Rear leaf spring
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,817
Likes: 470
From: Wichita Kansas
If the car is a sb, then it likely came with a 9 leaf spring and the front springs were balanced to that. If it is a big block, it could have the Gymkhana heavy duty suspension installed, which has the 7 leaf spring and again, the front springs are balanced to that. If you go mixing all this up you're apt to wind up with something you hate to drive. It's all about that, and tires, and shocks, and what you want to do with the car. Read the following post for more. And there is plenty more than this, you can do a search here for "Gymkhana".
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/4186278-75-rides-like-a-mack-trk.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/4186278-75-rides-like-a-mack-trk.html
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,455
Likes: 977
From: RI, Now Franklin/Nashville TN
On a 76 corvette, the C3 has a SBC engine only, no BB engine.
As noted, you need to have front and rear springs that are balanced along with sway bars as well. The base suspension corvettes which most SBC C3's have came with front springs of approximately 300lbs/inch and the 9 leaf rear spring of 200 lbs along with a 7/8 inch front sway bar only. This combo will give you a nice soft floaty riding C3 with moderate handling heavily biased to understeer (push) at even moderate speeds in turns. The handling at best and being kind was acceptable for the era and poor by any standard today.
The optional gymkhana, sport suspended C3's, on the hand, have remarkably improved handling over the base cars and came with 550 front springs and a 7 leaf rear transverse spring of approximately 300lbs/inch along with a bigger front bar (1 1/8 inch) and the optional rear sway bar for the gymkhana cars only in 1976, of 7/16 inch. The Sport C3's will still understeer at the limit but much less so than the base cars along with much less lean but do ride harder with the steel rear 7 leaf spring and oil shocks. The gymkhana cars can be made to ride MUCH better with a composite rear spring of much greater rating, high end shocks like Bilsteins, and better tires than 15 inchers.
As noted, you need to have front and rear springs that are balanced along with sway bars as well. The base suspension corvettes which most SBC C3's have came with front springs of approximately 300lbs/inch and the 9 leaf rear spring of 200 lbs along with a 7/8 inch front sway bar only. This combo will give you a nice soft floaty riding C3 with moderate handling heavily biased to understeer (push) at even moderate speeds in turns. The handling at best and being kind was acceptable for the era and poor by any standard today.
The optional gymkhana, sport suspended C3's, on the hand, have remarkably improved handling over the base cars and came with 550 front springs and a 7 leaf rear transverse spring of approximately 300lbs/inch along with a bigger front bar (1 1/8 inch) and the optional rear sway bar for the gymkhana cars only in 1976, of 7/16 inch. The Sport C3's will still understeer at the limit but much less so than the base cars along with much less lean but do ride harder with the steel rear 7 leaf spring and oil shocks. The gymkhana cars can be made to ride MUCH better with a composite rear spring of much greater rating, high end shocks like Bilsteins, and better tires than 15 inchers.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Honolulu, Hi
If the car is a sb, then it likely came with a 9 leaf spring and the front springs were balanced to that. If it is a big block, it could have the Gymkhana heavy duty suspension installed, which has the 7 leaf spring and again, the front springs are balanced to that. If you go mixing all this up you're apt to wind up with something you hate to drive. It's all about that, and tires, and shocks, and what you want to do with the car. Read the following post for more. And there is plenty more than this, you can do a search here for "Gymkhana".
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/4186278-75-rides-like-a-mack-trk.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/4186278-75-rides-like-a-mack-trk.html
Thank you for that information
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Honolulu, Hi
On a 76 corvette, the C3 has a SBC engine only, no BB engine.
As noted, you need to have front and rear springs that are balanced along with sway bars as well. The base suspension corvettes which most SBC C3's have came with front springs of approximately 300lbs/inch and the 9 leaf rear spring of 200 lbs along with a 7/8 inch front sway bar only. This combo will give you a nice soft floaty riding C3 with moderate handling heavily biased to understeer (push) at even moderate speeds in turns. The handling at best and being kind was acceptable for the era and poor by any standard today.
The optional gymkhana, sport suspended C3's, on the hand, have remarkably improved handling over the base cars and came with 550 front springs and a 7 leaf rear transverse spring of approximately 300lbs/inch along with a bigger front bar (1 1/8 inch) and the optional rear sway bar for the gymkhana cars only in 1976, of 7/16 inch. The Sport C3's will still understeer at the limit but much less so than the base cars along with much less lean but do ride harder with the steel rear 7 leaf spring and oil shocks. The gymkhana cars can be made to ride MUCH better with a composite rear spring of much greater rating, high end shocks like Bilsteins, and better tires than 15 inchers.
As noted, you need to have front and rear springs that are balanced along with sway bars as well. The base suspension corvettes which most SBC C3's have came with front springs of approximately 300lbs/inch and the 9 leaf rear spring of 200 lbs along with a 7/8 inch front sway bar only. This combo will give you a nice soft floaty riding C3 with moderate handling heavily biased to understeer (push) at even moderate speeds in turns. The handling at best and being kind was acceptable for the era and poor by any standard today.
The optional gymkhana, sport suspended C3's, on the hand, have remarkably improved handling over the base cars and came with 550 front springs and a 7 leaf rear transverse spring of approximately 300lbs/inch along with a bigger front bar (1 1/8 inch) and the optional rear sway bar for the gymkhana cars only in 1976, of 7/16 inch. The Sport C3's will still understeer at the limit but much less so than the base cars along with much less lean but do ride harder with the steel rear 7 leaf spring and oil shocks. The gymkhana cars can be made to ride MUCH better with a composite rear spring of much greater rating, high end shocks like Bilsteins, and better tires than 15 inchers.
