I will be replacing my leafs soon on the 69, any suggestions as to mono or multi leaf. the car originally came with the mono leafs, want to get it back to original height or an inch higher than stock. what would be best for the buck.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also any suggestions on a company to go with when i get ready to purchase.

What are you using the car for? How important is handling?

I was just getting ready to post the same question..im also in need of advice on this matter.My son and i are working on a 68 Camaro, what would you guys recomend the 4 leaf or 5 leaf? The original was mono leaf. I would like to also lift the back end up higher then original..everyone i have asked says i would have to buy new u-bolts, shock extenders, and that i would have to make a plate to fill in the gap that i would be left with,because of the differance from mono to multi. ...*Handling would not be an issue for me..
The car would only be drivin on the weekends

Also can i get some pointers on the "best" and proper way to remove and replace the leaf springs? in detail...and what i would have to buy to complete this job u-bolts,shock extenders? i can make the shock extenders?...Thank-you in advance for any sugestions or comments. :thumbsup:

I am going through this exact same thing myself. I have a post going on it too... As far as detailed instructions, I would pick up a manual for your car. It has thousands of good bits of info on our cars! Any restoration book by Ron Sessions I would recommend as well. Check on Amazon or ebay for a good deal on the book(s). My car originally came with mono springs and I upgraded to 5 leaf multi's (used) back when I put in this last rear axle assembly. Now I am about to add a different axle with posi, so I thought it would be a great time to add the rear suspension parts... If you are wanting to switch from mono to multi, I would recommend the all inclusive kit. I have seen atleast a dozen different companies selling them. I think I am going to go through NPD (National Parts Depot) To raise the back end up a little, I am going with the heavy duty 4 leaf springs. I considered the standard 5 leaf springs, but I plan to build a mean 383 or 400 engine in the near future and want the support.
Try a google search for "69 camaro leaf springs" then plan on spending hours at the computer reading ;)

Dano

I would check with these guys: http://www.eatonsprings.com/
They have all the factory data and can vary the design to suit.

For a better handling car, I like a three leaf spring, but they lower the car over stock height. The three-leaf fits better in the mono perch than a thicker four or five leaf. Try to convert to a multi leaf shock plate, or use the extenders on your shocks.

To remove the springs, jack up the car and put it on stands, I use the 8 ton stands from harbor freight. Get 4 stands, put two on the front frame rails just ahead of the sway bar. Put two near the front leaf mounts, I like to get the car as high as possible to allow easy roll-around on a garage creeper without bumping my nose on the bottom of the car. Nothing's worse than having the car too low.

with the rear axle hanging on the springs, remove the lower spring plates after disconnecting the lower ends of the shocks. Raise the rear axle off the springs by jacking it up a little, put two jack stands under the housing. It's easier if you replace the springs one at a time. Remove the rear shackle and lay the rear end of the spring on the floor, then remove the front three spring bracket bolts, and drop the front of the spring with it's bracket.

Be very careful with the front bolts, they have captured J nuts that sometimes strip and the bolt will spin around and not come off. If this happens, grind the heads off the bad bolts and drop the leaf.

If you have a 67 Camaro, get four half inch thick U bolts to replace the 8 T bolts. 67 perches have been known to crack welds and even tear off. An oil leak in the area of the perch indicates a perch that is cracked in the weld to the tube.

All good info from Dave as usual.
The only thing I'd add is to remember ... these are 35+ y.o. spring and have settled.
They're are a few guys here running JCWhitney 3 leaves (mono replacement) and love them.
Really depends on what you want from the car, pro touring,street/strip,or weekend cruiser.

On my last 68 Camaro, I ran mono-leafs with a comparable setup to what I have now, only a little less oomph with the 327ci. The back was a little too soft, especially with 2 people riding in the back seat. Running solo was ok though. A good anti-sway bar in the back would have been a huge impreovement along with some stiffer shocks to slow roll motion.

On my current 68, I converted from mono-leaf to a 4 pack multi-leaf. By itself it was a little on the stiff side but didn't sit too high. I think I was happiest with this configuration in the corners even without an anti-sway bar.

Now, however, with the multi-leaf and lift bars, the back is entirely too stiff and sat much higher (had to reduce my shackle length to bring it back down). The lift bars fight each other and work similar to an anti-sway bar in the corners for relatively quick cornering... under anything but accelleration or decelleration. Gassing or braking puts the car into an immediate drift!

I hear of a lot of success running 300-350lb springs on the rear with good dampening and some form of releaseable traction control for braking. I am fabricating a set of Caltrac's style bars to replace my lift bars in the hopes that I soften up a little - I suspect these may hurt my ability to power out of a corner though..

They look like this ... anyone with experience?

http://www.4secondsflat.com/caltracsbar.jpg

thanks for the response guys, this car will be mainly driven on weekends & occasionally during the week. the car is a base 1969 camaro that came with the mono leafs. these springs are sagging (from age of course).just want to get it back to original or slightly higher ride height. did not really wanna go thru conversion from mono to multi unless its necessary. the car will just be a cruiser, it has the original 307 2 brl. 3 spd in floor, i will probably replace that motor with a 350 or a 383 in the future, just wanna make sure i get the right spring so i dont have to replace them again when new motor goes in.
thanks.