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C1 & C2 Corvette Open Discussion General and technical C1 & C2 Corvette discussion - ownership, maintenance, repairs, modifications, restoration

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Old 11-03-2023, 2:17pm   #1
StudleyJames
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Default 1967 Rear Leaf spring (replaced)

My 67 L68 rear (original) leaf sping looks brand new (cleaned, new pads, and painted gray).

I have had to purchase new non stock strut rod bolts (5" lg) for the car sit level

My qustion is:
This winter I will be removing the diff and trans, should I have the main leaf of spring re-curved? It looks almost flat when the car sits on the ground, has some arch but not much
Do not want to go fiberglass
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Old 11-03-2023, 2:50pm   #2
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Originally Posted by StudleyJames View Post
My 67 L68 rear (original) leaf sping looks brand new (cleaned, new pads, and painted gray).

I have had to purchase new non stock strut rod bolts (5" lg) for the car sit level

My qustion is:
This winter I will be removing the diff and trans, should I have the main leaf of spring re-curved? It looks almost flat when the car sits on the ground, has some arch but not much
Do not want to go fiberglass
Mine has a liitle bow but not much. My BB rides good. How does your car
ride? I would leave your springs alone ,if the ride is good.
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Old 11-03-2023, 2:55pm   #3
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Mine has a liitle bow but not much. My BB rides good. How does your car
ride? I would leave your springs alone ,if the ride is good.
The ride is good, but the bolts look funny being so short
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Old 11-03-2023, 4:55pm   #4
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The ride is good, but the bolts look funny being so short
Run longer bolts ,if you are worried.
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Old 11-06-2023, 9:52am   #5
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Run longer bolts ,if you are worried.
I put shorter bolts in so the car would sit level, how is putting longer bolts back in going solve anything?

My question was should I have the spring re curved or buy a new one (non fiberglass)
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Old 11-06-2023, 3:24pm   #6
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I put shorter bolts in so the car would sit level, how is putting longer bolts back in going solve anything?

My question was should I have the spring re curved or buy a new one (non fiberglass)
You felt uneasy with short bolts. My suggestion run longer bolts for
peace of mind. No I dont see the need to recurve the spring. Short or long as
long as you have enough bolt thread to level your car, you are ok.
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Old 11-06-2023, 3:39pm   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roadpilot View Post
You felt uneasy with short bolts. My suggestion run longer bolts for
peace of mind. No I dont see the need to recurve the spring. Short or long as
long as you have enough bolt thread to level your car, you are ok.
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Old 11-06-2023, 3:52pm   #8
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You guys are missing my point, with stock length bolts the car "squats" so I put in 5" long grade 8 bolts and now the car sits level. I replace the bushing also.

The spring "looks fine" but something has to be wrong where the stock length bolts won't work.

My guess the spring is weak, so should I have it re "curved"? or buy new?
(its the original BB spring with 45,000 miles on it)
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Old 11-06-2023, 6:02pm   #9
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Just buy a new one. Local spring shops should have the original specs
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Old 11-24-2023, 5:29pm   #10
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If you are convinced you need a new spring look into Eaton Springs - and be leery of re'arching, it is a big deal....it requires heat and annealing the springs and ain't cheap if done right. Personally, if you have the car sitting level I'd leave it be; read the attachment for the process of re-arching.
Attached Files
Eaton_Spring.pdf (1.58 MB, 1 views)
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Old 05-03-2024, 8:45am   #11
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Update: I purchased a spring from Eaton (was a pain in the butt to disassemble and paint gray) car now sits perfectly level with the correct length trailing arm bolts with castle nuts, ride is smooth.

Only grip is I had to re use my other spring's liners because the one on the new Eaton spring did not stick out enough

Question, I removed the two outer bands (when I took the spring apart for painting). Do I re install them or toss them? my other spring did not have them
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Old 06-07-2024, 8:17am   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StudleyJames View Post
Update: I purchased a spring from Eaton (was a pain in the butt to disassemble and paint gray) car now sits perfectly level with the correct length trailing arm bolts with castle nuts, ride is smooth.

Only grip is I had to re use my other spring's liners because the one on the new Eaton spring did not stick out enough

Question, I removed the two outer bands (when I took the spring apart for painting). Do I re install them or toss them? my other spring did not have them
I am always reluctant when throwing away old parts esp vette parts.
Throw it away then your looking for a part later and you will say
I should not of thrown that part away.
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