info on leaf springs

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87fox72mach

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My Car
1995 firebird rebuilt motor 5 spd dail driver
1987 grand wagoneer plow truck
1987 mustang lx 5.0 work custom engine bay and paint
1972 mach 1 project
Ok im looking at new leafs but i cant find any clear reccomendation for what i want for my car. 72 q code going to have about 450 horse nice weather cruiser and show car . I want the rear end of the car to be slightiy higher than frnt to give it that old school look! Any input im looking at cjs 4 leaf replacement but not sure of stance.

 
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Ok im looking at new leafs but i cant find any clear reccomendation for what i want for my car. 72 q code going to have about 450 horse nice weather cruiser and show car . I want the rear end of the car to be slightiy higher than frnt to give it that old school look! Any input im looking at cjs 4 leaf replacement but not sure of stance.
Sounds like you're trying for the same look I am.I have not put mine in yet,but I went with 429 springs,extra front clamp to help with spring wrap up,1" longer shackle kit from M.U. I know just new springs will be a perk up from the tired originals,but I figured I'd try the 1" longer shackles & if it was too much,I could just use the new bolts & bushings in the original shackles.

 
Any pictures austin? I keep hearing 5s will be a much rougher ride on the street

 
Rake 2 - l.jpgRake 4 - .JPGHi 87 Fox,

See my pics as you requested. Yes, the 5 leaf setup does give you a firmer, stiffer ride, but not enough to cause conflicting problems that you can't put up with. I must say though, that i installed a rear sway bar as well but ended up taking it off as it made the ride way too stiff and hard.Watch out for your choice of rear shocks as well. I went for a Pedder's brand standard gas shock.(not factory standard). I tried KYB sports shocks and took them off as they were way too hard a ride as well. (Rear wheels - 295/50/15 Mastercraft on 8x15 Magnum 500's.) With the sports shocks, and rear swaybar combo, and the 5 leaf all together, i would have ended up needing back spinal surgery as she was a real bone jarrer!

I'm happy with my ride now. (Not too hard, not too soft.) Giddyup, Lil' Pony!::beer::

Thanks,

Greg:)

Rake 1 - .jpg

Rake 3 - .JPG

 
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Hello 87fox72mach.

According to this book, How to Make Your Car Handle by Fred Puhn, It is recommended to replace the leaf springs with the same rate and load. If you want to lower or up the height, then you would choose the front mounting eye, either upwards per factory, straight line or reversed. The area to improve on is the sway bar and shock absorbers. I would recommend checking out Eaton Detroit Springs. They have some darn good information regarding front and rear springs.

How to Make Your Car Handle by Fred Puhn: http://books.google.com/books?id=cr4IyD5l1NQC&source=gbs_similarbooks

Eaton Detroit Springs

http://eatonsprings.com/64-73mustangrear.html

mustang7173

 
Hi 87 Fox,

See my pics as you requested. Yes, the 5 leaf setup does give you a firmer, stiffer ride, but not enough to cause conflicting problems that you can't put up with. I must say though, that i installed a rear sway bar as well but ended up taking it off as it made the ride way too stiff and hard.Watch out for your choice of rear shocks as well. I went for a Pedder's brand standard gas shock.(not factory standard). I tried KYB sports shocks and took them off as they were way too hard a ride as well. (Rear wheels - 295/50/15 Mastercraft on 8x15 Magnum 500's.) With the sports shocks, and rear swaybar combo, and the 5 leaf all together, i would have ended up needing back spinal surgery as she was a real bone jarrer!

I'm happy with my ride now. (Not too hard, not too soft.) Giddyup, Lil' Pony!::beer::

Thanks,

Greg:)
Love the rear view of those back tires,Greg, BEEFY !:cool:
 
Agreed those pics are sweet love the stance !

 
Thanks very much Kermit and 87 for your kind words. It means a lot.

I don't know if the word raked is used in America any more to describe a car that has the rear jacked up higher than the front. I seem to recall that word being in vogue many years ago.(Starsky & Hutch's Torino/ Sixties TV Batmobile/Aloha Bobby & Rose Camaro to name a few good lookers from the past)

Anyway, iv'e always liked and preferred American cars with that high end stance. I think it's a real cool look indeed.Hope my feeback helped and thanks guys again.

Greg:)

 
Greg...great looking car with a nice "rake". I am in the same boat trying to figure out what rear setup to go with on my Mach. Which KYB's did you try that were too stiff?

Jeff

Thanks very much Kermit and 87 for your kind words. It means a lot.

I don't know if the word raked is used in America any more to describe a car that has the rear jacked up higher than the front. I seem to recall that word being in vogue many years ago.(Starsky & Hutch's Torino/ Sixties TV Batmobile/Aloha Bobby & Rose Camaro to name a few good lookers from the past)

Anyway, iv'e always liked and preferred American cars with that high end stance. I think it's a real cool look indeed.Hope my feeback helped and thanks guys again.

Greg:)
 
Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your kind words also. I bought KYB Gas Adjusts all round but found them too hard for my personal liking.I think the main thing to bare in mind here is that when it comes to the ride, it comes down to a personal preference thing. We all know that it's a trade off between handling and ride.I made the mistake of going crazy on the hanling side and so sacrificed ride. ( too hard). My Mustang handled like a dream around corners, but felt like i was driving a cement mixer. I had to go back to the start again and rethink the whole thing through from scratch.

Some guys prefer a soft ride while others want and don't mind a firmer, harder ride.

Unfortunately, i think one has to experiment until you find what suits yourself in that regard. It took me a fair amount of money and time with different combinations before i ended up being happy with both my handling and ride together. You can read books and take all the advice in the world, but in the end, it's how happy and satisfied you are with your suspension that matters.

By the way, i used rubber shackle bushes and not poly when i set up my 5 leaf rear springs.

Thanks,

Greg:)

 
Thanks Greg...the info helps. Will probably steer away from the gas adjusts as I have seen several others say they are too stiff.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your kind words also. I bought KYB Gas Adjusts all round but found them too hard for my personal liking.I think the main thing to bare in mind here is that when it comes to the ride, it comes down to a personal preference thing. We all know that it's a trade off between handling and ride.I made the mistake of going crazy on the hanling side and so sacrificed ride. ( too hard). My Mustang handled like a dream around corners, but felt like i was driving a cement mixer. I had to go back to the start again and rethink the whole thing through from scratch.

Some guys prefer a soft ride while others want and don't mind a firmer, harder ride.

Unfortunately, i think one has to experiment until you find what suits yourself in that regard. It took me a fair amount of money and time with different combinations before i ended up being happy with both my handling and ride together. You can read books and take all the advice in the world, but in the end, it's how happy and satisfied you are with your suspension that matters.

By the way, i used rubber shackle bushes and not poly when i set up my 5 leaf rear springs.

Thanks,

Greg:)
 
I just put the Gas A Just shocks on my car with stock springs and the ride is firm but I would say far from harsh. I could see the ride being harsh with stiffer springs though. I drove it today for the first time for any kind of distance with the new shocks and love the ride, even on crappy Michigan roads.

 
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Hey guys, I need to replace my 40 year old leafsprings as the ride seems to be getting bouncier. Any recomendations? I want to use 5 leaf and keep the stock height, but a lot of people say the car will rise a little with new leafsprings. I like the low profile look now because the old leafsprings are saggy, so I was told to order them with one inch drop and standard shackles. Any idea's if that makes sense? Any difference going for 5 leafs instead of 4? Any particular brand? I heard Scott Drake is good.

Thanks,

 
I recently changed out my 40 year old sprimgs with new JLS (I think it was JLS?) 4-leaf springs, and doing so raised my rear end a little more than 2 inches... But my car had a severe case of the rear end droop. I was bottoming out on small bumps. So I may have been saging more than yours to begin with.

 
Hey guys, I need to replace my 40 year old leafsprings as the ride seems to be getting bouncier. Any recomendations? I want to use 5 leaf and keep the stock height, but a lot of people say the car will rise a little with new leafsprings. I like the low profile look now because the old leafsprings are saggy, so I was told to order them with one inch drop and standard shackles. Any idea's if that makes sense? Any difference going for 5 leafs instead of 4? Any particular brand? I heard Scott Drake is good.

Thanks,
I got mine as a kit from Laurel Mountain Mustang and I'm happy with them and the price.

Doc

 
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