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Good morning to all. I'm stumped on this one. Frame off restoration on my 70 442 conv. I've got the rear installed to the upper and lower control arms, nuts still loose. At this point I'm assuming that I can put the springs in. I'm actually thinking that I probably have to unbolt the upper control arms and lower the rear some because there should be some compression on the springs needed to install. I bought rear springs from Fusick that should be correct for my car. When I put the springs in (including the absorber against the frame, the springs are loose by about 3/4". They fall right out. I compared the new springs to the originals, and they are shorter by 3/8". Even so, having springs 3/8" taller, they would probably stay in place but still be loose when there is no pressure / weight on the rear. What am I missing? I've included a few pictures. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Andy.
Yes the design of some springs allow them to fall out of place if jacking from the frame, this lets the rear drop a bit. Have to be mindful of this when jacking.
Agree with the above. I have replaced rear springs simply by removing the shock (so the rear can hang as low as possible) and jacking the frame up until the spring is loose and can be taken out.
So, it sounds your saying that the shocks "holds" the rear axle closer to the frame. When you unbolt the shock from the axle, the rear will drop lower. Right now, as you see in the photo, I have the rear shocks installed. I thought of that initially which is why I installed the shocks.
Sorry for the delayed response. Thanks to all for the feedback! Right now, the upper and lower control arms are loose. I'm going to put some load under the rear until the frame starts to lift some. Then I'll tighten all the upper and lower control arm bolts. Maybe that will "stiffen up" the rear some so when I take the load off the rear, hopefully the rear won't drop as far and the springs will stay in place. If not, I'll just have to be careful until I get the frame on the ground.
