C1 Rear Leaf Springs

[John R.]

I am assembling a set of grooved rear leaf springs for my 58. Can anyone tell me what the original seals used to seal the stainless bands on the springs looked like?

[John H.]

Re: C1 Rear Leaf Springs

John -

If you mean the crimped-on clip that deforms/secures the ends of the band together, you'll find them on the shipping dock of any company that uses Signode steel-banding equipment; the clips haven't changed much in fifty years.

[John R.]

Re: C1 Rear Leaf Springs

Thanks for the confirmation about the crimp on clips, John. Do you know if they had a single or double notch crimp? I have access to both Signode crimping tools for 5/8 inch clips.

[John H.]

Re: C1 Rear Leaf Springs

John -

Dunno - don't remember that level of detail on the clips.

[Dave Suesz]

Well if it helps any, the originals on my '55

have the band crimps on the top of the leaf, with one rectangular crimp on each side of the band.

[John R.]

Re: Well if it helps any, the originals on my '55

Thanks, Dave. That clears up the mystery. I need to use a single notch crimping tool. Are your original band clips natural stainless or were they finished differently?

[Dave Suesz]

The crimp and band

do not appear to be stainless, more like black with 50 years of dirt.

[John R.]

Re: The crimp and band

Again, thanks Dave. Some of the current clips supplied by Signode are painted and somewhere I think I heard red and black mentioned with reference to the old leaf springs.

[Gene B.]

Re: The crimp and band

On my 58 the original clips read "Signode" above and "Chicago" below the hole in the center of the clip. I could not find these original ones during hte restoration process. All that were available read only "Signode"

Gene

[John R.]

Re: The crimp and band

Gene, Were your clips approximately 5/8 of an inch in width with a small hole in the center? Black or natural steel (maybe stainless) inappearance. I believe that I have the correct clips but they do not have "Chicago" on them.

[Gene B.]

Re: The crimp and band

They were not black, they were the size you describe and shiny like stainless, but were natural steel. The hole was used to center the crimping tool. Mine were really crusty so I threw them and got the banding and leaf spring spacers from Corvette Central.

I painted the leafs individually, after reverse electrolysis, with DP-90 as a primer and Black Imron with flattener. I had them re-arced at Minneapolis Spring Co. He told me they would not look nice when I got them back because after heating them and they would be placed in a jig and then beat on them to the correct arc. When I went back to pick them up he asked what I painted them with becasue they looked brand new. He said the heat and bending should have chipped the paint but it didn't. They looked great. The banding, while now stainless steel, the only thing I could find in the mid 90's was perfect and I didn't have to worry about the leaf spacers being painted.

I have never seen the clips with "Signode Chicago" except on original unmolested cars. There was a Signet Red w/ White Coves at Bloomington Gold, the first year it was in St. Charles, IL, that had the Signode Chicago clips on the springs.

Hope this helps.

[John R.]

Re: The crimp and band

Gene, Thanks for the additional information. The clips I have are natural steel but do not have the "Signode" and "Chicago" identification. I do have some wider clips (about 1 1/4 inch) that do have the "Signode" and "Chicago" identification stamped in the top but no indexing hole. They look too wide to be correct and were designed for use with the Signode trademark double notch crimping tool. Were you happy with the Corvette Central bands and did they have the "serrated appearance" called for in the TIM & JG? Thanks again for the help!

[Gene B.]

Re: The crimp and band

Yes they looked great. The serrated edges looked original and I have never had anyone question them. Not sure if I recall anyone looking at them though.

[Loren Smith]

Re: The crimp and band

Here's a crimping tool for sale on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1956-1962-CORVETTE-LEAF-SPRING-BANDING-TOOL_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10076QQitemZ4607370563QQrdZ1