Are you running the rubber pad between the leaf spring and the axle perch? Of so, remove it and allow the axle to sit directly on the spring to raise it ~ 3/8". Just put some metal underneath the spring to fill the gap before clamping back together.

If you are running a single leaf rear on the multi leaf springs you may not have or need a spacer.

Or you could re-arch the springs. There are some videos on Youtube showing how that is done.

 

Thanks - been under too many cars and had the spring mount backwards in my head. It does have the rubber pad, so removing that could give me a little lift - keep forgetting the axle sits on the spring.

Need to take a look and see how much it will give me.

 

Have you considered front leaf spring pockets/mounts from a Nova, I believe they bolt up the same but lower the relative mounting point of the front of the leaf spring which would raise the height of the car by the difference?

 

This is another good idea. The two combined might net you the rear height you desire.

 

Never thought of that Scott - will definitely check that out. As Andrew mentioned I could combine the 2 ideas. This just might work!

Thanks

 

The only real drawback to using the Nova spring pockets/mounts is that they do hang down a bit but as long as you are okay with that it might get you where you want to be - good luck!

 

Removing the rubber pad might not work. If you have multileaf springs they probably have a bolt through the middle holding the leafs together, the top part being a locator pin. And if you have monoleaf perches on the rear, they don't have a hole to accept the locator pin like multileaf perches do.......

 

I had the exact same issue on my ’69. What I did was get another set of shackles. Brought them to a welding shop. They cut them in the center and added 3/4” of material to them. The additional 3/4” in shackle length equated to exactly the same increase in clearance between the wheel well and the tire. I located an extra set of shackles so that I could change them out in the same day. I paid $70 to the welding shop.

 

You might not like this but I put air shocks on my 79 Z because it sat low when new as they all did and it works great for only 1/2 to 1" lift. I wouldn't go any more than that or do like we did in the 70's, jack em up to fit the big tires::noway::noway::noway:

 

Switching to Bilstein gas shocks will raise the rear 1/2" if you had non- gas shocks to start with.

 

Why would shocks raise the rear? I always thought the springs set the height and at rest the shocks didn't do much of anything. I know you know your stuff, so I really am just curious. I hope this is adding to the OPs thread and I'm not hijacking...
As far as the original question, I was thinking re-arching the spring or the Nova pockets like was mentioned earlier.

 

I was thinking shocks also. Do they still make those helper shocks with the coil spring on the outside? I had them in my buick back in the day and they were good for a bit of height.

 

why not lower the front an inch?

 

Thanks all - a lot of good stuff and I need to digest the best way to proceed (which probably interprets to simplest...)

My multi-leafs were custom made while I waited at Chester Spring Works in Chester PA. Fascinating place, probably out of business now. Anyway, they were made to directly replace the monoleafs, so they fit right onto the mono leaf mounts.

As for the front, I need to do something but cannot lower it. My header pipes are touching down slightly (rarely now) - I changed the springs, installed double adjustable shocks and resorted to those rubber spacers to try and stiffen up the spring rate. I even put a slightly larger tire on to get 3/8" more clearance. I was actually hoping a slight lift in the back would help the header pipe issue.

Nova pockets sound like the ticket... pretty simple to do. Though shackles are simple too, just think they might hit the tail panel.

If I can find a good pic I will post it so you folks can critique the stance.

 

Pic is a few years old, but the stance is the same.

Even though she measures out to factory specs she seems too low in the back for my taste.

 

Pic is a few years old, but the stance is the same.

Even though she measures out to factory specs she seems too low in the back for my taste.

If that were my car, I'd lower the front a bit. Just my preference.

 

I ordered a set of composite monoleaf springs and asked that they make them 1" higher than stock. turned out perfect. If interested let me know and I will look up the manufacturer.

 

For the amount of effort you'll put into raising the rear I'd lower the front an inch and take it to a muffler shop to have them bring the exhaust up a bit.

 

Gorgeous car! IMO, I'd lower the front as opposed to raising the rear. Let's us know how you proceed.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

I will keep you informed on how this turns out.

I do agree that lowering the front would have the best overall look. Just need to find out how the header collector flange can get tighter to the bottom of the car - maybe if I ditched the flange all together??

 

Lowering the front of the car would not affect the header flange in relation to the bottom of the car. You would lower the front by reducing the coil spring height. Either by cutting the coils or install lowering springs or adjustable coil-over shocks, etc. You would only be adjusting the height between the lower control arm and the subframe. This would not change the spacing between the header flange and the bottom of the car at all.

 

I went back and read your post on page 1. Something doesn't sound right. Is your header flange hitting the ground or the bottom of the car? I still stand behind saying that lowering the car would not affect the header flange to the bottom of the car. I do agree, though, that lowering the front of the car would put the header flange closer to the ground.

 

Sorry about that... started thinking about raising the exhaust so I could lower the front end and lets just say the brain was going faster than the fingers.

The collector flange is about 5/8" from the bottom of the car - maybe a little less on the one side.

So - there ain't much raisin' to be had.

And yes, the clearance issue is with the road.

But, and I'm just thinking off the cuff here, cutting a coil to lower the front may not be as bad as I think - for would that not stiffen the spring also?

And as a last resort - I sort of considered this pair of header sacrificial - figured when they are beat up enough I'll replace them with something that does not stick out under the frame rails.

 

If all you want is 1" more height, just get 1" shock extenders. I've had them in cars for years with no problems of any kind. Less than $20 and you're done.

I have also had longer than stock shackles. They did hit the trunk valance. I bent the valance out a half inch and that solved the problem.

Personally, I like a car that sits a little high and has a gentle rake to it. I wouldn't change the front ride height at all.

 

Ok... so I put a spring scale on the bumper and pulled up with 90lbs and got what I was looking for....

So - the simplest thing would be the gas shocks. Now I am wondering if all gas shocks are created equal. Is there a gas shock you guys would recommend? Scoured the internet but came up with zilch....

Also - I could always complement the gas shocks with some custom extended shackles that clear the tail panel if I had to.

This of course buys me more time to figure out the header issue (going on 5 years now... guess I'm trying to avoid changing them!!!)

thanks guys - any recommendations on the gas shocks would be appreciated.

 

How about a larger tire diameter in rear?

 

Bilstein, - they are nice riding too.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hss-71010012/overview/year/1967/make/chevrolet/model/camaro
Do you have mono leaf springs?
Do your lower shock eyes bolt to a double-shear bracket or a stud mount?
If double shear, order 67 Camaro shocks, if you have the stud mount, order 68/69 shocks for multi-leaf.

 

Gabriel Air Shocks work great and have used them on a number of cars over the last 30 years. I think they are about $75 a pair at Autozone and have a life time warranty. That way you can adjust the air pressure and set the height any way you want. My new Cadillac has automatic adjustable air suspension to keep the height level when I load the trunk up with dirt. . . yeh

 

What year nova