I have this old hot rod I’m working on and having problems with the way the rear end aligns with the body. I have one leaf of the spring that is broken and I need to find a replacement for either the leaf or entire spring assembly. Can anyone identify what spring this is from the pictures? It is 2 and 1/4 inches wide and eye to eye about 44 inches. There are 10 leafs and the third one is broken at the spring retainer. It is a 34 frame and I believe the rear end is from a 37 Lincoln with a Columbia two speed. Where would I look to find a spring like this? Thanks
looks like maybe the rear cross member has been changed, i dont see the holes on the ends where the exhaust went thru originally. is the spring straight ? original was curved, cross member too. if its straight any 35 to 40 spring would work i think
There is a plate welded in the crossmember that prevents the spring from going up into the channel of the crossmember. Not sure what has been changed through the years but it looks like the ubolts and cross straps are home built.
Need to tell us if the spring is curved or straight. That is, curved front to back, not the arch of the spring. I would guess when they put in the columbia they also used a straight spring, 35 to 40. to fit a straight spring into a curved 34 cross member guys would grind a little off the front edge of the spring to fit the curve. some guys also replace the center section with a straight one. The plate welded in there i would guess is to change the ride height, but maybe it was enough to squeeze in a straight spring. to help it all make sense, the 32 to 34 spring was curved to allow the diff center to clear the cross member. those rear ends have spring perches closer the the axle. in 35, they got smart and got rid of the curved spring by making the perch arms longer, so axle in the same place, cross member in the same place, but a straight spring hooks em together.
look at this post, scroll down afew pics and you can see a couple good photos of a stock 34 cross member. note the clamps are not parallel due to the curve, and holes on the ends for exhaust. you can kinda see the curve in the back center wall
Thinking some more... your spring has the square cut ends on each leaf. that is characteristic of a 32-34 curved spring. 35& up will be straight, and have rounded and tapered ends. To put that later columbia into a 34, it would require a straight spring, and by golly i can not think of a straight ford spring with straight cut ends, and no taper. All the way to 48 they were round and tapered ends. I have whole springs, and bits and pieces, but one would first need to know what you have, and where the heck are you? a general location in your avatar might find help or a spring a mile away!
Thank you for your help on this. I'm located in Lander Wyoming. I'll update my info. I'll be removing the spring today to get some better pictures and measurements
This is what a '32-'34 spring looks like from the top. There is a guy on Fordbarn (https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296341) with a '32 spring problem, you might want to compare notes. Charlie Stephens
Looks like one wheel is further ahead than the other. I’m thinking the broken spring is causing the rear end to twist as well as lean.
The other problem is that the rear end is not centered under that car. I’ve been doing some measuring today and I think the hole in the channel for the spring bolt is 1/2 inch off. This will be easy to fix
Is it still torque tube drive? I think the spring was custom made at some spring shop. I don’t think it is a Ford built spring. Just get the broken leaf remade.
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