I removed my single leaf springs and installed the Hotchkis four leaf sport package on my 67. It is suppose to lower the rear of the car 1 to 2 inches. Also installed Eldelbrock performer IAS schocks. Now when I hit a bump the rear end or something hits. It also rides very stiff in the back. Do I need to have shock extenders on my shocks? I thought this would be a great upgrade to my car but sofar it's not. When I bought the car it had these big home made shackles that jacked the rear end up and looked like crap. Would putting a slightly longer shackle help with the hitting on bumps? I also put on the Hotchkis subframe connectors while it was in the paint shop but the problem was befor the connectors. I want a lower stance and a smooth ride. Any advice would be nice.
Put some tie-wraps tightly around the shaft of the rear shocks and push them up against the body of the shock, then go for a drive over some bumps. If the tie-wraps are now down at the bottom of the shaft, your shocks are bottoming out. If not, look for shiny spots under the car around suspected contact points. You can put duct tape in those areas to see if you are indeed getting contact.
Lowering the car while keeping the suspension from bottoming out requires higher spring rates, which will result in a harsher ride. You may not be able to have both a good stance and a good ride. Do you know what the spring rate is for your new springs (e.g. 225lbs/in)?
Not sure what the spring rate is. I looked on their website and found nothing. Have to see if there is anything with the paper work that came with them. I had read that if you went from mono leaf to multi leaf you had to use shock extenders but the shocks seemed to fit fine without them. I have only been able to put a few miles on it. It went from the rear end shop to paint and Just got it back Wed. from having a new interior installed. Today is the first day I have had a chance to get out to the shop. I will check to see if I can tell where it is hitting and if shocks seem to long. Thanks
