As I was disassembling the front end, I noticed the left coil spring was distorted. I've never seen anything like this and didn't know if any of you had any ideas as to the cause.
Funny thing is that the car didn't really sit lopsided, but the left coil is at least 3 inches shorter than the right side.
Various theories encouraged!

 

Is your car's nickname Ilene?

 

Collapsed or broken spring, rare but not uncommon. You need a new set.

 

Kinda looks like the ole adjusting ride height with an acetylene torch trick

 

"Kinda looks like the ole adjusting ride height with an acetylene torch trick "

That was my guess. It's obvious two of the coils collapsed some how.

 

makes the spring stiffer
shorter, but stiffer.

why? Hmmm... mischief makers have reasons that confound the sane.

 

It did sit a bit lower than my other 67, but rode a lot softer for some reason.
I was never enthralled with the way it drove, but with an m21, super high (2.56) O rear, I suspect it was meant more for highway than strip.

 

My drivers side spring in my 67 was broke in half when i got it. It still sat level.

 

Considering that the springs are held captive and somewhat compressed at full rebound, and the car is rarely at full rebound, they may have sat equal when installed into the car. I think that one spring took a different set than the other over the years and that is what it ended up as. Observers will note that both springs have the same amount of coils and only one area is compressed. I would say that one spring is more compressed at rest than the other, but it isn't a shorter spring.

In case y'all care, spring force is F=-K(x) where H is Hooke's constant (and that varies per material and thickness of said spring) and X is how far you compress it. I would wager that the constant changed on the deformed one, but, once compressed into the car, probably didn't make that much of a difference overall, as part of the spring failed, but the rest of it uncompressed enough to balance it out.

A broken spring would work, I think, provided the ends didn't get past and inside each other.

 

Used to date a girl named Ilean, left her cause she always took forever having one leg and all.

 

I think you have a K where you wanted to put an H.

 

No, he's right. It's F=ck(T).

 

Was her last name Dover?

 

I think she had a brother Ben...

 

I forgot to edit the second H to K. Spring force is some constant times the compression distance.