i installed what was supposed to be 1.5" drop leafs by hotchkis on my 69 and they bolt up however, the rear shackles are on an angle pointing forward and the rear spring eyes are riding against the frame rails. i hope that discription makes sense. it occured to me that they may be the wrong springs (too short??) or is this how they actually bolt up? any help would be greatly appreciated

i was only aware that hotchkis made 1.5" leafs for first gens...

ur right. sorry i was thinkin of the fronts. the rears are 1.5" drop springs. thanx for the correction.....any insite on the problem though??

try a search, use the advanced in suspension.

This was talked about, for sure, in the past year, but I don't recall the solution, mighta been something silly like "they straightened out ewith some wieght on it."

Search for "hotchkiss frame"

did you tighten everything with the car on the ground...i know i had problems with things ligning up but when the car was on the everything went into place

I just put them on my 69and the shackels are almost straight down. Sounds like something is wrong.

i assumed that the shackle should be about strait up and down and that was a sign. additionally when i test fitted the wheels they look to be too far forward in the wheel well. this is how they bolted on without the diff. or any weight on them. nothing is tightened completely yet.....they must be the wrong springs???

yup, they could be the wrong springs
a while ago hotchkis had a bad batch

give hotchkis a call they can give you the measurements to see if you got the wrong ones, they will replace them no problem if you got the wrong ones

You need to put the weight of the differential on the springs. Once the weight is on the leaf springs they will straighten the shackles back to their original position. Don't tighten the shackle bolts until the weight of the car is on them. Then torque them to 40 to 60 ft.lbs.

I would have thought the same thing but the car is on the ground right now and nothing is tightened but those springs are still lookin odd......thanks everyone for your help. i think im gonna call hotchkis and see what they say.

yup, they could be the wrong springs
a while ago hotchkis had a bad batch



Or the shackles are too short.