Hmmm.... I'm thinking the staggered air-shocks are definetly your problem now. I'd wait until you switch back to standard shocks before you go tweaking with springs. Hopefully, that's all it is.
Scooper I think you may have the same problem I had. My 74 was leaning 1 1/2" to Drivers side. In searching for the problem I noticed my rear Leaf Spring Bushings looked extremely bad. I did not think that was why the car was leaning but I knew they needed replacing. I ordered new ones from Auto Krafters & replaced them. I was very surprised when the car sat more level after replacing them. It only leans 1/4" now. Those rear Leaf Spring Bushings made 1 1/4" diffence. Hope this helps.
Guess my '74 is the only one out there that leaned towards the passenger side. Of course it really leans to the passenger side now!
"what jamie dosent realize, but there is a high possibility of 200 pounds of pure gold inside the quater panel of that grabber"
On another thread, we are talking about how driver side springs constantly get more use/abuse due to the twist of the drivetrain forcing extra weight down on them. Could I sort of balance this out by putting the less used/stronger springs from the pass side over to the driver side. Sorta rotate my springs to even the wear? I will invest in new shocks in the very near future, like today, if I don't go to the car show in Houston, and see what happens. EDIT--looks like the car show today. Will have to put the shocks and spring swap off until next weekend.
You have pretty much already answered your own question. Spend the $120 and get new rear springs. A previous owner of the car was most likely very heavy and probably drove the car for years like that, causing the springs on that side to fatigue moreso than the ones on the other side. After 30+ years, your springs need replacing....and for the love of God, get rid of those air shocks...
Air shocks will be gone this afternoon. Putting Monroes on to replace them. Maybe new springs in the near future. Can you grease those squeaky non-rubber bushings to stop the squeak? Otherwise, I would rather just go rubber, and not deal with any extra noise.
They come with grease, but it does not last and they eventually squeak. had I known, I probably would have used some silicone spray-lube on them before installation. That's some slippery stuff, but of course I have no idea how long it would last either...
Got then new monroes for the rear today. Didn't have time to install them and remove the air shocks. Just for testing and for the fun of it...I am going to do the following and then measure corrections. If anyone has another step they want me to add, just for knowledge sake, holler. 1) measure ground to fender on both sides as is with air shocks and 25psi in them (should I bump up to 50psi and measure also?). 2) drain shocks and measure again at rest 3) take off air shocks, install "stock" new monroe shocks and measure. if I am not even to within 1/4", then 4) swap leaf springs right-to-left and measure. if still not even, then 5) new rubber bushings and measure. then, finally, even or not, 6) new 4-leaf springs and measure. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but that is the way I do things. I really want to be able to "expertly" tell someone what will work and what doesn't in the future. Or at least have some wisdom to argue one point over another. I will post my results when completed. Might take into and through the weekend. Does anyone have any stock shackles to donate/sell? Mine are homemade (cut down from extended shackles). Just in case they are not perfectly even. I would hate to have botched data from the shackles being odd sized.
Scooper it is your car & your decision. My says to do step 5 before step 4. I think it will save you some time.
Let me make one other suggestion; instead of measuring from the ground, measure from the center of your center-cap on your wheel to the center of the wheel opening lip. That takes any potential uneven ground out of the equation. You will know exactly how much the spring lifts the body from the rear axel on each side of the car...
Good points. I will try to heed all three of them. I agree that the +3" shackles plus the air shocks probably further weakened the 30 year old springs, that and the take-offs are a little stronger since I got it. I have been abusing these springs since day one. As far as saving time, I have plenty of it. And the more time I spend on this "experiment" the longer I am going without spending any serious money on another project (like a full MSD ingition or rebuilding the tranny!). I would personally like to narrow down what exactly is giving me the lean, and see if there is a combination of factors, and how much each factor is adding. Just curious
What size are the stock shackles? AutoKrafters has two sizes. It sounds like the new 4-leaf springs do NOT come with bushings, where do I purchase those from? JC or Autokrafters? So far, I found that my springs are uneven (go figure!) plus the air shocks were adding to the uneven lift. I inflated to 50 psi, then 25, then 0 and measured all around, and the more air pressure, the more uneven they became. I also think my tires have worn unevenly, adding another 1/4-3/8" difference. All leaning to the driver side. All together, giving me the 1-1/2" difference. I will put the new shocks on (had to swap them out, since they sold me front shocks yesterday, might swap the tires, and live with it until I buy new springs and new tires. Should be within 1/4" by then.
My 74 has 3 1/2' Shackles. Pretty sure they are stock. I bought stock replacements from Auto Krafters.
