56 Coil Spring Insulators

[Wooly15]

Should there be any? Just took apart the front end and there were none on the top or bottom. I figured there should be; they had just rotted away. My parts search turned up results all

over the place. And good sources if there are?

[NTX5467]

It can depend upon the style of "end" on the spring and how it interacts with the chassis parts.  In some earlier times, a solid spacer was used on factory a/c cars to compensate for the added weight of that equipment.  In other cases, an OEM might include a softer rubber insulator to help decrease "noise", but I don't know if that really works.  If the end of the spring is "flat", a spacer can work on that end.  If the spring end indexes with a hole in the lower control arm, no spacer on that end.

 

In the 1979 Camaro brochure, it mentioned additional things for the Berlinetta model, so I went into the parts book and searched to find "differences" from other Camaros and earlier models.  What I found was a 1/8" thick spring insulator for the top of the spring.  That was "The Berinetta Package" quietness item, form what I found.  I got some and used them on my '77 Camaro Type LT, but you'd probably need instruments to tell the difference.

 

Solid plastic/rubber spacers are used to compensate for weak springs, when replacement is really the best alternative but isn't used for one reason or another.  These spacers come in two thicknesses for this function.

 

Such insulators are not universally used.  Depends upon the particular vehicle, whom the engineers on that project were, AND if there's enough money left to add those things to the vehicle's "end of the assembly line" cost.

 

NTX5467 

[Airy Cat]

I tried to install the upper spacers in my '56 and I couldn't get the spring to compress enough to fit it in, so I left it off.  No problem with noise or clanking.

[Wooly15]

Like I said before, there were none in mine and there was no noise. I may just leave them out.

[Beemon]

There are insulators on my rear springs where they bolt to the body, nothing on the axle. On the fronts, there are no insulators.