FS: New 65 Riviera coil springs +2"

[Guest carlbraun]

Purchased from Eaton Detroit Spring 6 mos ago, these springs were installed on my 65 Riviera GS for about 4 hours but the car sat a bit too high for my taste.

If you are running 16"to 20" rims on your riviera or want your car to sit up higher than stock these are the springs for you.

Springs are brand new and were $480 from Eaton Detroit Spring in Michigan. I will entertain any sane offer for these springs. They can be re-boxed and shipped to your location for cost.

Here's a pic of what the springs looked like on my 65 Riv:

here are the front coil springs ...the original GS spring on the left, +3/4" in the middle and +2" on the right

[George Buick Riviera]

Carl - I think I will make a Christmas gift for myself ....

Will send you PM

[65VerdeGS]

Hi Carl,

Yes, those Eaton springs made your car sit way too high. I was told by long-time tech advisor, the late Leonard Scott, who by the way also had a '65 Verde Green w/green custom interior Gran Sport, NOT to buy aftermarket springs. Did Eaton sell those springs as "GS spec" springs?

It is true that replacement springs will make the car sit higher than stock for a while until the new springs "settle". But the springs you got would never settle enough to restore the stock GS ride height.

Leonard told me that none of the replacement springs he knew of would give the same ride quality nor have the correct ride height of the OEM springs. My problem was that the rear of my car was riding too low. So, back in 1986 Leonard suggested I simply put some rubber coil spring spacers between the coils - I used two per spring. This worked to bring the rear of the car up and didn't have any adverse effects. Fifteen years later the rubber spacers started to break down. So, I had 1.5 inch steel spacers installed on the bottom of the spring mounts which worked the charm. The ride quality of the car is unaffected, and the 47 year old stock GS springs still give a good combination of ride and handling.

Is the problem on your car that the rear rides too low? If so then spacers will do the trick for you, and you'll retain the lower-than-regular Riviera ride (the GS rode about an inch lower than the standard Riviera).

[RivNut]

Here's part of the article that Ray Knott, ROA #1, wrote and published in the Riview. The entire article "I D a Gran Sport" is on the ROA website.

The Ride and Handling package was commonly used on the Gran Sport, but was a separate option. The modified steering improved the turning ratio from the standard 17 ½:1 (approximately 3 ¼ turns) to a 15:1 ratio ( approximately 2 ½ turns). The springs were stiffer and caused the car to sit an inch lower. The shocks were firmer, causing different weight distribution.

What it says is that only if you ordered the handling package, option H-2, in addition to the Gran Sport package, option A-9, did you get the different rate springs which set the car a little lower. The H-2 package was available without the A-9 option. If a company is advertising Gran Sport springs, they've been misinformed. If you're restoring a Riviera that had the H-2 option, you need to install the stiffer shocks to complete the package. If you're restoring a Gran Sport that didn't come with the H-2 option, then standard height and rate springs, and standard shocks are what you should be looking for.

Ed

[Guest carlbraun]

there is no "problem" with the car...I'm restoring the car and didnt want to put the old soft springs, and bushings and shocks and......so I replaced them with the Eaton Springs. EDS gave me the corrext ride heights for the car so I raised it 2" and liked the way it looked...the EDS springs came in higher than expected (after install) The Eaton coils that were on the car that was shown in the picture have been replaced by GS spec springs built by Coil Springs specialties in KS. On this set I specifically asked for springs that provide a +3/4" ride hight over the stock GS springs. I want my GS to sit up slightly higher than stock and these springs make the car sit like I prefer. The guys at CSS knew that I wanted the rate of the GS springs but wanted the car to sit up a little higher than stock.

I dont want my car to sit like an Electra...I want it to sit like the muscle car that it is.

Personally, I think any springs made by the aftermarket are a crap shoot. Just look at the threads that address this subjust...everyone has a different story.

Edited January 24, 2012 by carlbraun (see edit history)

[Desmc14]

So it begs the question... I need new springs on my 65... it's in the shop getting new paint, (first since 65) where is a good source for 'factory like' springs with the correct height? And probably should do shocks as well.

Thanks.

[Guest carlbraun]

coil spring specialties in st marys KS