Coil Spring Dilemma

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caseville cyclone
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Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by caseville cyclone »

Where do I start. Years ago I bought a Crites shock tower kit. I have a complete TCP suspension UCA and LCA,and adjustable stuts. I also have roller perches and KYB gas shocks. I installed the springs that came with the Crites kit,wow talk about AA/G. Front end way to high. Decided to put Moog 8088 springs and changed the bar in my UCA which had the Shelby drop machined in. Set car on the ground and it was too low. I was going to put a spacer on top of spring to bring the front end up some. But in the meantime my son sends me a set of Global West lowering springs that has a wire size of .710 ! Set car back on ground and it was really low. Took the car for a ride and every bump I hit sounded like the front end was going to fall off. I ran over an ANT and it sounded like I hit a six inch pothole. Before I could make a decision my son buys me spacers for top of spring. Take springs out again and place spacers on the top and take for a ride,same results still a rough ride even running over a paint stripe. I figure the shocks are bottoming out so I remove the shock towers and shim them up 1 inch, took it for a ride and it was much better but still not a good ride. Question is: #1 cut a coil out of Crites spring which coil size is .625 #2 Re install Moog springs with coil size of .587 and use the thicker coil spacer thats in there now. #3 Spend $850.00 to $1000.00 for coil overs. My wife is not voting for #3 LOL. Being 73 years old changing springs is getting to be a PITA. Good thing I bought my own Autozone spring compressor,Fastrax alignment tool and Longacre toe plates. By the way I have a heavy engine in there 351C. Alot of aluminum and fiberglass but still heavier than a 289. Thanks Andy
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poboyjo65
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by poboyjo65 »

Andy mine was way too low with 1 coil cut from new coils so I made a 1'' rubber spacer & adjustable spacers .got it where I wanted & could still go up another 1 -1 1/2 inch or more on the spacer,dont know how high that would end up but plenty of ajustment that way & I could go back down too. good to be able to change it because now I'm going with taller back tires & new leafs soon, so I can raise the front easy to make it match the change in the rear.

I got them from speed way, ;
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/AFCO-Adj ... 49203.html

altered them to suit me;
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I put notches in them so I could reach thru the holes in the towers to turn them with a big screw driver,kinda like adjusting brake shoes;
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It was a little extra work but not too bad. but I'm glad I did it like I did. all I have to do is jack it up & get the weight off & whip out the big screw driver. I may even make a better tool with a tad of a bend in it so it doesn't slip off as bad.
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vicegrip
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by vicegrip »

Those coil spring spacers are pretty slick. Could have sold millions of them in the 60's,early 70's. As slick as they are,my vote is coil overs.You would still be rolling the dice on the spring weight but you would have much more adjustment.

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by Jims65cyclone »

The spring rate, measured in lbs/in, is a measure of "stiffness" of the spring. The higher the spring rate, the stiffer the spring, and it's a function of both the diameter of the spring material and the shape of the spring. Shortening the spring can actually increase the spring rate. So if the Crites spring was on the stiff side, shortening it will make it a little stiffer. If the Moog springs were OK on ride, but just sat too low, I'd recommend going back with them and install a set of adjustable spacers like John did in his car. The mods he made to his for easily adjusting them are a super idea and would allow you to easily dial in the height you want. And $80 for that kind of flexibility is a bargain.

Jim
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poboyjo65
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by poboyjo65 »

Jims65cyclone wrote:
Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:29 pm
allow you to easily dial in the height you want. And $80 for that kind of flexibility is a bargain.
Jim
Jim it was one of the best hundred I spent on it. as far as paying off in the long run. maybe we should build them to fit comets & stangs & sell them! :P
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by Jims65cyclone »

You could make a fortune off the stangs alone. Especially if you added the notches and included an oversize bent screwdriver to adjust them. :wink:

Jim
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poboyjo65
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by poboyjo65 »

Dang Jim ,I was hoping you would be the notch cutter. That was a pain making all those. I'll bend the screwdrivers :)
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SASSY
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by SASSY »

Missed this post or wouldda jumped in earlier.
First off, on such thing as too low! :mrgreen:
But, spring rate is almost a mote amount on our cars
with all the jambed rubber bushings on the a-arms.
I don't remember exactly what springs I used but they weren't new. I cut them with a zip disk till the car sat on the snubbers then modded all the suspension to get some travel,, just about low enough, nice camber gain, carves corners, smooth down the highway.
When I circle tracked we always looked for a spring that would just hold the car up then shocks and antiroll bars to control how far it travelled in corners.
I know all this is of no help to you but we sll need to read dome babble once in a while :P
Fred
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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caseville cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by caseville cyclone »

Thanks everybody for the great ideas. #1 Thanks POBOY for the adjustable idea,I got online with Speedway and the part was not in stock but on back order. You have really engineered a great system but not so sure about the welding part. I have a mig welder so that wouldn't be a problem. I'll keep your system in mind. #2 Thanks VISEGRIP for your vote on the coilovers but unfortunately my wife said your vote doesn't count. LOL #3 Thanks Jim,your right about cutting a coil out of the Crites spring would really give a super stiff ride.#4 Thanks Fred for the suggestion of just removing the springs all together and make a bunch of sparks with my headers. I knew you would think a car can never be low enough.#5 I'm going to try and get that perfect spring in there without any spacers and a decent ride. Once I find that set of springs I will be having a fire sale on many sets of springs. I will report back when that happens. Thanks again!!! Andy
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caseville cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by caseville cyclone »

Coil spring update: Installed Moog 8090 coil springs with no spacer and new Monroe shocks. No fancy special shocks as of yet and car sits exactly where I like it and the ride is superb,no more feeling every line in the road. Also it is so much easier to steer. I know the springs will settle a little more in a few months but the stance will still be where I like it. New stuff with the previous Shelby drop,the car handles great. Even the alignment seemed to stay the same,I'll drive it a few days and get out the alignment tools and fine tune it. ANDY
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poboyjo65
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by poboyjo65 »

Glad you got it dialed in Andy without a bunch more trys.& if I had your front susp I'd want the same thing to finish up. The thing I did was good for what I wanted at the time & ,,& that was to sit right & ride decent & be able to move it around if needed. but at some point ,,,after a lot of other stuff on the to do list I may dial it in with better springs ,shocks & maybe adj UCA's & LCA's .

Hey Andy did you ever get to do the second honeymoon trip in the car yet or is that still on the bucket list?
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caseville cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by caseville cyclone »

Thanks John,took the Comet out for a long ride today along the waterfront,it was beautiful at 88 degrees and lots of sunshine. Got up early today and washed the Comet,put all the windows down and prepared it for a nice cruise. As far as a honeymoon trip in the comet,thats coming up on September 10th,54 lovely years and we are going to make it somewhere on that day,preferably to Leftys Drive Inn not to far from us. She really enjoyed our cruise today along the shoreline. Hard to believe I proposed to her in a 65 Comet Cyclone and celebrating our 54th in a Comet Cyclone.ANDY
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poboyjo65
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by poboyjo65 »

That's so cool! Will you have the hood & bumper painted by then? You'll want pics of all three of you, right? There's still time!! :P BTW, have you named her yet?
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Johno

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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by popscomet »

vicegrip wrote:
Sat Jul 18, 2020 8:01 am
Those coil spring spacers are pretty slick. Could have sold millions of them in the 60's,early 70's. As slick as they are,my vote is coil overs.You would still be rolling the dice on the spring weight but you would have much more adjustment.
WE used those over 15 yrs ago on dirt track cars,or longer !!! way before anyone put them on a comet on this forum,,in the dirt world they were call weight jack cheaters ...we could not use them on a mini-stock per the rules,,but we could on grd son's modifieds..so to get our ride height on the mini's,,we used different size and diameter water pump
pullies,,,at the completion of this big rear tired 64 comet we call OL RUSTY,there will be a set on it,,,,so we can get the right ride height to go down the track,,,,right now we are in the process of installing 31 spline axles and another carrier with a full time spool with 31 splines,,,,one axle is 18 in long while the other is 22in long,,son was to order them today,,,the complet disc break and calapiers rotors and lines came in last week,,,,POP has a lot of cleaning and bead blasting and painting to do....good luck to all...…..POP
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caseville cyclone
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Re: Coil Spring Dilemma

Post by caseville cyclone »

Sorry John, I have been so busy! I really doubt the hood and bumper will get painted by then. My grandson bought me spray gun for Christmas last year, I bought a new 80 gallon,2 stage air compressor,so I have no excuse. All I need is some paint and some time to spare. I can't believe I'm retired and still can't get anything done!!!! ANDY
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