Was gonna run a cross leaf on the rear of the '27 but have since found a decent trunk section to use so most of it will covered up and I got to thinking about using a coil spring rear. Cheaper and easier I am thinking. Anyhow what "donor car" would have the coil springs I would want to use on the rear of the '27? I am thinking of using square tubing to locate the rearend and mount the springs to the tubing (think '67-'72 chevy p/u coil sprung rears) is it feasible to mount the tubing to the rearend with u-bolts to avoid having to weld to the rearend? Any pics of this type of set-up? I know this is very "Tex Smith" type '70s-'80s street rod engineering but its something I want to look at, thanks....
I read somewhere on here that someone used some dodge neon springs and they were perfect for a light car like that.
You need to see the Moog Coil Spring Catalog at your lcoal auto parts store. In the back is a section showing springs by style (flat ends, tangential ends, pigtails), wire diameter, and spring rate, plus free height. There will be something there you can use from a strut car. Then you know what to look for int the junkyards. In the old days we used Corvair front springs. My Old Roadster has coils from a little German Opel on the rear.
I used a rear Vega coil spring under my 32 3W. Have the same set up under my 32 Roadster. There are 8 different rear spring rates for the Vega ( in the old 70's GM parts book ) I used the lightest one ... a early year Vega notchback ... under the roadster. Under the 32 3W coupe ... I went up one spring rate to the regular Vega fastback ... without A/C The roadster rides real nice ... have not yet driven the 3W ... but soon ...
O'reilly's Auto parts [and others] I am sure offer an accessory overload coil setup for adding capacity to a leaf spring truck rear end... They are 1500 and 2000 lb springs and cost $35.00 a pair new....3" inside diameter and about 10 -12 " tall
Use coil springs made for coilovers. Small in diameter, available in many lengths, choice of spring rate, cheap about 60 bucks a pair. You can dial in the perfect ride just by changing springs! If it rides great but sits too low,pop in a longer set of the same rate.This setup is very tunable! Check out the resale value on ebay for springs, you wont lose much cash if you end up having to buy a few sets to get it perfect.
I am using these... http://www.swracecars.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=35&cat=Shock+%26+Spring+Kits+-+S&W Look like coil overs but not as adjustable. 199.99 I bought a 4 link kit that included the shocks it was ~500 less the rod ends. Nice guys too.
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