What Vintage Cars had Full Elliptic springs..??

[sunnybaba]

I know the Franklins had them front & back.... giving them a very smooth ride..... in very rough roads.  Did other makes have the Full Elliptic springs...??     If so,  What makes and what years..??  If anybody has some extra spare sets of the Full Elliptic springs.... I am interested in buying some..... my Model AA has a very stiff, back braking, jolting ride,..... on washboard, country dirt roads..... and I am seeking a smoother ride for it..... Please contact me if you have some springs you might sell me... thanks,  Sunny  505-990-6008

Edited July 23, 2021 by sunnybaba
spelling (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Stanley Steamers and other pre 1920 cars used them. In your case why not take the truck to a local spring shop and see what they can do? If you do not carry heavy loads you don't need a big rack of springs, they can remove a few leaves, clean and polish, install spring sliders and give you a smoother ride.

Or load a ton of cargo on the back and it will smooth right out.

[wayne sheldon]

Adapting such springs that would be available to an AA could be really difficult, and likely prove unsatisfactory. There were 'softer ride' springs available as after-market accessories for model TT and AA trucks back in their days. Finding a set of those now could be really tough. Most after-market springs made for trucks were extra heavy duty ones. They would make your ride worse.

Any good commercial truck spring shop should be able to make a softer ride spring to fit your truck. It may need to be block lifted to get the height and stance correct. And it would 'forever' limit your hauling capacity if that matters to you.

 

Historically, Franklin was an anomaly. They and a few European marques were among the very few using full elliptic springs on large cars. Hundreds of earlier cars used full elliptic springs, mostly well before 1915. And while a few large cars, and even trucks, did use them, full elliptic springs were mostly used by smaller cars. While the ride was nice, their two point mount (center top and center bottom) either made them somewhat unstable or required extensive bracing. Small light cars at low speeds this wasn't much of a problem. However, as cars got bigger and speeds got faster it became a big problem really quick.

 

By the way, there was a model TT truck rear spring set of Hassler shock absorbers for sale recently. I don't know if they have sold or not. They do give a TT a softer ride, and are fairly rare. But they won't fit an AA.

 

I type slow, Rusty beat me to posting again!

[TTR]

4 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Stanley Steamers and other pre 1920 cars used them. In your case why not take the truck to a local spring shop and see what they can do? If you do not carry heavy loads you don't need a big rack of springs, they can remove a few leaves, clean and polish, install spring sliders and give you a smoother ride.

 

... and any vintage car restoration shop or professional worth their hourly rate should be able adjust/sort them for you.

[DavidMc]

My 1912 Maxwell 2 cylinder has full elliptical springs back and front and it has a harsh ride on rough surfaces..

[sunnybaba]

Thanks, for your advise, and comments..... I owned a 1930 Franklin 4 door sedan... that weighed  right at 4,000 lbs..... it would cruse at 50-55 mph all day long..... and in real rough dirt roads is was very smooth..... The AA truck weighs 2,800 lbs and If I put about a half ton in it, it would weigh about the same as the Franklin sedan....... The AA has strong radius rods that keep the axles steady.... and the Full Elliptic springs could easily  be mounted on brackets fabricated to the frame and axles..... Add some coil over shocks and you have a good stable, floating-like ride on rough roads....   The model A &AA transverse front and rear springs... give a poor, rough ride on pot holed, washboard, dirt roads... that is the reason most cars & trucks of that same Era, used four, half elliptic, leaf springs... giving a much better ride than any Model A or AA Ford...... I can not afford to have a professional spring shop, fabricate the mounting perches and brackets for parallelly  mounted leaf springs....... I know there are may opinions about what to do or not do... and how to best do it.... But, this posting is asking if anyone has some Franklin, or now,  Stanly Steamer,.... Full Elliptic Springs..... For Sale...???

[motoringicons]

Several early cars had full elliptical springs on the rear and half elliptical springs on the front. This 1910 Buick Model 16 is an example. 

[Rusty_OToole]

A good spring shop should be able to recondition and soften up both front and rear springs for around $300. The space between the leaves is probably choked with rust and dirt, and the tips of the leaves may have worn a notch in the next leaf that limits their travel. The spring leaves can be cleaned and polished and new sliders put in between to allow free movement.  Removing a few leaves will allow them to flex easier. If you can add modern tubular shocks you should have a very acceptable ride, at least on good roads. The transverse leaves do limit spring travel to some extent meaning, on real rough roads they are more apt to bottom out.

The only drawback is that the soft springs will limit your ability to carry heavy loads, but if you were in the habit of carrying heavy loads you would not be complaining of the hard ride.

 

I don't see how you figure to buy and install a complete new set of springs for less work and money.

If cost is an issue there is no reason you couldn't do the work at home. Leave the main leaf in place, take out the others and polish with a disc grinder, paint and reassemble with new sliders leaving out a few leaves and see how you like it.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Chris Bamford]

These Orient Buckboard springs might soften up your ride a bit!

 

Seriously though, Rusty is right on. Clean up, de-notch, polish, lubricate and maybe take out a few leaves. Big improvement, small cost. 

 

Finding some miscellaneous springs of a suitable specification and engineering brackets and what-all to install them would be a 'way bigger job and certainly no cheaper.

 

 

[Dandy Dave]

Early cars follow to suit. A lot of horse drawn carriages and some better fifth wheel wagons had full elliptic springs and it carried though. Dandy Dave.