I cut my front coil springs & need some advice please

Discussion in 'Cosmetic' started by jerry dutton, Jan 6, 2017.

  1. jerry dutton

    jerry dutton Member

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    Hey Guys

    Jerry here....it has been a while. My wife has had some troubles with surgeries and I have not been able to do much on my Maverick.

    But while at work today I got to thinking about what all I need to do when spring starts to come around and there has been something I have been wanting to ask to see if you guys have run into this......

    I cut my front coil springs and am very happy with everything except that when I raise it...the spring does not spread out enough to keep itself in place. Now I am using heavier Mustang springs and have not had them very long so will they spread (while under pressure ) over the years?

    I have considered maybe a "shorter" shock? I mean that in terms of shorter when it is fully extended.

    What do you guys think?


    Thanks

    Jerry D
     
  2. dyent

    dyent Member

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    Coil springs will not extend anymore than they are now, over time they will eventually compress/sag. Having heavier/stiffer springs will give better handling (along with thicker sway bar, better shocks etc......) but will make for a firmer ride. If your coils have been cut down to the point where they almost fall out of their seat, then I would suggest lifting the car up under the Lower Control Arm, to keep the spring in place. There are no "shorter" shocks, but what old time racers back in the day did when they cut down their springs, was to install "limiter" cables between the upper control arm and outer shock tower cover, so when the car was raised at the crossmember, the cables kept the spring seated in place..........
    Here is a picture of my cut down 69/70 Boss 302 Mustang springs (620 lb/in rating) next to stock coil......no need for spring compressor, as I can remove when control arms are dangling free!
    Also, it is hard on the shock if it is fully extended out because of cut down springs, best to remove or unbolt/rotate the upper mounting of the shock if you are going to lift your car in a method that the control arms dangle.
    Another ol'school method was to install "blocks" on top of the shock mounting bracket and then bolt the upper shock to that if coil springs where cut down really short to keep the shock from bottoming or over extending.....
    David
     

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    Last edited: Jan 7, 2017
  3. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    been there.. done that.. even did it again not too long ago. lol

    The problem you now have is that the spring has been shortened too much at full suspension droop for the available distance between the coil springs perch on UCA and the shock towers spring register. You can run a thicker rubber/poly shim above the cut spring to gain some length back but unfortunately the front end will raise by that same amount and work to kill your cool factor. Shocks just fit between that same distance and have no control over the springs geometry other than to act as a slight bumpstop or travel limiter(which is never a good thing for shocks if stresses are too cumulative and/or excessive. Springs don't get longer.. only shorter as stress/pressure slowly crushes and weakens them. The better quality the spring.. the longer that takes to happen.

    So what happened here is that the springs rate was too high for the actual weight of your cars frontend and by the time you got the ride height nailed down the spring ended up too short for the available distance between the saddle and perch. At this point you need to decide if you want to:

    start over with a lighter spring that can be cut by 1/2 coil less and still achieve your preferred ride height?.. this longer spring will take up that extra slack between those two mounting points but the lower spring rate will allow more compression and lower the stance. Then get a stiffer sway bar to overcome the softer springs tendency to lean the car over in the corners.

    or run a suspension travel limiter. just keep in mind that any limiting of full suspension droop/travel means the car can more easily lose contact with the ground during heavy bounce or severe grade changes at speed. So they'll be no more railroad crossing jumps or dukes of hazard ditch hopping for you my friend! lol

    ps.. another late reply.. hey Dyent.. where's those Boss 302 spring pictures at?
     
  4. dyent

    dyent Member

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    Hey Greg!
    Should be posted now, was correcting some spelling when you posted! Boss 302 coils, approx. 6-6 1/2 coils, 12 inch. Ride not too harsh since I went to fully rollerized Opentracker front suspension, alot smoother compared to OEM stuff!
    David
     
  5. jerry dutton

    jerry dutton Member

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    Hey giys thanks for the quick response...I understand what you both are saying and was pushing the curiosity factor there a little.

    Well I may consider the cable idea as really one of the only things I will have left to do (after engine/tranny install, seats dash etc etc lol) would be to have the exhaust done.

    I guess I could hang around when they do the exhaust and make sure the springs are in place when lowering the car :( lol

    Thanks again

    Jerry D
     
  6. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    Good deal. Look at the height differences there! lol

    TBH, I was just screwin' around when I cutting my Comets springs last year. Basically ended up with 2 similar length coils after I cut like 4.5 coils off to mock the final engine install weight. I can literally lift up my fender and reach in to pull out the coil spring. Anyone who's ever lowered an lighter engineless unibody car down onto its old strut rod suspension without springs is surprised by the amount of torsional resistance these old suspensions have built in. And I always laugh when people ask if strut rods or roller perches are worth the money. If they only knew the amount of binding going on under there. lol

    Eventually figured I'd hunt down some progressive rate springs to shorten up on the cheap. Kind of a hybrid design with stiffer progressively shorter/higher rate coils up top. Figure about 1.5-2 coils cut should get me close to where it's still a bit more streetable and my springs won't move around any.
     
  7. Rapture

    Rapture Member

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    how many coils did you cut and how many inches did it lower?
     
  8. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    cutting the coil springs is the last thing you do after... "engine/tranny install, seats dash etc etc"...:yup:
     
  9. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    You must have cut a heck of a lot off those springs to make them do that.
     
  10. Krazy Comet

    Krazy Comet Tom

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    I have TRW 8088 springs for a '70-'72 6cyl 170/200 in mine... No knuckle dragging or springs falling out, I'm happy with them...
     
  11. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    I would think they were cut without motor/tranny installed...:huh:
     
  12. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    once you start getting closer to 3 coils?.. the springs start getting too short to fit between the 2 mounting points. This is the biggest issue you'll run into with stiffer springs. The fronts of these cars are so light compared to the much higher spring rate that you're forced to keep cutting to get the front end down.
     
  13. jerry dutton

    jerry dutton Member

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    I cut the springs and all of that when I first got the car....I took out the power steering, put in manual steering, front disc brakes, basically an almost complete new front end. Purchased the mustang "heavier" springs and cut them. New shocks too.

    Then I was hot rodding and slung a rod thru the block :(

    I am happy with the stance and was just curious if anyone here ever had the same issue.

    I am looking forward to the spring so I can get the new engine, rebuilt tranny back in it. While I was doing all of this I decided to try and clean up the interior. I painted the dash, back seat delete, painted the side panels and made some door panels. Got a new 2 piece carpet kit to install....oh and also did a column to floor shift conversion. Also have a front windshield to put in...and a driver side door latch to swap out.

    I am also thinking of using a 1985 Mustang GT dual air snorkel breather and maybe trying to make the grabber inserts flow? or I may just pipe to the front...It would be cool to fab some type of bracing to mount those insets to...would probably have to open up the holes in the hood and have some rubber gasket around them. I think that would be cool.

    The list seems to keep growing lol. I am wanting to hopefully enjoy driving it this summer.

    Thanks

    Jerry D
     
  14. jerry dutton

    jerry dutton Member

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  15. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    yep.. remember that the carbs filter housing needs volume.. those blingy smaller aluminum housing stuff can be no good. Might be decent enough for EFI.. but not a carb. Ray's is done right.
     

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