C-2 COIL SPRINGS

[DANIEL GRUNWALD]

I PUT NEW TIRES AND BOLT ONS ON MY MY 67 BIG BLOCK AND THE TIRES RUB SOMETIMES WHEN TURNING WHILE DRIVING UP AN INCLINE WHERE THE SPRINGS ARE COMPRESSED SOMEWHAT. I LOOKET AT THEM AND THEY HAVE A COUPLE OF TWIST IN SEPERATORS IN THEM SO I AM THINKING ABOUT NEW COIL SPRINGS. WHEN I TALKED TO SOME VENDORS THEY TOLD ME THAT THE NEW COILS THAT THEY SELL ARE PHYSICALLY SHORTER THAN THE OEM VERSIONS. THEY SAID THAT WAS TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO INSTALL. WON'T THAT ALSO MAKE THE CAR SET LOWER? DOES ANYONE SELL THE ORIG LENGTH SPRINGS? ALSO, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON SPRING COMPRESSORS. INSIDE OR OUTSIDE STYLE. WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND FOOLISH I REPLACED THE BALL JOINTS IN MY 57 CHEVY BUT WE JUST WRAPPED CHAINS AROUND THE ARMS AND BEAT ON THE BALL JOUNT UNTILL IT CAME UNDONE. SCARY!! I HAVE A 427-435 ENGINE WITH ALUM HEADS AND I AM THINKING OF NORMAL, NON-AIR SPRINGS AS REPLACEMENTS. COMMENTS? THANKS IN ADVANCE.
DANIEL.

[Stephen L.]

Re: C-2 COIL SPRINGS

I recently replaced the front springs on my big block with units from Volunteer Vette Products. They had 2 versions: 1. Generic aftermarket. 2. Original replacements with proper spring coils ,rates, length etc. I have yet to put them on the ground to see the outcome but they were identical to the originals that I took out. I too had "spacers" to hold the front end up on the old ones. If you have the body/engine in place for ballast, you can probably put the springs in using a hydraulic jack. I had only the frame so I needed to compress the spring. The inside compressor available on the market would not go into the shock hole. I had to fabricate a compressor.
To get the springs out, I loosened the upper ball joint nut so there was a limited 1/8 inch of free travel on the stud. I then struck the upper end of the steering arm next to the ball joint and it broke free using the spring force to help break the friction. Then place a hydraulic jack under the A arm and you can remove the upper nut and slowly lower the a arm and remove the spring.
You need the car off the ground high enough so that the a arm can swing vertical to allow removal of the spring. The spring "at rest" is about 18" long
Reverse the procedure to install the springs. You may want to get some ALL thread and a bar and run that thru the shock tower to control the a arm as you swing it back in place and reattach the upper ball joint. ALL THREAD by itself will not pull the spring to compression unless it is grade 8 ( The threads gall on lighter duty stuff...)Remember to loosen the bolts on the a arm bushings so they can rotate freely......
This would probably be a good time to replace the upper and lower bushings and maybe the ball joints..... Original style bushings with the exposed rubber are now readily available at most of the vendors....
I have some photos of the compression tool I fabricated at the following website that may be helpful.
www.picturecd.com/system/login.cgi?username=winger1183&album=67+Corvette
Steve

[Stephen L.]

Re: C-2 COIL SPRINGS "P.S."

A word of caution!!!! There is a LOT of stored energy in the springs until they are COMPLETELY free of the car so be very CAREFUL when working around them....
Steve

[Craig S.]

Re: C-2 COIL SPRINGS "P.S."

Steve - that is a seriously fancy tool you made, great job! Out of curiousity, what was wrong with the usual J hook internal tool? I have one and I recall fishing it through the spring coils, then assembling the rod afterwards....I didn't try to go through the shock hole...Craig

[Stephen L.]

Re: C-2 COIL SPRINGS "P.S."

I tried the "j" hook spring compressor and I couldn't get it in thru the shock hole. I finally made one shock hole slightly larger to get the compressor in and then I couldn't get up into the spring coils far enough to compress the spring to remove the tension. The coils were too far into the frame area.
I ran out of space between the coils before the spring tension was relieved on the A Arm. I looked thru the service manual and it appears that the Corvette spring does not have as much exposure as a stock Chevy. They also use a tool somewhat like I made... that is where I got the idea. I've used the j hooks on a Monte Carlo without problems. When the springs are in place there isn't much room between the coils on a corvette. Keep in mind that I had only a frame... no engine...no body ....for weight.