chuckfmtexas Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 See my post above in Post War Technical about the front end of my 1969 Riv being 2" too high after new springs replacing new springs put in during the restoration. Looking for ideas and comments. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1st. off Chuck new springs have a tendency to sit higher than normal & usually settle down after sitting & driving for a few months, BUT 2 " is kinda of a lot over stock. Personally I myself would give it some time BEFORE I tried to make changes. IF I remember correctly the front suspension was also rebuilt with the installation of the new springs. Were ALL the suspension parts that move final tightening at rest height on the ground??? Were Poly bushings used anywhere??? AND, IF so where??? Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Where did you buy your springs? Eaton Springs and Coil Spring Specialties will make your springs based on your specs (original height, higher or lower than original, your choice). I bought a replacement set of front springs for my 69 Caprice from Classic Industries a few years ago. I ended up having the same problem, the springs were too tall. You could cut a coil out of the springs or you could order the correct ones mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckfmtexas Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 5 hours ago, telriv said: 1st. off Chuck new springs have a tendency to sit higher than normal & usually settle down after sitting & driving for a few months, BUT 2 " is kinda of a lot over stock. Personally I myself would give it some time BEFORE I tried to make changes. IF I remember correctly the front suspension was also rebuilt with the installation of the new springs. Were ALL the suspension parts that move final tightening at rest height on the ground??? Were Poly bushings used anywhere??? AND, IF so where??? Tom T. The car was restored 8 years ago with Eaton springs with correct springs based on Eaton catalog. Both back and front were sitting high when I bought the car a couple of months ago. Essentially the car had zero miles since it was restored. So I bought new springs from Spring Specialities and they were installed Friday. They back came down since we took out the 2 1/2” made in China spacers under the Eaton springs. The Eaton springs would probably have worked by removing the spacers. The final tightening was on a two post lift with suspension unsupported. We will evaluate the concept of tightening with weight of the car on the suspension, interesting concept. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckfmtexas Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 2 hours ago, NC1968Riviera said: Where did you buy your springs? Eaton Springs and Coil Spring Specialties will make your springs based on your specs (original height, higher or lower than original, your choice). I bought a replacement set of front springs for my 69 Caprice from Classic Industries a few years ago. I ended up having the same problem, the springs were too tall. You could cut a coil out of the springs or you could order the correct ones mentioned above. See my response to pervious post. I think we try the loosen and tightening with weight of car on the suspension and see what happens. Eaton has springs in their catalog that lower the car up to 2 inches but it would seem one could get OEM spring replacements to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) 58 minutes ago, chuckfmtexas said: See my response to pervious post. I think we try the loosen and tightening with weight of car on the suspension and see what happens. Eaton has springs in their catalog that lower the car up to 2 inches but it would seem one could get OEM spring replacements to work! A few months I bought Eaton springs for the rear of my 68 non-GS Riv. I opted for the stock height springs. My original springs were sagging some so the new springs brought the car back into level from having a squatting rear stance. My original front springs seem to be holding up well so I don't plan on replacing them any time soon. Edited July 21, 2020 by NC1968Riviera (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70rivme Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Get some -1" springs from coil spring specialties and definitely tighten everything up with the weight of the car on the suspension. When I replaced my springs I let the car sit for a couple of days after bouncing it up and down before I torqued down the suspension. Just my $.02, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I have a large chisel that I use to spread suspension components so there is no contact between them and the serrated inner bushing at the attaching points. Everything is completely free to come to rest. Some guys will knock pieces in place with a hammer and call it good. If I was using gas shocks I would disconnect those as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Eaton springs always make the car sit high....I will not use them in my shop. I've never had a problem when I use TRW springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) I have a set of NORS TRW front springs for a 68 GS (Heavy Duty) that appear to have never been used. They are a little shorter than the stock non-GS springs but have a higher spring rate than the non-GS springs. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing them. They are pretty heavy so shipping could be pricy. Edited July 23, 2020 by NC1968Riviera (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) I also have a set of brand new, never used Coil Specialties rear springs for 68 GS. I ordered these for stock height application but ended up not using them. Let me know if interested and we can do a package deal! Edited July 23, 2020 by NC1968Riviera (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 17 hours ago, Seafoam65 said: Eaton springs always make the car sit high....I will not use them in my shop. I've never had a problem when I use TRW springs. I ordered Eaton Springs for the rear of my 68. They replaced my worn out original non-GS springs. The new springs brought the rear of the car up about 1", resulting in having a squaty in the rear to a level car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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