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Frank McMullen
PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2006 2:58 pm 
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I have a '64 Valiant convertible, plain-jane six, no plans for hi-po.

The OEM rear leafs are flattened-out; if I put two people in the back seat, the rear springs are bottomed-out, and we scrape bottom a lot...

Am looking at ESPO springs&things, and they offer "four-leaf" and "five-leaf"....

Are four-leaf springs just going to flatten-out again, and if so, how quickly...

If I go five-leaves, how will that impact the ride quality of the car ?


Not looking to go crazy with suspension upgrades, but want to make a wise choice for the "long haul"...

Thanks for your suggestions...


Frank McMullen
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RossKinder
PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2006 7:03 pm 
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Location: Ooltewah, Tennessee
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Quote:
The OEM rear leafs are flattened-out; if I put two people in the back seat, the rear springs are bottomed-out, and we scrape bottom a lot...

Not looking to go crazy with suspension upgrades, but want to make a wise choice for the "long haul"...

Frank McMullen
I had a situation exactly like that only different ;-) I've been pleased with the air adjustable shocks I got from, as I recall, Pep Boys. When I know the load will go up I push the air pressure up. :-)
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dakight
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PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2006 7:54 pm 
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Location: Gilbert, Arizona
Car Model: 1962 Plymouth Valiant Signet
Air shocks are a bad idea on a Mopar A-body. The upper shock mounts are not designed or built to handle the stresses and will tear out of the floor pan. Same deal with coil-overs.

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zedpapa
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PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2006 1:14 pm 
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i swapped in a leave from a 91 toyota pickup in to my leaf pack and picked up the rear end 1" to 1 1/2" and firmed up the ride some but not too much. load capacity went up but not much. i think i still need to get new springs.

zedpapa

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Frank McMullen
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2006 8:24 am 
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Just did the air-shock thing on my '60 Windsor....

I 'm thinking that I'll go for the five leaves in the Valiant, and throw some sand-bags in the trunk if it sits too high...

My fear with the four-leaf pack is that they'll sag right out, just like the originals...

Any of you life-long A-body folks remember how long it took these cars to sag back in the day ?


Thanks,

Frank McMullen
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sixsignet
 Post subject: Get the 4-leaf springs
PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2006 10:00 am 
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I'm going to be a maverick and post something that has something to do with "4 leaf vs. 5 leaf".
I have a 63 Valiant and I just installed 5-leaf JC Whitney springs a few weeks ago. Pretty plain car - no racing ambitions.

I adjusted the torsion bars 1/8" higher than service manual recommends and the rear was still jacked-up .

Now I'm making new front brackets to raise the front eye so that the rear sits lower (to compensate for the springs).

I wish I had gotten the 4-leaf springs.

They will make your car sit right - but will they sag soon?

You can take apart the old springs and keep the top leaf as insurance.
If the new springs sag a year or two from now, you can cut the extra leaf to be between the 3rd and 4th leaves in length and make your own 5-leaf.
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Patrick Devlin
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2006 4:01 pm 
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I have six-leaf springs on my '68 Dart, and I think it sits very close to what I would *imagine* the stock ride height would be. I think it is not always the number of leaves, but rather the arch of the springs. Also, I do think leaf springs settle a little, I wouldn't say sag, but I think the suspension will settle a little once it is driven.

I have the front ride height set how the factory service manual says, and with the leaf springs I have, the bottom of the rocker panel is dead level.

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sixsignet
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2006 5:49 pm 
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I dunno why those work for you. Are yours ESPO?
The 68 Dart is not much heavier than a 64 conv Valiant.

I was asking this forum a similar question a month ago and no one made a strong case for the 4-leaf springs.
I bought the 5-leaf ones.
As I understand it, the question is "should I put standard springs or heavy-duty springs on a (63 or) 64 Valiant?"
In my (recent) experience, the HD springs are too heavy-duty for a 63 hardtop Valiant.


Here are some others' thoughts:

[Note: this was advice to someone with a 65 Valiant V-200]
Quote:
Mike,

I have the JCWhitney 5 leaf HD springs in both my cars (both sets about 10 years old and still fine). They are perfect for my heavier '68, but a bit stiff for the '64. Even with no rear SwBar, the '64 oversteers just a touch, but is neutral with a passenger in the rear seat. You might just get the JCW 4-leaf standard replacements. Good quality springs, and hard to beat the price. Course, the 5-leafs are just a bit more and you can always remove a leaf. You might also check out the adjustable front perches from www.arengineering.com. You will need to drill the holes on your stock perches to 5/8" if you use those - no biggie. I also recommend polyU bushings (Energy Susp or PST brand so they don't squeak as much, although still a little), if you want least flex and best handling. Ride is slightly harsher, but not a big deal.

I plan on trying my current 5 leafs with the lowest leaf removed to see how that goes. Eventually, I will buy some fiberglass leafs from http://www.flex-a-form.com/ to shave about 35-45 lbs off - mostly unsprung weight too!

Cheers,

Lou
Quote:
4-leaf: Standard
5-leaf: HD and wagon
6-leaf: XHD (HD Wagon)

All varieties are readily available new, e.g. from Espo.


Last edited by sixsignet on Tue May 09, 2006 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Patrick Devlin
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2006 6:34 pm 
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Yep. I got them a few years ago (actually, 2001, I think) from ESPO at the Chrysler show at Carlisle. I remember they asked me if I wanted "1 inch higher or stock ride height?" I went with stock ride height.
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