How many spring leaves are you running?

I'm working on my gl*** 34 3 window and I think I've installed too many leaves. I've been building hot rods for 40 years now and everyone has been different, but I always managed to be pretty close in setting up the front spring, but this time the car just seems to sot too rigid even after eliminating a couple of leaves. There's no interior or fluids in the motor yet but there's not a lot of other waeight to go in there so tell me how many leaves in the front of a 34 Highboy xoupe with a smallblock and an automatic.

 

i got 4 or 5 with a spacer left in the front of my 34 modified, it's a pretty soft ride-the rear Aspring is stiff as all get out tho!

 

This is what I do on my '36 - '40s. Heavier cars and longer springs, but it might work. I get riders that comment how nice the ride is in my cars and still maintain good handling.

In the front I run 10-11 leaves and in the rear 8-9.

I derust, deburr and rearch each spring leaf.

I usually take the 3rd leaf and use this as a template to arch all the other leaves to. This one usually still has some good arch left in it.

When I'm done I can compress the entire spring package together almost all the way with my hand to install the centerbolt. Then I dis***emble and paint all the leaves.

I install only the main leaf only on the car and then re***emble the package together using a new long centerbolt and c-clamp. This way I don't have to fight with the spring and use a spring spreader. I apply a liberal amount of a water repellant type grease between each leaf.

I like grease better than nylon strips. I recently took a 25+ year old spring apart that used the plastic between each leaf. There was a bunch of rust between each leaf and the plastic was worn through in many places causing metal to metal contact.

I like to get the spring to operate with as little internal friction or binding as possible. This was the way we did on our leaf spring race cars to make sure the suspension was bind free.

 

Are the leafs painted or powdered?

Powder has a high coefficient of friction.
Even with a Posie's type spring that has the Teflon ****ons.

It will free up after some driving.

Put a few hundred miles on it at the least before you make changes.

'Course, if it rides like a truck right out the door, you'll probably want to make some changes then, but I wouldn't sweat it until you actually drive the car.

Leaf spring removal or adding of same is easy and quick to do on the transversely sprung thin fender cars.

 

It's a Horton Spring with teflon and it's powdercoated. The car's not done yet but it has a rad, small block and automatic and with 7 leaves and with me ( over 300 lbs) jumping on the front frame horns it doesn't move a bit. I know there's still weight to go on it and it will move after a bit. I'm glad you mentioned the friction of the powder - I would have thought it to be slippery. I'll wait a bit til I can drive it and make adjustments after a few miles like you sugest - thanx

 

I doubt it, but I'll ask anyway.

Any chance the shackles are contacting the axle due to a too long spring or too long shackles?
That wouldn't allow the spring to flex due to it has nowhere to go.

The Posie's spring on my 32 was powdered and even with the Teflon ****ons it took some driving before it would flex reasonably easy in the garage.

Another one you could look at is - and with 7 leafs it's doubtful - is the spring pack so high up in the crossmember that the leafs are contacting or almost contacting the frame?
A possibility if you tried to get the car real low.
A spacer between spring pack and crossmember would help in this area - if necessary.

I now have the Posie's spring that was originally in my 32 in my 31 on 32 rails roadster project.
Even though the spring/powder combo is broken in, it still doesn't move easily in the garage - better than the initial install now - although driving it worked well.

More than likely you just need to drive the car and get things settled in.

 

I'm sure you're right. I'll wait til it's driveable and see if it settles down. Every other hot rod I had did, whetther it was leaf or coil springs. It just seems a bit stiffer than any of those previous rides. probable due to the powder coating. Thanx

 

300lbs on a 7 leaf spring and you can't budge it? I am a first time builder and I'm not finished yet but I have 7 leaves in my A with a 401 and 4 sp in it. I can bounce that thing a good inch, maybe 2". I'm about 180lb. Painted spring, greased. Sounds like something is jammed.

Pete