I am going to put the subframe back together on a 67 vert this weekend and would like to lower it an inch or two. Is cutting the coil at the top a little OK and on the rear I have mono leaf springs, can those be de-arched to match the front and how do I tell someone how much to de-arch them to lower it the amount I need?
I am trying to lower it with out having to buy all new springs, spindles and leaf springs.
Can you just block the springs away from the axle to lower the rear?
Thanks
Eldon

Yes, you can cut the coils with a cutoff wheel. Try not to get them too hot. Perhaps a half coil at a time till you get where you want to be.
It's worth noting that the stock springs are about half the rate of new lowering springs, they are also of course very old. The car will have a much greater tendency to bottom out or scrape than it would with a new set of 600 lb/inch hotchkiss springs.

In the back, lowing blocks are "kinda ok." I say kinda because the mono perches are very shallow. It would make me somewhat nervous to space the spring completely out of the perch. I would have this (probably unfounded) fear of a hard corner spitting the axle right out the side of the car. If you do this, be sure at least that you end up with locators solidly connecting from the spring, thru the block, and into a centering hole in the perch.

In the back, lowing blocks are "kinda ok." I say kinda because the mono perches are very shallow. It would make me somewhat nervous to space the spring completely out of the perch. I would have this (probably unfounded) fear of a hard corner spitting the axle right out the side of the car. If you do this, be sure at least that you end up with locators solidly connecting from the spring, thru the block, and into a centering hole in the perch.


Eldon -

I don't know if you have the leafs out of the car, but...

I agree with Jim that lowering blocks are kind of okay, as long as everything is securely attached. No t-bolts or regular bolts for sure, I would want graded U-bolts on both positions on both sides.

But, the OE monoleafs and OE spring perches do not have any kind of centering pin/bolt/hole, so you'd have to drill some holes in the springs and perches, install a modified bolt, and leave the rubber isolators out.

Re-arching/de-arching seems to be hit or miss. Some guys get leafs arched and are happy; the OE 4-leafs on my 68 were rearched by the previous owner and it didn't "last". The rear sagged again, and the ride quality seemed worse than with springs that had not been touched.

Is there any chance you can post some pics of the way the car sat before you disassembled, so we know where you're starting from?

Up front, cutting coils is fine as long as you do them right (like Jim said). The only problem is that you do have to cut a little at a time, and fitting and removing can get to be a pain. Then, after all that, they are still pretty soft.

Good lowering springs are not too expensive, and might be a good choice depending on how the car sat before and how you want it to sit now.

This supports what's been mentioned already, but goes a tad further:

"An alternative is to cut the original springs, but bear in mind that while this lowers the ride height, it also increases the spring rate, which increases ride stiffness. This isn't necessarily bad, since increasing spring rate also tends to improve handling. If you opt to go this route, make sure to use a chop saw with an abrasive cut-off wheel that can cut through the coil relatively quickly. Coils are nothing more than wound steel wire, so the added time of cutting one with a torch can subject it to enough heat to weaken the steel and cause the spring to sag. Finally, only cut the coil in quarter-coil increments and trial fit them. This method can become time consuming, but it's the only way to monitor the exact ride height you'll end up with. Cut too much and you'll be buying new springs."

For my money, I'd buy a nice new shiny set of front springs for $122-$150, hands down..before I'd even think about trying to cut them. One thing that ^ snippet doesn't mention is that it is "thought" that if you cut 1/2" height off a spring...that you'll more likely be lowering the car 1"-1.5". There are other article to support this theory.

Again, do it right...buy new springs, imho.

Also what I have read in other posts is to stay away from the drop spindles. Do a search on them. I went with Eibach's.

I hate it when you hear back what you suspected all along.
The car had a ride height of 2" into the ground with weeds growing through the trunk and floor broards.
The previous owner dismantled the car COMPLETELY and then tossed everything in old paint buckets with no holes in them and then put them in the rain for good measure. If it didn't rain I'm sure he filled the buckets with water to keep the parts rusting until it could rain. I am not bitter!!
I am saving this car and it just came off the rotisserie and has no parts on it yet. So I will be putting the subframe toghether with no car attached.

I guess I will just buy the parts and not be a cheap so and so.
Is two inches about right? It seems that that is what I see all the time.
Can you get lowering leaf springs?
Thanks
Eldon
I will post pictures as it comes toghether.

You made me laugh! The things we will do to save another one of these 1st gens....:)

Again, how much to "lower" is pretty subjective, and really depends on overall plans for the car. In the weeds (not literally, like your car was when you started) is cool looking, but can create some practical problems like banging headers/exhaust on the ground, weird suspension geometry to correct, etc.

Search Moog 6308 and 6320 on here; both are OE replacement type coil springs that give a little lower front stance, and I recall their being plenty of pics.

Eibach springs are advertised as 1" drop, but most guys report a little less, and they are stiffer than OE by 120-150 lb/in or so. I did Eibachs on my small block 68, and I still had 1.5 inches or so between the top of the tire (205/70 14) and the fender lip.

The 2" drop springs like Hotchkis or Global West are stiffer yet, up in the neighborhood of 600 lb/in.

Nice thing about using the Hotchkis spings is that they make "matching" rear leafs. Search here for Hotchkis, a lot of guys have them. Kevin (dbx1969) just did Hotchkis on his 69 and there should be some before and after.

I cut almost 1 coil off my springs, and it dropped way too much. I didn't have the engine in the car, and got impatient... so now I'll probably end up doing it again.

there was a good lowering thread here somewhere; if I find it, I'll post back a link.

Eibach springs are advertised as 1" drop, but most guys report a little less, ....

It seems that many people experience either less or more drop than expected when using ANY drop spring combo...from what I've read and what I found when asking before doing mine. I was one of the lucky ones, and got within 1/16" of what I hoped for.

Nice thing about using the Hotchkis spings is that they make "matching" rear leafs. Search here for Hotchkis, a lot of guys have them. Kevin (dbx1969) just did Hotchkis on his 69 and there should be some before and after.

I actually used Eibach 1" drop for my front springs (personal choice for stance and to keep from replacing long comp headers). I used a 1-1/8" Hotchkis anti-sway bar, and Hotchkis 1.5" drop rear leafs. Here's a before & after pic from another thread. The pics aren't perfect for comparison, but should give you some idea: http://www.camaros.net/forums/showpost.php?p=900776&postcount=8

Thanks for the pics. My 68 z has the stance of the first picture and I like the look of the other for this vert. I will look into the parts you named.

Thanks
Eldon