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Yes,I did a search. I'm considering a composite rear spring for my 75. I'll be doing the work in a one car car so room is tight,is this a fairly straightforward job?
Just replaced mine in an 8 ft wide car shed. Hardest part was jacking the back end up. The entire spare tire cover was already removed. And I have a non-welded, mechanically fastened exhaust and mufflers. So that came apart fairly easy. I could have worked around it but it was easier to remove.
highlights..
- watch yourself when under tension...
- watch bolt lengths into differential..
- might as well replace strut bushings while there..? or inspect.. they are hard to align YMMV
Fairly easy, start penetrating oil on the 4 main diff bolts now If you break one of those you'll talk to yourself for months
Make sure you actually have the new spring in your procession before you start taking the old one off, they are seemingly hard to get lately.
Look at new shocks at the same time, they typically need to be different from steel to glass springs
M
Be very careful when jacking up the spring. The tension will cause the front end to nose down if not supported. Make sure you torque the bolts on the rear end with the wheels on the ground.
Ed
I had my original leaf spring restored by a shop that does a lot of truck springs, they also refurbish drive shafts. Large trucks owners can’t call Summit and order a new spring like car owners. They had me buy the correct rubber pieces that go between each leaf. Oh yeah, it was a lot cheaper than a buying a new spring.
not sure if times changing but in last 2 years.. nobody is doing this locally anyway.. i called around everywhere including truck springs who Eaton referred me too.. they all said no or they do but will not last , or they stopped doing those and they can crack.. no go around me anyway..
bought the eaton spring...new
I had the 9 leaf spring, changed the spring to a 7 leaf spring. I didn't have any expectations one way or the other. After test driving both springs, I couldn't tell any difference. There is only 1.8 inches of movement in the rear axle/spring, I think expecting to change the ride is a bit much. People take the 30 year old shocks off and an old rusted spring off their car and get a better ride, no wonder. You can replace the old shocks, rebuild the old spring and get good results. Take the old spring apart, sand and repaint it, install new spring spacers, good as new. I used gray galvanized paint. This looks good and allows it to flex correctly. Like they said, be very careful the front bolts are not to long, you can destroy your differential.
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
Here is some additional info on composite springs if you have not seen it. Some have issues with the back being an inch or so higher when they changed.
I have a one car garage with very limited space and I did auto to 5-speed conversion, rear end replacement and conversion to composite spring by myself so it's doable.
Removing rear spring.
If you break one of those you'll talk to yourself for months
