C2 Rear Spring Re-arch

[James W.]

Hello,

I need information for getting the rear spring on my 1964 Corvette re-arched. I bought a "better than OEM" replacement spring from CC. It arrived yesterday and is not what I would call a correct replacement spring for the car. It does not have proper curved ends on each end of the individual leaf springs like the original has.

I am planning to send it back, but I need a vendor telephone number that does Corvette rear spring re-arching. I'd rather spend the money to re-arch my original than put in an incorrect replacement.

Any help would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

James West
Omaha, NE.
NCRS #18379
1964 Corvette #9258

[Dick G.]

Re: C2 Rear Spring Re-arch

An NCRS member friend of mine here in town uses Inland Truck parts. Phone number is 701-258-6655. I did not have the specs to tell if my spring needed rearching so I took it to them. With the spring laying flat on there table,he measured from the road face, near the bolt;use a straight accross spring, centering on the outer spring mount holes. Now measure up from the face to this straight line above the the bolt. Should be 10 1/2 inches. Mine was a little over this. I didn't need to rearch. They said it would cost around fifty dollars to rearch. Someone suggested to use a repo. main leaf on your old sping. That is a good idea, since you have one in your hands now. Look through the posts over the last week.

[Jack H.]

Crack your Yellow Pages....

Almost every metro area has a suspension shop that will re-arch springs and they have the factory specs to work with, so Corvette vs. pass car/truck makes no difference. BUT, most shops will spray the finished, re-arched spring leaves with their brand of rust preventative. You have to tell 'em up front NOT to coat the leaves and NOT to fully re-assemble the spring as you want to concours detail with your own paint and install individual spring liners.

Last, if the steel is rusted/pitted or otherwise 'over the hill' many shops will perform the re-arch service without telling you the effort is futile. Then, once the spring is re-assembled and installed it can quickly strain and lose its fresh re-arch. So, ASK the receiving counter man at the suspension shop, up front, for his opinion on your specific spring....

[John H.]

Re: Crack your Yellow Pages....

They also need to be annealed and shot-peened or the new "arch" won't last very long; not all local spring shops have this capability.

[James W.]

Re: Crack your Yellow Pages....

Jack and Dick,

Thanks for the reply. I did call a suspension shop here in Omaha. They do rearch springs, but kept trying to push a new replacement one on me. I tried to explain to Bubba why I didn't want a new replacement spring because it would not pass NCRS Judging. He said they could rearch it for an estimated $50 to $60 but couldn't say how long or if it would last.

I also contacted Detroit Eaton Spring Service. They wanted $250 plus shipping for a rearch. I did find a local Inland Truck location here in Omaha. I may contact them next to see if they can are interested in doing the work.

Thanks,

James West

[James W.]

Re: Crack your Yellow Pages....

John,

I'm assuming that Eaton's price probably includes the annealing and shot-peening. I will probably call them and get a few more details regarding their rearch procedure.

Thanks,

James West

[Karl #35089]

Re: Crack your Yellow Pages....

James: Yes, Eaton/Detroit does a great job and they do the correct annealing/heat treating/peening steps to make it worth while. Check out their web site & give them a call. Many small local shops just cold step bend the springs which is really cobbling in my opinion.

-Karl