leaf springs look ok? shackle has some angle but too much?

[Melk-man]

1970 gtx i just bought, no rebuild documentation was provided, decent "driver" quality i think. paid a bunch, had Dave Wise MMP detroit inspect prior to sale and gonna have a few touch up items replaced, but rather than just doing new bushings on the leaf springs, would replacing the leaf springs give me 1-2" lift in rear i'm looking for?
read a bunch of threads on here and should this angle of the shackle be of concern? there's 1/2 tank of gas, nothing in trunk not even a spare tire. leaf springs aren't flat, but not much curve to them. leaf count is different on both sides, but reading this is normal?
Love the color combo and mag 500 wheels and the LOOK of the bias ply polyglass tires (but not fun to drive on these tires). thanks. my first post here.
EDIT: the shackles are 7" long, is this typical? or are they likely aftermarket/homemade?
new EDIT: Laura at ESPO springs did indicate that these are NOT stock, that the stock shackles are 3.5" center-to-center.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Looks good. Did you use shoulder bolts on shackles? 3" shoulder bolt at DuckDuckGo
3" bolts were a guestmint.

 

[69 mayflower]

Looks normal and right to me. Personal preference, but I like the stance as is. Not into the jacked up look. Lean and mean.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I would have to say it could use a little more angle leaning the shackle plates towards the rear. It would act better under acceleration. This is more crucial in a street strip/drag car.

 

[33 IMP]

Agree with Mayflower and FMJ .
I like the current stance, and the car could use a bit more angle to the rear for the shackles. BUT, they will work okay as they are. Leaning forward is a no-no.
Theoretically, super stock springs will lift the rear a bit, unknown how much. You could get 1" or 2" lift springs from Espo, and they would probably last longer than ss. SS springs as currently supplied have a reputation of sagging prematurely. My older versions have not sagged at all.

 

[rickseeman]

Looks pretty close the way it is. If the springs are correct for the car you might be able to take the springs to a spring shop and have them re-arched. Or just buy some Hemi springs for it. It may have came with those, I don't remember. Nice looking car.

 

[Melk-man]

Looks good. Did you use shoulder bolts on shackles? 3" shoulder bolt at DuckDuckGo

this is how the car came when i bought it a month ago. do the shackles and bolts look stock?

thanks for all the replies. i do like the stance it has now, but that's with only 1/2 tank of gas and no people in it, and nothing in the trunk. not even a spare tire. LOL. wouldn't mind 1-2" and wondering if just new leaf springs to replace these 50 year old ones, would do it ?? i've seen some photos of straight sacked out leafs, these actually do have a tiny bit of curvature still.. maybe they are not original? and interesting the stack is different from one side to the other. reading this is typical.

 

[33 IMP]

Are those goodyears repops or originals? I'd sure check out the date code.
And yep, more leaves and shorter leaves on the passenger side is typical of the High performance engine handling packages. Super stock springs are basically a stronger version of the stock not-the-same-#-of-leaves found on 440/hemi cars, except the front segment of the spring is shorter/stiffer than the stock b-body spring, so a different front hanger has to be used. Many guys have used either two rights or two lefts to raise the rear without the typical slant that a matched pair of ss springs often causes, Passenger side springs are always stiffer than driver side, ( Chrysler engineering... and physics).
If you're still curious, you could call one,of the spring companies to ask about more height. (Espo, and others used by members here.)
Edit: a pair of ss springs might be about the same money as one espo spring.

 

[Sixpactogo]

1970 gtx i just bought, no rebuild documentation was provided, decent "driver" quality i think. paid a bunch, had Dave Wise MMP detroit inspect prior to sale and gonna have a few touch up items replaced, but rather than just doing new bushings on the leaf springs, would replacing the leaf springs give me 1-2" lift in rear i'm looking for?
read a bunch of threads on here and should this angle of the shackle be of concern? there's 1/2 tank of gas, nothing in trunk not even a spare tire. leaf springs aren't flat, but not much curve to them. leaf count is different on both sides, but reading this is normal?
Love the color combo and mag 500 wheels and the LOOK of the bias ply polyglass tires (but not fun to drive on these tires). thanks. my first post here.

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If you like the stance, leave it alone. Other than that, with those longer shackles, they may need to be re-arched or replaced. I'm pretty sure the stock shackles are 3 1/2" bolt to bolt. Yours appear to be 5 or 6". Factory springs on your car would have had 6 leafs on the left and 7 on the right. If you upgraded to new Super Stock springs and stock shackles you would probably end up with a slight rake like you now have. As far as the bias ply tires, unless you have a 100 point show car than is not driven much, I would ditch them for a set of nice radials. As you said, they are not much fun to drive on since they tend to want to follow every rut or groove in the road. Gorgeous car by the way and welcome to the site.

 

[Melk-man]

Are those goodyears repops or originals? I'd sure check out the date code.
And yep, more leaves and shorter leaves on the passenger side is typical of the High performance engine handling packages. Super stock springs are basically a stronger version of the stock not-the-same-#-of-leaves found on 440/hemi cars, except the front segment of the spring is shorter/stiffer than the stock b-body spring, so a different front hanger has to be used. Many guys have used either two rights or two lefts to raise the rear without the typical slant that a matched pair of ss springs often causes, Passenger side springs are always stiffer than driver side, ( Chrysler engineering... and physics).
If you're still curious, you could call one,of the spring companies to ask about more height. (Espo, and others used by members here.)
Edit: a pair of ss springs might be about the same money as one espo spring.

i doubt they are original as the car has, per Dave Wise who did inspection, foot wells cut out and replaced, and the tires sure look nearly new (but this gtx has to have some miles on it but gauges are replaced so only show about 900 miles since resto). these tires still have mold nipples on the sides and tread looks nearly new, not a hint of weather cracks.. but i can't find the typical 4 digit date codes on them.

 

[dadsbee]

Mine still have nubs on them.. no weather cracks. They are 34 years old.

 

[toolmanmike]

Not much arch and long homemade looking shackles. I would call ESPO and get some new ones and shackled ordered.

 

[Melk-man]

If you like the stance, leave it alone. Other than that, with those longer shackles, they may need to be re-arched or replaced. I'm pretty sure the stock shackles are 3 1/2" bolt to bolt. Yours appear to be 5 or 6". Factory springs on your car would have had 6 leafs on the left and 7 on the right. If you upgraded to new Super Stock springs and stock shackles you would probably end up with a slight rake like you now have. As far as the bias ply tires, unless you have a 100 point show car than is not driven much, I would ditch them for a set of nice radials. As you said, they are not much fun to drive on since they tend to want to follow every rut or groove in the road. Gorgeous car by the way and welcome to the site.

i've no reference to go off of, but agree these shackles look long (just measured, yes, 7" long).. and indeed, there's 6 leafs on left and 7 on the right. and agree, the bias ply look nice, but drive horrible. they gotta go as this is a driver, not a serious show car. i love takin it to get groceries now that i finally moved out of the big city

 

[Melk-man]

Mine still have nubs on them.. no weather cracks. They are 34 years old.

interesting.. lookin for the 4 digit date codes. maybe they are only on the non white letter side??

 

[Melk-man]

Not much arch and long homemade looking shackles. I would call ESPO and get some new ones and shackled ordered.

is this the correct contact ? https://www.springsnthings.com/

 

[33 IMP]

interesting.. lookin for the 4 digit date codes. maybe they are only on the non white letter side??

That is possible. If they are truly OLD tires, I think the date code is three digits.

 

[toolmanmike]

is this the correct contact ? https://www.springsnthings.com/

Yes. They are busy and backlogged but worth the wait.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Espo +2s on mine for 5 years now, great company

 

[Melk-man]

Espo +2s on mine for 5 years now, great company

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a wee bit more lift than i'm lookin for.. but i like it ! Sent them an email this morning. should hear back with info this week.

 

[Melk-man]

Got fast reply from Laura at ESPO.. the stock shackles were 3.5" center to center (so guessing about 5" total?) so mine are 7" end to end, so certainly longer shackles, and gave me some options on springs to go with.