CQR

I searched the site before buying and didn't find what I was looking for. I am posting to help others. The back was sagging soo bad, I had a hard time seeing what kind of car was behind me.

The first pic is with OE springs and shocks all the way around.

The second is with new rear Moog HD springs(not the cargo coils)

The 3rd is with all 4 new springs and KYB GR-2 shocks and alignment. I may add airbags to the rear for a little rake, but we'll see. The ride is 100% better.

OLDSmobility

DAMN that's a gorgeous car!

Allan R

I like the look you've achieved in the 3rd picture. Too bad you didn't wash and polish the car before the pics Just kiddin!! Awesome color combo. Those tires Cokers? Looks like one sweeeeet ride.

GAOldsman

Super nice car CQR I bet it does ride better.
Scot

Lady72nRob71

To say the least!

I hope my front end work will get me similar results!

CQR

Thanks for the compliments.

Allan, I assume they are Cokers, They came on the car when I bought it 2 weeks ago. They are buffed clean on the redline side but have 'Widetrack SR' on the blackwall side which is a Firestone built Roadking branded tire. I will be putting a set of 15X7 SSII once I get them painted black, and saving the redlines for local cruises and such.

I was expecting the front to sit higher since the new springs had an extra 2 inches of free height, But it doesn't bottom out any more.

The caster was set to -4' but now she runs straight with less wander, I may have to tweek my cross caster for the road crown, It wants to fade right on a highly crowned road.

I'll try to get some better pics up with a batter background once I get it polished up.

oldcutlass

Super nice car there!!

CQR

Thank you sir. What size wheels and tires are you running?

oldcutlass

P275-60-15 on 8.5" American Raicing Torque Thrust D in the rear, P225-70-15 on 6" front. Tires are BFG T/A's.

Front springs are stock originals, however I am planning on raising it 1/2 - 1" in the near future. Rears are Stationwagon springs with isolators removed.

Monroe Sensa trac shocks all around. I had to move rears to top mounting hole on the lower mounts.

442iowa

Can you tell me the Moog spring numbers you used? There's so many to choose from.
Thats the look i'm lookin for. I assume you have the 400 in your car. Do you have AC?
Great looking car!

67442HT

CQR, I also would like to know the part numbers of the Moog springs you used as I need to do the same to mine.

CQR

I can't find the proper application chart on line. I have my application catalog at the shop. I have left myself a message to look it up on Monday. If You don't get a response on here, p.m. me. Iowa, Yes, Its an A/C 400 but I don't believe the chart had a listing for that. I think I had to go with the 330 listing.

RAMBOW

If the outside sidewall is smooth except for the redline & the inside is something else, then they are Diamond Back's. They have several different tire options that they shave the sidewall & put on the new redline sidewall. The michelin's are one of them.

The Cokers are actually BFG Silvertowns- but they have an extremely limited number of sizes available.

The DiamondBack ones, are available in just about any size you could want. I've even heard of them putting relines & whitewalls on DragRadials! Pretty cool.

patmills

Nice Car CQR.

Has anyone used the coil springs and air lift kit that SuperCars supplies? My car sits like yours did CQR, but it still handles very well. I still have probably the original coils and someone put air shocks on at some point.

Thanks

Pat

CQR

OK, I just looked it up. I used Moog #5244 on the front and # 6321 on the rear. So they were not the HD springs. I do have air bags in the rear with only a couple pounds in them when empty. If loaded with luggage, I'll put 5-10 psi in them.

67442HT

CQR, Thanks for the spring part numbers

CQR

You're welcome 67442HT.

Rambow, You are correct, they are Diamondbacks in the LS5 model.

And also just to clarify. The 'after' pictures above, do not have airbags installed. The airbags were installed at a later date.

OLD SKL 69

Very nice car, the stance looks much better now.

442iowa

Thanks for looking those #'s up for me.

jeffsims

When you changed your springs, were the new ones different heights? I ordered a set from PST. The front have one extra coil and are +1-1/2". The rear have the correct number of coils, but are tighter. They are about 1-1/2" too short. PST assures me that they are correct and will give me original ride height. I really don't want to reassemble only to find that it doesn't sit right.

CQR

Yes sir. They are a different free length.

jeffsims

So you agree that I should not worry that the new springs are not the same free length as my originals?

CQR

Correct.

CQR

Update. With the shorter free length of the rear springs, anytime I put my car on the lift, the rear diff would hang low enough that the springs would fall out of their perches. Maddening. Yesterday I replaced the rear shocks with a shorter shock. now the springs stay where they are supposed to . I had originally installed the KYB GR-2 shock #343130 for the 67 cutlass. I now have #343157 which is 2" shorter at full extension. These are listed for the 1971 Olds 442. Hope this helps.

tmaleck

I've been after the same issue. thanks for the info. That is a good color combo...
Tim

Mak

Sweeet!!

eurojeff

Nice look,i'm doing the same on a 66 vert,what rear axle are you running,need to see if these work on 68-72 later 12 bolt,Thanks

CQR

Stock 'O type' Olds rear diff.

carr911

It's difficult to talk about Free Length with Springs! In this case you are talking about New Springs vs Old which obviously sagged. I sell Lowering Springs which are variable rate. Often times my Lowering Springs are taller than a Stock Spring in Free Length, but once under a Load are indeed lower while giving an OEM Comfort Ride and Better Performance.

My Point is - don't get caught up think that Free Length is a Correct Measuring Stick.

T.C.

BTW: CQR, Beautiful Car!

Sarum

[QUOTE=carr911;654305]It's difficult to talk about Free Length with Springs! In this case you are talking about New Springs vs Old which obviously sagged. I sell Lowering Springs which are variable rate. Often times my Lowering Springs are taller than a Stock Spring in Free Length, but once under a Load are indeed lower while giving an OEM Comfort Ride and Better Performance.

My Point is - don't get caught up think that Free Length is a Correct Measuring Stick.

Perfect timing! I have beeen thinking of lowering the front only on my 1965 Cutlass Sports Coupe to give that old school higher rear end look. I had a look on Jegs today and there was a company called Global West extolling the virtues of linear rate springs and bagging variable rate see here http://www.jegs.com/i/Global-West/45...54#moreDetails
As you are in the trade I'd like your opinion on linear v variable rate springs.
Moving on I would like to drop the front 2" purely because 1" doesn't sound like much of a change. I have a worry that the front tyres will end up too close to the inside of the fender (as you guys call them). The car has a really nice set of Super Stock 11 rims and 235/60/14 BFG TA radials all around which I don't really want to change. I have contacted a couple of companies here in New Zealand selling lowering springs on the web but they say they haven't got anything for my car. My bet is they have but don't know it Are there specifications I should be looking for? Like load rate, overall length, amount of coils, coil diameter etc I would be most grateful if you could offer any advice.
BTW prior to the car coming to NZ it was restored/modded and handles corners very well, nice and flat, no wallow and the ride is firm. So I am picking like everything else on the car time and money has been spent on the suspension.

carr911

[QUOTE=Sarum;654475]Without putting words in their mouth, what Global is saying is that the Springs are more consistant and that is true, and my Fronts are Linear for A-Bodies. My Rears are Progressive/Variable. Here is a more thorough explanation;

BMR springs are specifically designed to provide optimal handling without sacrificing ride quality. The rear springs are progressive wound to provide variable rates. The soft portion of the progressive winding maintains near OE ride quality during normal driving conditions. When the suspension is loaded during aggressive cornering, the springs enter into the stiffer portion of the spring. We have designed additional spring rate into this portion of the spring for better control and reduced body roll. The front springs are linear wound with improved spring rates as well.

BMR springs are available for two configurations. SP013 front springs and SP014 rear springs when combined will lower the car 1". SP015 rear springs lower the rear 2" and are designed for use with coil-over style front springs or with a combination of our SP013 front springs and lowering spindles.

Beware of low cost springs that sag over time. BMR springs are cold wound from high tensile strength chrome-silicon-vanadium to provide the longest lasting, most consistent rate possible without long term "memory" loss. Always check the spring manufacturers warranty before purchasing, you definitely get what you pay for. BMR provides a lifetime warranty against spring sag.


As far as how Much to lower, I Never have anybody call me back after ordering the 1" Drops. The Calls I get from the 2" Drops are based on perception vs reality. The Perception is very much like yours in that 2" is not much different than 1". The Reality is 2" is a pretty good drop from Stock and the people that call me back say that the Drop is really more than they were looking for. What I tell people is that on the Front's, you can start with the 1" and if the Drop is not enough, you can cut them. In Free length our 1" Drop Spring is 14.5 Inches and the 2" Drop is 13.5. One Coil is 1 Inch. Because the Top End of our Springs are Ground Flat, you can cut a 1/4 Coil, a 1/2 or a Whole Coil and still get them to line up with the Spring index on your Lower A-Arm.

T.C.

bigretic

Question, by moog "HD" do you mean the variable rate springs? I don't seem to find any labeled HD. I would like to get this setup installed on my 66 starfire.

CQR

In my old moog spring catalog the rear springs were available in 'Regular' 'HD' and 'Cargo Coil'

oldcutlass

You may want to start your own thread as I believe the Starfire uses different pn's than the A bodies.

CQR

Looking at the 66 starfire, my catalog only shows a regular (5245) and cargo coil options (cc503)

oldcutlass

What you need to do is get the spring dimensions, end type, and the specs and cross it to a heavier spring here. This list can be sorted by any column:

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com...il_Springs.asp

67442nut

Deleted.

txtom

After reading this thread and seeing the before and after pictures from CQR, I ordered and just finished installing the Moog 6321 springs. I lost an inch instead of gaining. What did you end up using?

CQR

Thats odd. Is your axle stock? Do you still have the insulators installed on the upper sides of the springs?

txtom

Yes, stock rear end and isolaters in place. The free length on these are listed as14.29 on the Moog chart. However, these measure 13.75. The box is marked 6321, so I don't know what the problem is.