Need a rear spring rebuilt/renewed

[Larry S.]

Hello All I am sure you have heard it before from me but I am dilagently trying to prepare my car for flight judging.And bit by bit peice by peice I am going thru the entire car.

Anyways when I purchased my car it had a fiberglass mono spring in it.Along with the purchase of my car I got a ton of extra original parts including the original spring that the fellow had removed( I was leaving all the parts with the seller but he insisted I take them all and would thank him latter I have thanked him several times) So when I removed mono spring I just purchased a reproduction rear 9 leaf spring instead of reusing the old original one.So now I am looking to have my original spring rebuilt/renewed is this possible?

The reproduction spring is flat on the ends and my original is kinda kicked up on the ends.I remember an article written by John H in the corvette enthusiast magazine but I think I mailed my copy of my magazine to a fellow because his car was in it that month.

All of the local spring places (3 total) can only build or replace broken springs from the stock they have the cannot renew/restore mine
Thanks for your input.

And it also seems the closer I think I am getting to factory correct the further away I actually am

[Wayne P.]

Re: Need a rear spring rebuilt/renewed

Most good spring shops should be able to handle the rebuild. Why not install it and see how the car looks? It might just be fine without a rebuild, which could cause it to sit too high.

[Jack H.]

Re: Need a rear spring rebuilt/renewed

You may have to expand your search for a suspension shop to the nearest major metro area. What you're looking for is a suspension shop who can re-arch the spring to factory specs.

Hint: most who do this have ethics and will advise on feasibility based on physical inspection of the donor spring you supply. Some are so badly rusted (material gone) that rearching won't be successful and the freshly rearched spring will quickly sag....

Next, the typical shop will re-arch the spring then spray it with a black 'goo' like rust preventative. You want them to clean the individual leaves, rearch them and STOP. At this point you can spray them yourself with galvanization grade silver paint (hardware store item) and install fresh liners to complete the factory concours appearance.

BTW factory original liners are still available from GM, but you have to buy them individually and the cost is pretty steep compared to a liner set in repro form. The only difference is you'll have to cut the lips of the liners at the center on the repros to form the H-pattern and the originals have a GM PN embossed that can't be seen once the liners are installed.... I'd say save the $$$ and go with the repro liners!

[John H.]

Re: Need a rear spring rebuilt/renewed

Eaton Detroit Spring ( www.eatonsprings.com ) can re-arch your original spring, with correct attention to metallurgy, oil-quench, annealing, shot-peening, etc., assuming it passes their incoming inspection. Just have them re-arch it and ship it back raw with a center-bolt in it, then disassemble it, paint it, and re-assemble with new liners. Quanta has the paint and liners you'll need.

[George C.]

Re: Need a rear spring rebuilt/renewed

Larry,

Go back and search the archives, much of what Jack H has written about leaf springs is in there. From my reading and Jack's teaching, I would check the original spring for rust and if it looks pretty good try it in the car without any rebuild. If it holds up the correct ride height and maintains a little arch you win. Then clean paint and replace the liners as Jack mentioned here on this thread.
Jack am I learning real good!!

George

#36809

[Jack H.]

You da man, George! *NM*