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Hotchkis Leaf Springs

13K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  Hotchkis 
#1 ·
I ordered my new Hotchkiss Multi Leaf Springs today from JEGS for my 67 RS/SS.
Whoever restored the car in the 80's put fiberglass mono springs on it and they really sag bad.
I plan on installing them in the next couple of weeks when I get a little free time. i will let you know how they ride.
Pirate
 
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#4 ·
hmm, they ride great I think, but I have Hotchkis front springs and sway bars to match. They will probably seem like you are driving a truck if you have stock soft springs and the stiff Hotchkis rear springs.
Plus like David said, my car is about 2" lower.

I hope you are replacing the front springs or are ready for the reverse rake.
 
#7 ·
I have been shopping around and looking at the different springs out there and I think for the money Hotchkiss is the best.
Funds are limited so if after I put the rear springs on, if the ride isn't right I will change the front to Hotchkiss and go from the there.
I have been reading the threads on this subject for some time and I believe these springs will give me the look and ride I want.
 
#10 ·
We got the rear springs on last weekend and the car rides nice, but they only lowered the rear about 1/2 inch so it really didnt change the stance much. It was very easy to do, only took about 3 hours to take old mono's off and replace with new 1 1/2 inch lowering Hotchkis Multi Leafs. All we had to do to get them to fit was trim the rubber gaskets to fit in the bracketts and drill the holes bigger for the new U-bolts. I am planning on replacing the front next with shorter springs, thinking about using the 2 inch lowering Hotchkis front springs. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.
Pirate
 
#11 ·
Good to hear. Make sure you torque down the bolts after the cars weight was back on the ground. The fronts were no problem. But i installed new upper and lower ball joints and all Bushings, so it took a little longer then the rears. And again make sure the cars weight is on the ground be for you torque down the bolts.
 
#12 ·
Thanks Skip
I have a question on the springs and the A-Arms for the front .Can I just replace the springs to lower the car and use the original A-Arms ? or do I need to spend the $800.00 on the new Arms. I am going to change out the upper and lower ball joints and all bushings also. Not planing on changing the sway bars but might do tie rods.
 
#13 ·
Just us your stock A-Arms.....Make sure the springs are in the right position and double check it, it should be in the grove of the A-Arm at the end of the spring.

Has the back lowered any, maybe loosen the bolts and push up and down then tighten back up.
 
#14 ·
Hotchkis tunes their springs for high performance use. The front rate is twice what stock is, (600) and the rear is pretty close to twice stock too. Springs don't have a large effect on body roll angle, but do have a lot to to with front rise and dive as well as rear squat and rise under acceleration and braking.

If your car has below 400 horsepower, and uses regular sized tires and wheels, the need for springs this stiff is not all that great, the rear leafs can be used, which will control any wheel hop problems, but softer front coils may be a better choice for a smoother ride. The Moog 6308 (380 lbs) is a favorite among members here and works well for a small block Camaro, some heavier cars and 69's prefer a 6320, which will sit around 1/2" higher.

Check the sticky thread on springs for more info.

Stock arms work fine, tubular uppers allow setting more positive camber, which will help cornering, a nice improvement. either way, align the car to have as much positive caster as you can achieve, usually +3 or +3.5 with stock arms, and .25 to .5 degree neg camber. If you drive on the freeway most of the time use .25, if you drive a twisty road now and then the .5 works better. The Guldstrand mod is also a good mod, but if you aren't into cornering hard, it is optional.

I'd still get the Hotchkis front and rear anti roll bars to balance the handling.
David
 
#15 ·
Hey David and Skip
I appreciate your help. The Moog 6308 springs sound like what I'm looking for.
And the price is a lot better also. In the part catalogs they say that the Hotchkis Springs are 2 inch lowering springs. Do you guys know how much the Moog 6308's will be ? 1 1/2 or 2 inchs ? I would like for the car to sit a little lower in the front than the back.
Bryan
 
#16 ·
I'm not sure about the Moog springs, but yes the Hotchkis is 2" lowering and stiff. I know some people are running coil over springs but they do the job and cost a few more bucks. I just ran the 2" Hotchkis lowering springs with a cheep set of KYB (soft) and its still stiff.
 
#21 ·
I wanted to make a comment on ride quality of the Hotchkis drop springs based strictly my own experience which is with Koni shocks. With the Koni's on the lighest dampening setting the ride is not harsh or stiff in any way. The car handles and rides like a dream for a street driven vehicle. If I adjust the shock to a firmer dampening it quickly takes on the ride quality of a truck. I have no doubt that out on a race track it would handle better with the heaver dampened setting.

I don't remember hearing anyone using Hotchkis springs with KYB's not saying the ride is stiff. I have a friend that just installed new multi's and coils (I believe Classic Ind's stock replacements) and is running KYB shocks and he's completely happy with his 68's ride quality. All that said the shock has to complement the spring for them to work together the best. I believe the Hotchkis springs require the more expensive Koni or specially dampened Bilsteins Hotchkis sells if you want to get the most out of them...

DHH - can you take a couple measurments for us? From the fender lip down to the center of the wheel front and back would allow us to compare say with my car which also has the Hotchkis drop springs. From your pic there sure is a lot of exposed tire below the fender lip front and rear which could be the difference in tires and wheels. Here's a shot of mine which looks so much lower than yours...

Front measures: +-1/8" of 12" center of hub to fender lip.
Rear measure: +-1/8" of 12 1/2" center of hub to fender lip. (no upper pad installed which would have made it about 3/16" lower.)

By the way your car looks great. :thumbsup:

 
#22 ·
Keep in mind that I have P235/60r14's on the car but it's 15-1/2" from the lip to the center of the cap on the front and 14-1/8" on the rear. Thanks for the compliments guys, your rides look great too. I am in the middle of a snowball project. I was just going to swap engines. Then I noticed the missing bolt in the trans pan, and the washers to make the 400 crossmember work with the 2004R. I'm learning to weld so I plan to weld some 1" square tubing in to replace the washer and helicoil the pan. As long as I had the motor and trans out I thought I'd install one of Undercover Inovations firewall plates to clean up the mess. In 5 years it's the first time I noticed (or anyone else) the blower cover was brutally hacked off and the mess is still under the passenger fender. When I pulled the kick panel and ductwork out I found out the panel had been glued in with some kind of putty and there was a couple of pounds of mouse nest in the ductwork on the interior side of the blower. I got it from a body man, so she's pretty but everytime I do an upgrade I have to fix whatever the upgrade attaches too.
Still I love this car.:thumbsup:
 
#23 ·
Hey David or anyone else who might know.
What type of internal spring compressor can I use to remove the old springs and put in my new Hotchkiss Springs. I have a internal spring compressor but it is to large and will not fit throug the opening in the bottom of the A-Arm. The opening is 1 1/2 inch by 2 inchs. Thanks, Bryan
 
#24 ·
Hey everyone
I finally got the new disc brakes from Right Stuff installed on the car along with the new front Hotchkiss Springs with a 2" drop. I put new Koni shocks on front and rear and I am getting ready to put the new power booster, proportioning valve and Master Cylinder under the hood. The only cutting I had to do with this conversion kit was the rear brake lines have to be shortened and reflared and the front steering arm bumpers holes have to be drilled a little bigger than the orig bolt holes to fit. Except for the frozen bolt in the diffrential cover that was a mother to get out this has been a pretty simple job. Thanks for all your help and great advise.
Bryan Urbuteit
Pirate
 
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