So heres a question. II’m trying to get the rear ride hieght correct. So I looked up the AMA specs and it says 8.10†at the rear rocker panel bottom. The springs right now are flat...horizontal. No curve at all. I let all the air out of the air shocks, and the ride height is perfect to AMA spec, 8.10â€. If I buy stock height springs wouldn’t that raise the car up above the current 8.10 it is now with flat springs? It doesn’t make sense that the ride hieght is correct with flat springs.
Btw. Car is dead level now front to back at 27†from the floor to top of well.
Last edited by ReverendRW; 11/12/1910:18 PM. Reason: Will also replace those awful air shocks.
'68 400HO Coupe, 4 spd, 259 interior, Windward Blue. My other car's a Johnson 15 outboard on a '61 Starcraft rowboat... Just sayin'.
Nope, stock shackles. Even the original tires were the same diameter as the current tires.... I just cant figure this out. No lowering blocks, no long shackles, it's really baffling me. Here's the stance now. Flat original leaf springs, no air in the shocks. 27" from ground to well apex.
'68 400HO Coupe, 4 spd, 259 interior, Windward Blue. My other car's a Johnson 15 outboard on a '61 Starcraft rowboat... Just sayin'.
You got me curious. I did some rough measurements. Rough, in that I used a tape and did it quick, rounding to closest quarter inch. Can't say they are horizontal because the rear shackle is so much higher off the floor but my leafs do not have much of bow in them.
My rear rocker is almost 9" from the floor. Close enough to AMA specs to look correct but provides a bit more clearance. I have F70 X 14 repro Firestones and the five leaf spring. I believe now that a four leaf is possibly more correct for my model but they were replaced decades ago.
Using the top of the main leaf for reference; the front of the leaf near the shackle is 8" from the floor, the leaf as it leaves the axle mounting is 11" off the ground and the leaf as it enters the rear shackle is 15 1/2 high. Edit: And here is a photo:
That's about how mine was sitting before leaf spring replacement - They were flat also and when I pulled them out, they came apart in several pieces from years of corrosion.
Take a pic of your leafspring sitting in the axle mounting perch from the rear. (Similar to wha Jimc2002 posted, but 90degrees so we can see how the spring is sandwiched). Maybe that'll give a clue.
I'm fairly sure in the stock condition, there's a rubber pad above and below the spring pack. You don't seem to have the top one. But that would only account for maybe 1/4".
I just noticed that I'm missing half of the two bottom leafs on the passenger side spring photo (showing the wheel).... I'd say it's def time for the spring change!
'68 400HO Coupe, 4 spd, 259 interior, Windward Blue. My other car's a Johnson 15 outboard on a '61 Starcraft rowboat... Just sayin'.
I just noticed that I'm missing half of the two bottom leafs on the passenger side spring photo (showing the wheel).... I'd say it's def time for the spring change!
I focused on the 2nd picture, so I didn't notice what was happening in the other views. Geez!