OKAY, I HAVE THE STANDARD DROOPY REAR END (THE CAR, MAN, THE CAR) AND I'VE HAD THE SPRINGS CHECKED. THE TECH SAID EVERYTHING IS AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE. HE WOULDN'T SHARE WITH ME THE DEFIFINITION OF "AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE", BUT, I'M CURIOUS, I'VE FOUND IN THE HAYNES BOOK A SECTION ON MEASURING THE FRONT SUSPENSION HEIGHT, YET, NOTHING ON THE REAR.

THE OTHER ISSUE IS, I PLAN ON HAVING A CLASS TWO HITCH INSTALLED FOR PULLING A 1969 WINDSOR CAMPER, (SLEEPS THREE AS LONG AS ALL OF YOU ARE THREE....YEARS OLD). ANYBODY RECOMMEND A GOOD QUALITY BRAND/MODEL OF AIR SHOCK THAT WONT SACRIFICE RIDE QUALITY WHEN RUNNING SOLO? (NO CAMPER, SPARE PARTS, ETC.)

[/u]

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IS 40:31 gets me through lifes challenges.

I Use the coilover shock style of overloads on my A-bodies.,,,,but air shocks are the same. They work well for upping your load capacity EXCEPT you must upgrade the upper shock mount. Failure to do so will result in catastrophic destruction of your trunk floor and shock mounts,,,,REALLY!
I add a "sandwich" of 3/8 x 3" flat iron on the inside and if possible the outside of the trunk. I use one piece to do both shocks. It ends up about 30" long with a hole in each end for the shock mount.

http://www.arrowtipi.com/My%20Webs/index%20Valiant.htm

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I suspect the tech to be your problem.

Take it to a repair shop that specialises in spring repair, not suspension. Look for "spring" in the business name. It sounds like you need your springs rearched.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

One trick I have used s to add extra leafs to the spring stack.
My station wagon has 8 leafs in the rear springs and it rides like a rock. It actually rides better with a load in it.
DD

i'll go ahead and second what Doc said.
If you're a dedicated cheapskate you can do the shuffle and add a thicker main leaf from a heavier set of springs from a bigger or higher performance car (like from a station wagon).

Watch re-arching springs. Sometimes they're completly clapped out and they'll be sagging again after a few months. Wuta PITA to do that boogie again.
*laughs*

If you're going for the airshocks... well... yeah... reinforce the mounting studs, and don't run 'em too hard. See previous posts on that one if you so desire, but BC Sandy pretty much touched on the highlights of having a shock go thru the floorpan. Wheee!

reporting from the front lines:
-JYH

?*perx*

What do you mean by "clapped out"? Mine were rearched last spring, they seem fine but a thicker leaf WAS added mind you... Are you referring to work hardening or metal fatigue? Am I going to have a cracked spring before fall?

Ok, what if I break the speed limit before fall?

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

I'm no metallurgist but... it's my understanding that once the steel reaches a certian point that it can't be returned to original.
In my case, i had the springs re-arched and about 4mos later they were back to the same place. Was it the shop, the process, or the amount of crap i had in the back of my car?
I dunno, but for my dime new springs are worth the extra bux.

now considering that you had them rearched AND a new leaf added you should be golden.

i've seen cracked springs from time to time, but it's generally from some type of false induction hardening or on big power car doing wheels up launches or both.

just throwing my .02 (.05 canadian) in to the ring

-JYH

I think I'll try to use my specialty of using unrelated items to rationalize things I know nothing about . Metal after it's been dented can never be returned back to it's original shape(therefore if you fix a dent high build paint or bondo is a must for a perfect look). Springs over time go flat, and since metal can never go back to it's original shape re-arching simply attempts it and get fairly close. A re-arched spring wouldn't last as long if you think about it because when you bend a piece of metal back and fouth it'll eventually brake. Probably would be the same thing that would happen to your leaf springs if you re-arched them 50,000 times(thank goodness they're thick steel ). Anyway, that's my rationalization, and I'll believe it tell someone tell me something better(who cares if it's true )

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My car may be slow to sixty, but at least it's been reliably slow to sixty for more than thirty years.

It's kind of a toss up on that subject, most guys do what Doc does and throw an extra stiffy into the mix.

Rearching works, but like a used set they do eventually go flat unless you add something or a helper spring into the set. You can buy new ones, but a few members in the past have gotten a new set and had them go 'flat' when they dumped their toolbox in the trunk...

Another 'third' option is for the bigger city folks, there might be a shop in your town that makes and installs spring sets and to your specs... Here in Portland, OR most draggers go to Benz Springs on Macadam and they know what your stock spring setup is, and can make the stack anyway you want it, and for a little more and a couple hours they'll install them for you with new bushings....

Make sure to also inspect your shackles and the shackle pads sometimes rust and cracks can make or break your simple spring upgrade....

-D.Idiot

I rearched the springs in my 75 and later my 76 Valiant years ago. They never sagged back. I'm still waiting for them to go back down in my 76 and they won't. (the 75 went to the salvage yard (rusted body) but I saved the springs) I got that 76 about an inch too high. I even used a forklift at work to set a 1200 pound piece of steel in the trunk (after I strategically placed 4x4 timbers in the trunk to transfer the weight out to the "Frame rails" area.) It pushed the back of the car almost to the ground, I jumped on the bumper too, but when I took the weight out the car came right back up to where it was. Now it's 6 years later and the car is still 1" too high in the back.

Is anyone using those fiberglass springs?
I think they look good but I don't have the cash.
http://flex-a-form.com/products.asp

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"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

Thanks guys, everyones input was great!!!!!

Special thanks to SHIVADART--I/ve been doing /fabrication/customizing for ma ny years and never made the crossover to the metalurgist point!
You rock

DusterIdiot you and I could work together very well, intellectual with a really twisted sense of humor. To bad my payroll can't handle it, not that there is any.

Really guys, thanks to all of you. I'm going to contact a friend who races Dusters and see if he can put together a mono-leaf setup for me with the modification to the trunk floor to use Big Block shocks in the rear.

That may sound really weird, but, he uses a variation of it racing. same setup, been on for three years, no sag.

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IS 40:31 gets me through lifes challenges.

All I can say is yeah.... I rock....

just kidding

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My car may be slow to sixty, but at least it's been reliably slow to sixty for more than thirty years.