Rear spring spacers.
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Rear spring spacers.
A while back I stole some C4 parts off my street rod truck when I updated the suspension under my '69, and am finally getting back to working on the truck. The only parts I'm missing now are the rear spring spacers. They appear to be unavailable from Chevy for quite some time, and some of the auction site vendors appear to be trying to fund their retirement from the asking price for those pieces. I'm going to make some replacement spacers out of stainless steel to slow the heat transfer, but while I'm amusing myself with this task, I was just curious how some of the less parsimonious members here are dealing with this issue. I would have guessed that for as many C4s that have been wrecked or parted out, these simple pieces should be rather plentiful.
Just curious what people are doing in this particular situation.
Thanks.
Just curious what people are doing in this particular situation.
Thanks.
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,868
Likes: 960
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
My thanks to C409 for a PM he sent. His PM "primed the pump" as it were, and got me thinking about an efficient way to make the stainless steel spacers/locators, and I'll be working on them today.
Thanks again C409.
Thanks again C409.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,149
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From: Timra, Sweden
I know that they are not plane shims. I still think that it should not be that difficult to create a tool where you can create those 'key dimples' using a hydraulic press.
Last edited by JoBy; Jan 7, 2021 at 06:07 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
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From: St. Charles MO
The VBP aftermarket springs used to come with poly spacers in a single block. When mine disintegrated on one spring, I "stole" them off another VBP spring I had laying around. VBP was still in business at the time, and they told me they used 3M Window Weld to bond the spacers to their springs. I think stainless might conduct heat a good bit better than poly or Delrin, but of course it would hold up to the heat a lot better. If you make them in stainless it might be a good idea to use some thin rubber pads to isolate the spacers from the fiberglass spring? Or you could machine them from delrin stock. If you can machine stainless you can easily machine delrin. I've been told it's a lot easier to mill than poly.
Aside from the above, it would be interesting if someone found a better material that both resisted heat well and also didn't conduct it; and could be easily machined. Maybe some form of graphite would be a solution?
Aside from the above, it would be interesting if someone found a better material that both resisted heat well and also didn't conduct it; and could be easily machined. Maybe some form of graphite would be a solution?
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Thread Starter
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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
And that is what I am doing with the aluminum pieces. That's quick and easy. The stainless pieces are the ones that will probably make me cuss a bit in the process.
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,868
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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
The VBP aftermarket springs used to come with poly spacers in a single block. When mine disintegrated on one spring, I "stole" them off another VBP spring I had laying around. VBP was still in business at the time, and they told me they used 3M Window Weld to bond the spacers to their springs. I think stainless might conduct heat a good bit better than poly or Delrin, but of course it would hold up to the heat a lot better. If you make them in stainless it might be a good idea to use some thin rubber pads to isolate the spacers from the fiberglass spring? Or you could machine them from delrin stock. If you can machine stainless you can easily machine delrin. I've been told it's a lot easier to mill than poly.
Aside from the above, it would be interesting if someone found a better material that both resisted heat well and also didn't conduct it; and could be easily machined. Maybe some form of graphite would be a solution?
Aside from the above, it would be interesting if someone found a better material that both resisted heat well and also didn't conduct it; and could be easily machined. Maybe some form of graphite would be a solution?
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,868
Likes: 960
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Thread Starter
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,868
Likes: 960
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Between interruptions I got the aluminum and SS spacers made and installed in the truck. I was going to have to make a crapload of eighth-inch spacers to fill the two gaps, so I changed plans and made half as many (6) in quarter-inch thickness. I don't have any actual data to back up my reasoning here, but I put a light coat of flat black paint on the horizontal mating surfaces of the spacers to add a touch of thermal resistance between the layers.