I've been Googling this topic for a few days, and before anyone says anything... yes I've read a good number of the older posts in various forums about possible methods to do a roughly 1" lift in the back. It seems to have kinda' petered out a few years ago, so I'm wondering if there's an elusive thread with the mystery solution or whether people gave up or whatever.

I'm getting some rubbing somewhere in the wheel wells (I think) when I ride over road imperfections like where there's a shallow bump or area that was patched. On a nice road, nothing. So I'm thinking that aside from the added clearance, I actually would like a little more rake on the car than I have now.

So I've heard the older solutions; have the springs re-arched, add air shocks, go 4-Link and use coil overs, and so on. Going 4-Link is not in my budget, my car has mono leaf rear springs so its not a pack. Don't know about re-arching a mono leaf and whether there's anyone local that does it. Can you even add a leaf or helper spring to a mono leaf setup? I've never ever heard anything good about air shocks, only that they eventually leak. I also don't know if any production replacement leaf spring pack would give me the inch without totally killing the ride.

One Idea I thought might be worth asking about is switching to coil-assisted "overload" shock? Supposedly they will only raise a vehicle 1" - 1.5" but put more out resistance to heavy loads.



These are Gabriel "Load Levelers" but there are similar shock/spring combos from Monroe and other brands. Basically the concept is not too dissimilar to coil-overs except they are not adjustable.

Another half-baked idea I thought about was what if the shocks were moved inboard and adjustable coil-overs were used to supplement the mono leaf? Obviously it would mean installing a "shock bar" across the rear.

I'm just throwing ideas out there... trying to figure out how to pick up that extra inch of clearance. Note that the car is not intended to be racing in any manner, its simply a cruise night driver. Any and all ideas are welcomed... by me and I'm sure by others LOL.

Mike

 

Funny you should mention load leveler shocks. I have heavy duty multi leaf springs, and if I bounce my (220 lbs) body weight on one side in back, it might go down an inch. My plan was to remove a leaf, and use either air or spring assist shocks, with the hopes it removes some of the truck like ride. So that was my initial thought here, then scrolled down and saw the pics. lol. It would be the least invasive, imo. They'll stiffen up the ride a little, and limit the travel from what you have now. But that could be a good thing, the mono leafs are a bit squishy compared to multi. Yes you could have your springs re-arched, you have to remove them and take them to a spring shop. And it'll be a crap shoot whether they end up where you want them to be.

 

Chuck...

I don't want to invest a ton into the rear of the car bc the guy I bought it from may sell me a complete 9" Ford rear that is currently under a '69 Camaro Z/28 he's going to restore. Its all set up with a multi-leaf pack and disc brakes too. He's already got a DZ302 motor and a 12-bolt rear that is going to be rebuilt and swapped in. So I have first dibs on the Ford rear, and the swap would be relatively straightforward. He's restoring the Z to original color, period correct motor, rear, etc. and I could care less whats under my car if it works LOL. And I know the 9" Ford is a super solid rear.

So my goal is to just make it drivable and less annoying right now. Two inch shackles would give me 1" in the center (I think?), but I'd never go with those shackles that stick down under the rear valance. I could bite the bullet and put air shocks in knowing its a temp fix, just wondered if the load leveler approach had been tried by anyone to get that inch.

Mike

 

A good spring shop would be able to re-arch the springs.
I would try the coilovers before air shocks.
You could, dependent upon the integrity of the J-nuts for the front spring eye holder, add 1 inch diameter with a 13/32 inch dia hole 1 inch thick spacers between the spring eye bracket and body.
If J-nuts turn, more work in replacing nuts and/or drilling a 1 inch hole from above - remove rear seat - and use a regular locknut.

 

That's about right. And the 1" front spacer that Everett is suggesting will give you about 1/2" lift. Or you could do 1" spacers in front and 1" longer shackles in back to give you your full 1" drop. Personally, I'd go with the load shocks, I think it's going to give you more what you're looking for with less farting around. Even if they didn't raise the back by much, they're going to limit your leaf spring compression during bumps and dips.

 

Update: I yanked off the tailpipes which were hitting the frame, gas tank, lower fenders, and probably the axle. For the time being I installed turndowns and 99% of the clanking has gone away. I even took a test drive with two 200-pound adults and two 65 pound kids in the back seat and it was ok... Only heard it hit once over a big dip.

I did measure the distance between the top of the axle and the bottom of the frame and it was barely 5.00 inches. Eaton Detroit Spring told me a stock mono spring on a V8 car with 15" wheels should measure 6.3" new and would be ok at 5.500". From the center of my hubcap to the bottom of the lip it's 12.00". So yes, the springs are tired.

Was wondering if anyone has ever tried adding a second leaf to the mono? We've all seen Add-a-Leaf kits for 4X4 vehicles where one or multiple leafs are added for more lift. So short of making the car too high (for my taste) with a new mono or 3-spring pack... I just wondered if I could add a leaf?

Am I off the wall on this? All I want is about 3/4" more height.

Mike

 

In my opinion FWIW, I would not even try air-shocks... I have used load levelers on my 1977 Camaro with good results; somewhere around a 1-2" lift. (Second gen's are notorious for dragging their asses.) And they are relatively inexpensive to try.

 

Since your springs are "tired" (old and worn out), I would consider replacing them with multi-leaf springs, or a composite mono leaf. Steel mono leaf springs can break, especially when old and tired. That could leave you in a dangerous situation with a car that veers out of control. Whereas, if a multi leaf spring breaks, the other springs will give the broken one support. Composite mono leaf springs don't typically break.
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