Okay, so I finally got a set of temporary axles to set up the car to go to the body shop.

We re-assembled the rear end, new springs, shackle kit, bushings, etc. When we lowered the car down on the tires it sits up very high in the rear!

A little backstory on how we assembled everything.

We first attached the front of the leaf springs to the brackets and tightened the bolts up until the bushings compressed tight.

We then dragged the rear end under the car and set it on the springs.

We then lifted the rear of the leafs (with the housing sitting on the leafs) to the rear brackets and inserted the bolts and tightened them down until the bushings compressed tight.

We then mounted up the rear end to the shock brackets and pads and tightened all bolts down.

I then subsequently read that everything should not be tightened until the car was sitting on the ground under load. My question is...if I simply loosen all bushing bolts will this help the springs and bushings give some and maybe settle a little more? Is it as simple as that? Should I put a little pressure from my own weight on the rear as the bolts are loose to give the bushings some help? Or will the weight of the car itself be enough? It seems to me that this can be done safely while laying under the car, just don't remove any of the bolts.

My car is basically a skeleton right now. No engine, tranny, gas tank, interior, doors, fenders, hood, trunk lid, is installed. Simply a subframe up front on tires. I know that this is a lot of weight removed from the car but it still looks very unnatural and it worries me a little bit.

Before we removed the rear end and old springs the car was sitting pretty low in the rear and was sagged a little on the passenger side. But this was in a skeletonized state as well.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks for reading,
Mark D.

Which year bird? Mono or multi leafs?
The car should settle once you start putting parts on. We had the same worries when we were at your stage in the restoration. I would wait until you get every thing assembled before you adjust height (JMO). Yes, the shackels should be tightend once you have full weight on.

Thanks for the quick reply. It is a '67 with monos. So, the height can be adjusted at any time?

Mark D.

There is little to no adjustment on height. I ordered new "original height" springs, and after installation, the car sat very high. (check out my photobucket)

We did loosen everything on the '67 after getting the engine back in, but I'd say at most it dropped a half inch.

I'll have to get used to the higher ride.

I took her for her first spin yesterday, and I must say the suspension felt very nice compared to my original '68.

From what I have read here, I'll give it a year or two to see if she settles any more.

You are speaking of the gold vert, correct?

Beautiful car! I love the Rally I's with the redlines.

Thank you. It's been a lot of work, but it's a keeper for sure.

I'm having the front end aligned tomorrow. It's a bit all over the road after the new suspension was installed.

Another thing.....each leaf springs had a single small circular piece of metal zip tied to the rear bushing housing.

Is this a spacer, and if so, what side was this supposed to be placed?

I have seen pictures of similar mono-leafs that had 2 of these circular metal pieces zip tied to the leaf. Was I supposed to have received 2 of these for each leaf.....one for each bushing?

Sorry for all of the questions, just want to make sure I have everything that is needed.

Thanks,
Mark D.

Update.......I loosened the bolts to the shackles and front eye bolts. I moved the rear up and down while I was under it to make sure the shackles were moving toward the rear of the car instead of toward the front. Everything checked out. The springs had more give under my weight than previously when the bolts were tightened while up on jack stands.

I then placed 300 lbs. of black beauty in the trunk. Hopefully this will make the springs settle some, but I'm not sure it will do any good.

Mark D.