and an aftermarket 9 leaf spring in the back. I am running 255 60 15 tires. the car has 86,000 mi. Am I crazy to reuse the old springs.

The Punisher

Buy the 550lb springs. You won't notice a ride difference. Too much guess work in cutting springs

cagotzmann

Here is my 78 with the VB&P street and slalom.

Front 550 Springs and 360 rear comp spring.

My height to wheel arch is 27.25"

L82Dude

550 lb springs might work, it didn't for my 1980. tried cutting them and screwed up so went to coilovers


1/2" off spring = 1" body drop, cut bottom, set spring in upper pocket


typically front should be 1" lower then rear, or so I read somewhere


I'm using Viking coilovers with 550lb springs, i'm bottomed out and sitting at 26.5 on front and waiting for it to settle , takes 500-1000 miles according to their techs and should settle another 1"

Kacyc3

My car used to sit like this with Alum. heads, intake, and radiator, since you are planning on buying new coils anyway it doesnt cost anything to cut the ones you already have and if you go to far it doesn't matter you were planning to buy new anyway.

I cut a full coil off my stock springs and it only dropped it about an inch, I pulled the coils back out and heated the coil I cut (and only the one i cut) to bend it flat like the stock coil end was. This dropped the front down to the 26" ish height i was looking for, I used 10" bolts to get the height in the rear I wanted but, the front spoiler was now less than 1.5" from the ground (I believe mine is damaged) so I didn't get to drive it before I swapped in the coil overs I bought.

Silvertone

Maybe this will take the guesswork out for you. My tires are 26.5" tall, I have aluminum heads, manifold, pump, radiator and no AC.

The front springs are VBP 460's that are cut exactly one coil. By my math, that is a spring rate of approximately 525lbs. Nice match for the 340ish composite rear.

Silvertone

To answer your question, I would never go back to a stock spring. Unless you want that mushy, too soft ride that compromises your cornering ability. I am very comfortable and a lot more stable now.

Steve

AboveTheLogic

Same here. Dramatic difference with aftermarket springs and bilsteins. Ride quality is better and handling is much better. 18" Y-rated tires help too

TheSkunkWorks

FWIW, 550# front coils really aren't all that high of a spring rate when you consider their effective rate at the wheel is only about half that.

As for measuring ride heights, from a mechanical standpoint suspension geometry references should be given priority over those based on cosmetics alone. Body references can vary from spec due to frame or mounting issues and non-OEM tire/wheel combinations, thus it is entirely possible for everything to look just fine from the outside while having asymmetric chassis underneath. So, best IMHO to check the following dimensions (with all fluids, ~1/2 tank of gas, and driver's approx. weight in the driver's seat) anytime one is addressing ride heights just to make sure everything is copacetic. FYI, nose-high factory '79 "Z" & "D" heights at curb weight...

Coupe P225/70R15 STD Susp 2.79 Z - 2.22 D
Coupe P255/60R15 STD Susp 3.02 Z - 2.40 D
Coupe P225/70R15 FE7 Susp 2.79 Z - 2.22 D
Coupe P255/60R15 FE7 Susp 3.02 Z - 2.40 D



HTH