I want to say first off thank you for any suggestions and yes I have search a ton of threads but nothing what I think I need. I purchased a 30 coupe that has the 1/4 leaf springs front and rear. The car has no shocks and is not in a bind or hitting anywhere. The only problem I have with it is the ride is so rough it feels like a solid mount axle. I have build plenty of cars and a lot of more traditional suspension 4 links, airride, ect. but I have never even rode in a car with 1/4 leaf setup much less owned one. I can see by looking at it that I will be fixing and changing some stuff to satisfy my own piece of mind. Some of the welds and thickness of perchs are not to my liking. Anyway I am just curious if anyone has experience with 1/4 leaf setups like this and what maybe a solution to having at least a little suspension other than the tire pressure. Lol it really is that rough. I am a 47 year old 90s mini trucker and those were not as bad as this. The adjustable bolts in each are what I ***ume for height adjustment, but does this have an affect on stiffness. The car tracks good and handles fine with very little bump steer. er. is. ng. le.
You do have what looks like an attempt at a friction style shock, so the first thing I would try would be loosening those to see if that helps. I would not expect to have a cloud like ride with that short of a spring though.
Your upper links are also friction shocks. See the rubber dampers that are squeezed against the inner pivot point? Only way to soften leaf springs is to remove leaves or thin them. But that will also make the car lower. So you would need to compensate by putting more arch in the revised spring. As you can see, you don’t have any room to spare below that grille. I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten smushed already.
I have 1/4's on the rear of my roadster and they ride nice, nicer with two in the car but not too stiff with just me. I have never had them up front. Seems to me like you could drop the top spring and add a spacer to soften things up. Just a guess.
Agree with above, loosen up friction shocks first. If that doesn't work, pull the springs, drop a leaf out and replace the leaf with a matching thickness shim and reinstall. That's where I'd start, then if that doesn't work change out more leaves but re-arch springs to get your height back.
Those springs are so short it's hard to imagine them flexing much. An "outside of the box" fix might be to place an appropriate rubber cushion between the adjuster and the spring. Early Minis were rubber suspended.
I've a Quarter elliptical rear spring setup on my avatar which I must admit is at this time unproven since it was fabricated by memory as the suspension has long ago parted from the ch***is, I do know the springs were from a 60's Jeep Commanche pickup with very similar rear weight jacks, however the springs were much longer which may be the culprit of a harsh ride as your rears appear extremely short. Difficult to compare a suspension built for racing to a street driven case so hopefully someone will chime in more liking to your application.
That is great to know. I did not think about the upper links being friction shocks. I will definitely try loosening them first. Thank you
I appreciate that. I did not even think about that and it will be the first thing I try. I definitely do not expect a great ride just a little movment in the suspension would be nice though.
Thank you all for the insight and recommendations. I was considering removing a leaf but I did not realize the upper arms are being used as friction dampers. Like recommended I will loosen the arms first and then move forward accordingly. Again thank you all for the help
How wide and thick are the spring leaves ? Should be able to get an acceptable ride. Those "friction shocks" are suspect.
I just loosened the " friction shocks " up a couple turns and ran down the road. It already made a huge difference. I will just need to take the time now to adjust the preload on each corner to dial it in better. It is at least not sending me to the chiropractor after each trip. Thank you all I am so very appreciative
They sound like recycled truck springs. Full size pick up. Here are the ones from Posies: https://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/super_slide_springs/featured_products/ They have 5 leaves, you have 3 ? Pretty sure that the Posie springs are narrower and thinner.
I would take those things apart, to see what the friction material is. And how the pivot was actually made. The concept is workable, but details matter. And execution is critical.
Engineers have spent millions of dollars over the years, designing suspension systems for all sort's of makes and models. Once in a while someone will think he has a better idea and spends a lot of time and money cobbling something together that in the long run is down right dangerous and simply does not work. Does the ty-rod hit the spring when it flexes? What are the spring rates? Did you drive the car before you purchased it? Some of the weld's on the rear set up look a little rough and the location of those adjustment bolts on the spring won't do anything where they are located. Sometimes re-inventing the wheel won't work.
When I built my own quarter elliptical springs on my model A I used Suzuki samurai springs. With it together minus interior and gas tank it felt really good just bouncing it in the shop... ...
I will be doing lots more research on this setup as I do like it and as long as I can get it to function properly and safe I will use it. I have driven the car about 1500 miles so far and the only issues were 2 botls on the altenator broke off in the block that we had to remove and replace with grade 8 and the stiff ride beating us up. The bolts on the friction shocks were all the way tight so as soon as I broke them loose you could feel the tension relax on the suspension. I left them tight just broke loose from the bottomed out all the way tight stage and it made a huge difference just taking it down the road and back.
Kept looking at this thread, trying to understand the problem. Then I had an AHAH! moment. Ruffles have ridges. Suspensions are rigid.
Yes sir I agree that sometimes things are better left alone and like a lot of people we usually realize that after the fact. I also believe without trying new things we never know what is possible. I have seen more creative functioning suspension in my life than most people. I have built more than most people honestly. Trying new things or adapting parts to something it was not intended for is a big part of cars for me. 1/4 leafs and friction shocks are a new thing for me but with my 32 years of building and fabricating I'm sure I will pick it up pretty easy. I absolutely agree with the welds and a few other things that are not up to my standard nor will they be left that way to long. I did test drive the car and the car drives straight with very little bump steer almost none. It tracks well and the tires all have even wear. I have put 1500 miles on the car and the only complaint was the stiff ride. It is like all custom cars though and it is not up to everyone's standards or expectations and it does not have to be. It meets mine and with a little direction from experienced individuals it will get better.
Friction material has a lot to do with how well friction shocks work or don't work. How tight the nut on the bolt running through that setup is counts for a bunch too and I have never seen a set that worked right that didn't have some sort of spring setup for tension. I'm wondering if those short springs aren't half of a batch of short trailer springs. Those usually don't have much of a smooth ride running down the road without a load on them.
The friction shock arms look like they're also being used as suspension links. Might not be a good idea to run them too loose. Gary
I'm not sure honestly. The gentleman I got it from owned it for a few years and just drove it to local events and around town. The owner before him is who I believe built the car and I do not know any information on him.
I agree. I just broke it loose and stopped. I do plan on adding a jam nut and some loc***e, with the nylon nut that is already in place I think it will be good ( not fall off ). Now as far as how long the friction material stays together,,,,,we will see.
Yea I like the friction shocks and if this setup doesn't work out I will probably go with a setup similar to that.
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