The following thread may seem funny, but I'm on my last nerve with this Vette of mine. It's a '75 coupe. It's a nice driver. I would post a pic but I'm too embarrased. Remember the '70's when everyone had their car "jacked up" in the rear? Well that's what I now have. Don't see too many Vettes like that, do ya? When I got the car, it rode fine. Only problem was the rear wheels were bowed out at the bottom. Four different Corvette experts around here told me four different fixes. Finally one this weekend took a look and said my monospring was worn out. So I replaced it with a new steel spring and bolt kit. Wow! New parts look good under there . . . and the wheels straightened up too. Only problem is I'm leaning forward now when I drive. I don't feel like I'm in a Vette anymore. I have 7" of clearance between the top of the tire and the fenderwell. The wife likes it. PLEASE! She's a good girl though. She feels bad that I feel so bad. Along with the elevated ride, I now have a bad vibration in the steering wheel. You'd think with the wheels straight, the car would ride better. Not so. I guess they were used to riding on the inner edge of the tire. Obviously I need an alignment, front and back. But I'm afraid I won't ever be able to get the ride height down to at least level with the front. Is there anything I can do in addition to trying the longer bolts? Do these bolts have more threads so you can move the nut further up the bolt, thus reducing the arch on the spring, or does the nut need to be further down the bolt? I'm driving myself crazy trying to get this car the way I like it. I'm starting to dream about it at night.

Sorry for the long post. While driving back from SC on I-95 this afternoon, I saw a new '05. Gorgeous. I like the crossed flags on the back end. A red '04 passed me later on and waved of course. There was a Viper right on his tail. The Viper revved his engine at me when he went by. Hate to say it, but he was about to eat that Vette's lunch. They both ate mine. But I made it home, jacked up rear end and all.

 

You can get longer spring blots from several sources. You can then adjust the rear height. If the back is too high then you might have a proble, with the half shafts binding.

 

post a pic. WHat do you mean the rear tires were bowed out? Do you mean the bottoms pointed out, and the tops were pointing in? Yes, the longer bolts are threaded all the way through so you can move the nut whereever you want it. To lower the car, move the nut farther on down the bolt. If the rear is jacked as high as you say, the bolts will not fix that. Do you know what spring you bought? Check the rear spring, I dont think there should be any spacers or bars or anything between the spring and the differential. Also look at this area, and make sure it is installed the same way. I know there was a diagram floating around somewhere that showed the bushings should be on top of the trailing arm. If it is installed that way, the rear would ride very tall. The spring in the pic is a dual mount monospring and a 8 inch bolt, ride height in the rear is 27.5 inches. Do not use a 10 inch bolt unless you are running bigger rims, such as 17's

 

It sounds as if you need the extra long spring bolts (one at each end), but then again, I've never heard of or seen a C3 with 7 inches between the tire and rear fenders.

Was the spring you purchased a stock replacement or heavy duty?

 

you may have too much arch in your spring. You can try longer bolts but not so long as to make the spring ends even with the tire sidewall. They will cut the sidewall the first hard turn you take. Do you have any pictures?

with the steel springs the lighter the spring rate the more arch it has. I got the 5 leaf and it runs real flat and i like it that way. Sits nice and low in back.

 

You guys have the right idea. Yes, the wheels go out at the bottom and in at the top. At least, they used to. Not now though. The spring I bought was supposed to be a stock replacement for what I had, nothing extra or heavy duty, etc. It obviously has too much arch. The clearance may not be a full 7", but it's close. I bought it at a Corvette business that does full restoration, new and used parts, everything. They had it in the showroom. I hate to remove it but that may be what I have to do. I'll try the longer bolts and will be carefull not to let the bolt/nut get too close to the tire. Thanks for responding so quickly.

 

Too much ride height with a new spring is a common problem, but 7 inches is way too much. I think there is either a problem with the spring or it was installed incorrectly. Do a search on this site. There have been several threads on rear spring installation. I'd remove and resinstall the spring making sure everything is done correctly. Make sure after putting the spring on that you don't torque the bolts until the car is lowered from the jacks. Then try an alignment. I'd try longer bolts as a last resort.

 

The tires bowing out excessively could have been cuased by worn axel stubs. Doesnt seem like the ride height was the problem. My ride height in the rear is 27.5 inches which is pretty low and with the strut rods adjusted as far as they can go my tires are basically strait up and down. I think the specs call for some positive camber, but I cant get any with the factory strut rods.

 

Let me guess....
You bought a fiberglass TRW Style spring???
It's made by Muskegon Brake...

Send it back, They Suck. There have been many threads on the forum about them and it apears that they STILL don't have it figured out

 

No, I didn't buy the fiberglass one. I probably should have. I was told they are self adjusting as far as where you want the ride height to be. I did some measuring in the last hour. From the floor of the garage to the fenderwell, measuring straight thru the center of the rear wheel, the distance is 30.75". How far off is this? About 4" maybe? It is exactly the same on both sides. Also, I have the 6" bolt. The spring seems to be put on correctly judging by the pic provided by LOSTPATROLMAN.

 

Where do you live? If you live close to a forum member, maybe they can help. Meanwhile do this, #1. What size tires do you have? #2. What angle are your half shafts? #3. How many leafs does the spring have? #4. What shocks do you have? Make sure someone didn't put airshocks on there. #5. POST A PIC . This is the best way for any of us to help you. Be proud that your car made it through the 70's and allow us to help you return it to it's glory.

P.S. Does the car have stock rims? This may be important to know for the possibility of the spring touching the wheel. You definately need to get some longer bolts though.

 

As far as ride height, try this, its specs for a 70, but should be similar to all c3s
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...=lostpatrolman

 

isn't an 8 inch bolt stock???????

 

I"ll try and get all that information sometime today . . and post a pic.

 

Had the same problem... I guess now I finally figured out why mine was so high (also 30.5") ... it must be this 'stock replacement' steel spring that one of the previous owners installed. Is yours also the 9-leaf spring ?

In my gallery are 'before' and 'after' pictures - I corrected the height with the 8" bolts, now it's fine. The bolts lowered the rear approximately 2", now mine is at 28.5" with a 275-60 tire.

 

Make sure there is no spacer between the diff and the spring. If there is remove it and go back with just the plate that holds the spring on and 4 stock mounting bolts. This is the only other thing that could raise your car that much. I hate to mention this, but with the tires leaning so much you might want to check the rear bearings. There was a lot of strain on them the way they were. But do not worry, you are in good hands with the guys in this forum. Your vette will ride again; correctly!

 

Kalaway,
I would not get all bent out of shape just yet. This problem is fixable and you will not be imbarassed to be seen in your car forever. After you get it right, you will probably forget all about the struggle and just enjoy the car.

When the car was brand new, it had the correct ride height and drove without a shimmy. That was with correct springs, fresh tires and a proper alignment.

Let's face the truth. There are no exact correct replacement springs (steel or fiberglass) on the market. We buy the available springs and adjust them for proper ride height. The guy that installs the springs will make adjustments with the longer bolts OR the car will typicaly ride high. No secret here. I would not accept or pay someone for installing a spring if it rode high when the job was done. If the guy installing the spring does not know how to do this he should not be installing your spring. I have the TRW monospring on my car and it sits very level with the stock front suspension but the shop that did the job knew what they were doing.

You need longer bolts to get the rear down to match the front, a proper 4 wheel alignment and probably a new set of tires. There may be more but this is the minimum.

-Mark.

 

Wheels / tires leaning in:
It may not be the wheel bearings, maybe it's only your strut rods. If this is it then it's time to upgrade - get the adjustable rods.

 

I'm going to try the longer bolts first. I have the stock 9-leaf spring. The shop that installed it did not have any "extra" bolts to try other than the ones I gave him. I measured them. They're 6" with a minimum amount of threads. I drove the car a little today to see if it would settle any and I now have a bad vibration in the steering wheel when I accelerate. Not at really slow speeds but 45 MPH and higher. So I think I'll just park it and keep reading these threads and sort this think out. Does it make sense to get the ride height where I want it before I have the alignment done? That's my plan. Surely there's a Vette specialist in my area (Fayetteville, NC) that can fix this car. Have to remember not to call him Shirley.