Rustymopar

Yes - The same 70 Superbee. I put the Mopar HD springs on the rear. The passenger side has the additional spring. Will this cause the cars left (drivers side) front end to dip down about 1.5-2" lower then the passenger side? The spring is 3/8" higher and I'm concerned this translates to a larger differential in height on the front of the car. Prior to the leaf spring change, I hadn't noticed any variance in the front end heights side to side. Any ideas?

67 GTX

I do believe that the passenger's side is a little higher, no more than an 1''. That is just fine, and it won't affect the front height of the car.

Rustymopar

But it is affecting the front. I had my buddy lift on the rear passenger side and the front dipped down. So, the cause is the extra leaf spring. What is the fix?

440roadrunner

I think you are worrying about the pennies in your pocket when you should be worried about the milkshake you spilled down your front.

In other words, I think you are focused too much on something that is not there

My recollection of these springs is that the extra leaves were largely to the FRONT of the spring pack, IE they affected ride height very little.

You should be able to compensate any of it by torsion bar adjustment.

OF COURSE if you lift one corner, it's going to "teeter" the other corner, that's the way suspension works

(If you want to see suspension "at it's worst" in action, just go to a few used car lots and test drive some of these front wheel drives, under hard accelleration. Some of them jack up one side when you jump on the throttle, wiggle the hell out of the steering wheel, and in a few cases, if you ain't ready for it, you might just hit somethin'.)

I put over 140,000 miles on the chassis of a 70 440 sixpack RR, and in all those miles, the difference the "big" spring on the passenger side caused was not ever in my mind. Unfortunately, the (original) engine didn't last for nearly that many.

78D200

1.5"-2" drop is quiet a bit. The leaf springs run under the axle correct?

Silverick

[quote=440roadrunner;70223]
You should be able to compensate any of it by torsion bar adjustment.

I wouldn't want a crooked car either.
This was my first thought and 440roadrunner already covered it. If you have a low front corner..... adjust the torsion bars to compensate.
It's going to be a great car! Rick

78D200

If the leaf springs run under the axle then it doesn't matter if one side has 5 leafs and the other has 6, 7, or 10 even as the axle is clamped to the main leaf. What matters is the arch of the two leaf springs. If you put them on a level platform and one is more arched than the other at the axle mounting point, then there is your issue. If they are the same, then you have something else causing the vehicle to tilt.

One extra leaf will cause that pack to flex less but not while the car is just sitting there and shouldn't cause the left front to drop 1.5-2" lower than the right front. What length is the extra leaf compaired t the rest of the pack? Is is short? Long?

Rustymopar

440 Roadrunner - You're missing the picture here. The car sat perfectly flat with the old original suspension and shocks. I upgraded the springs and shocks and now the car sits "dipped down" on the drivers side front end 1.5". That little 1/2" extra spring, translates to 1.5" in 16 ft of car. I put a tape measure on it in front of a Car buddy of mine. I'm not seeing things. It's clearly an elevation difference front passenger side to drivers passenger side which makes the car look "twisted". It sucks....
If I can adjust this with the tortion bar, which side would I adjust and how. I've not explored this area before. B Body and E body have different type torsion bars. I have a little experience with my old Challengher but not with B bodies. Thanks for the help guys.

Rustymopar

78D200..... I will measure this evening and report back. You're right, the leaf springs are cradled beneath the axle. When I received the leaf springs a month ago, I had them sitting next to one another. They appeared to have the same arch.
Further thought - "Extra leaf causing the springs to flex less" could very well be the issue if you think about it. Maybe I am thinking about it the wrong way. Maybe the other side is lifted up due to the driver spring flexing more than the extra spring leaf.... With me?

62Furious

If you would like to ajust the tortion bar there is a nut in the middle of the lower control arm that will ajust the ride height, left bolt turn in to rase that side or turn the rightside out to lower for rake, after detemaning ride height I would get an alligment

78D200

Check the arch of the old springs as well if you still have them. Couple more questions that may help out are:

1. Are the shackles at the same angle to one another?
2. Are the shackles the same as when you had the old springs in?
3. When your torqued the shackles bolts, was the vehicle sitting on it's own weight on the ground or was it being help up by jack stands/floor jack?

You will make a difference only if you are a rather large person and the car would tilt to the driver side, not to the left front corner.

Rustymopar

Old Springs are gone.
1)Yes, they appear to be.
2)Yes, they look the same
3)The car was on jack Stands when Shackle bolts were torqued.

I'm not making a difference. I'm 6' 195 Avg size.

I will be in the garage tonight. I think 62 Furious has an idea...So I would left bolt turn to raise the lowered side. I might just try this.

440roadrunner

I'm not missing anything. First, how do you KNOW the car sat "perfectly flat" with the old springs? Frankly, on a car this old, I find that assertation just plain difficult to believe. These bodies are and were not perfect, nor were the springs, nor would they be after all these years.

Without a frame alignment rig, it might just be difficult to really TELL 1" difference. If stuff like the bumper brackets are off just a little, could fool your eye. The point is, "they ain't perfect."

The simple fact is, that is what torsion bar adjustments are for. Jack up the car, and tighten the side (cw, same as a bolt) on the side you want to raise. I'd start with about 4 turns. Don't forget that as you raise one side, you can also lower the other.

Just as your new leaf forced one front side down, RAISING one front side will tend to push the opposite rear down.

But if you really think these springs are a problem, let's ask you this: WHERE did you get them, and WHAT exactly are they supposed to be?

WHAT IS the exact leaf stack on each side? (Maybe the springs ARE AFU, you cannot assume anything, 'specially on stuff this old)

scotts74birds

Ok, hope I make sense here. The springs probably will look identical in height side-by-side, off the car. However, it is set up for the fact that even with a sure-grip, there will be a greater weight transfer to the right-rear of the car due to motor torque at launch. Therefore, their compressed heights may be different, even at rest. It may not be what you want for appearance, but for planting the tires, it is correct. Adjusting the torsion bar may be a good solution for you for street appearance. In a race situation, the torsion bars "unload", so who cares anyways. Just tell folks your car is so fast it twists, so you have to ride that way!! JMHO.

Rustymopar

440 Roadrunner - No offense, just frustrated. The car sat flat and had a symmetric appearance prior to leaf and shock r and r. I measured this weekend. Drivers side sits 1.25" lower than the passenger side. The leaf arrangment is definately different. 6 springs on the drivers side and 7 on the passenger side with what appears to be 2 half springs which are cut off at the axle. I bought the springs from MP. They are Mopar HD springs. Its just a street car cruiser type car. No racing.

78D200

What if you swap the springs side to side and see if the passenger side changes the same 1.25"? Or build the passenger side spring to match the driver's side?

67 GTX

I went out yesterday and had a good look at my car. Mine is also higher on the passenger side. It is slight, and the only reason I really noticed it was because of this thread.

If you are worried that someone might say something, dont be, because that is correct.

If you aren't looking to race the car, can you just put the old springs back on and try to return the new ones?

Rustymopar

The old springs are long gone. Had a Mopar Doc over yesterday..Said the torsion bar just needs adjusted a little and it was no big deal. Happens all the time. I measured again. It was 1.5" difference. He also said, We would adjust them, drive it for 50 miles, measure or do a visual and they might need adjusted again after a few pot holes and things settle.

BigBubba

(for 69 b-body RR and GTX), I've been told that with the front ride height set even, The passenger rear will be approx 3/4" lower than the driver's side to compensate for the weight of the driver. With the driver in the car the rear should be level. This enables the car to launch more even. (no BS).