Hey everyone! 11 years ago I replaced the leaf springs on my '64 dart GT. I got the new ones from "ESPO Springs and Things". They are sagging like crazy now. I have made many trips with camping gear and bicycles on the back, but I never thought that was excessive.
No boats, trailers, obese passengers, etc.
QUESTION IS: is that a reasonable spring lifespan? should I order new ones from them or someone else? I want heavier duty this time--station wagon springs or something. ANY ADVICE?

Go to a junkyard and buy a pair of leaf springs from a Dodge B-150 van. Take the spring packs apart and insert one of the leaves into your current spring pack.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Yes, 11 years might be a reasonable lifespan for a set of springs. How many miles during those 11 years? Which springs did you get, eleven years ago -- the standard 4-leaf "Chrysler saved three cents per car" variety, or something heavier duty? I would not hesitate to go back to ESPO and buy a set of their 5-leaf heavy-duty springs.

Adding a used leaf from the junkyard is a band-aid measure that might buy your sagged-out springs a short additional lease on life, but I cannot see it being worth any amount of effort or cost.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Depends. I would imagine that putting in a leaf spring from a lightly used van that had a factory spring rating of 1,950 pounds would add some noticeable stiffness and lift to the stock a-body four leaf spring pack. I guess I will have to report how this swap goes on my brother's 74 Duster since I will be adding a leaf out of the springs that used to be on his 83 Dodge van.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Funny thing, I was watching an old episode of Hawaii-Five-0 from 1973 last night...4 culprits were driving around in a 1969 Red Convertible Dart with Black interior...looked like a base V-8 car/Automatic...with 4 actors in it (the two skinniest guys in the rear seat)...the rear springs on that Dart were bottomed out...so even a stock 5 year old mopar might have had better days...back in the day...so to speak.

Oddly the road toad in the background scenes, seemed to have better suspension height...

-D.Idiot

The 9" drums worked better in the Road Toad (106½" wheelbase, ~2350 pounds) than in the '68 Dart (111" wheelbase, ~3100 pounds), too. It's almost as if Chrysler saved money by not upgrading the specs on things like basic-equipment leaf springs, torsion bars, and brakes as the cars grew bigger and heavier, or somethin'!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

i am considering loosening up the rear leaves and placing 1 used leaf from a van or truck on both sides to raise and level the rear sag on my 1974 dart.
option 1 - monroe coil over "booster" shock - 75.00 for pair
option 2 - espo leafs and hardware - 340.00 for pair
option 3 - used bone yard leafs - 40.00 for pair

My "cheap-a$$, throw labor & used parts at it" approach has been to dis-assemble a number of used leaf spring sets and "shuffel together" a new stack with extra leafs.

Our 66 wagon has an 8 leaf stack and rides better when loaded with an extra 600 lbs or so.
My "driver" Dacuda has 7 leafs and a angled wedge... one of the long leafs is flipped up-side-down, to keep the vehicle low and the spring stack stiff... it works.
The race car lancer, 7 leafs in the front section and 4 in the back, past the axle... designed for positive locating, combined with softness, for a 2600 lb vehicle needed weight transfer.

There is a good amount of engineering that goes into rear leaf springs and the work involve to make a "custom set" is not real easy and can be dangerious.
Because of that, re-engineering leaf spring "piles" is not for everyone.
DD

I would go for either leaf spring option- it would be highly dependant on what I had more of: time or money. At the moment I have neither, so replacement leaf springs for my wagon are way down on the "must have" list.

IMO coil over shocks (or air shocks) are a waste. They "hold the car up" (& stress the shock mounts), but for me they had a negative impact on stability & handling of the rear suspension. The tailend of my valiant was "twitchy" -a bit like mild oversteer- yet harsh over bumps. (The front suspension was rebuilt with new joints, bushings, bigger T-bars & a small sway bar)

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

Thank you all for your advice. I am not in a position to be taking apart and modifying any. If most of you stand behind ESPO, then I'll look at getting a heavier duty set. I'm sure that the old ones are stock. If any of you recommend another vendor, please let me know. Thanks!

we went to the JY and found that as mentioned dodge van springs are the right length. The center bolt is not in the right place, but they work. I think we grabbed E250 springs, and flipped the thick short leaf and flattened the pack. the rear rate is probably about 500 lbs/in. This is a rroad course race car, so we wanted it really stiff, and it is. car handles great on a track.

see photos for ride height


http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/68 ... 9673221263

http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/68 ... 9673221263

http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/70 ... 9673221263

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Dan H
Dudes Ex Machina