Hey People, I've got a 40 ford pickup witha 4" dropped I beam and a knackered front spring that I need to get re-tempered. It's also got a SBC into it so I ***ume that will change the required rate required due to the extra weight? What I after is the original spring specification so I can check what I have and then advise the shop on what I need doing. What I think I need is this Original amount of leaves Original leaf width Original spring thickness What weight rating I'd need with a SBC Original unloaded arch Anything else I've missed Thanks in advance for your help Gotzy EDIT Got the spring out and looks original, it's a 6 leaf spring and has an unsprung arch of 1/4"
gotzy im pretty sure original springs have 9 leafs in them, including the main leaf. about the weight - the flattie was only 50lbs lighter than a sbc - not sure about the difference in weights on the boxes though, sbc is 575, flattie was 525. as for weight rating for your truck best thing to do is take it to a weighbridge and get it weighed front and back - then you will have an exact weight to give the spring maker. as for measuring the width of it - is it a std 40 ford front beam? if not might be better to measure up what you have. sorry dont have a lot more info than that...
Here's what I wrote awhile ago: Re: How many spring leaves are you running? <hr style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and ***le --> <!-- message --> 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. <!-- / message --> <!-- sig --> No need to re-temper, just re-arch. You'll probably do more harm than good by having them re-tempered. As for the weight, that's really a non-issue. The original springs were made for dirt roads and had to be rugged. Today I'd be more concerned about ride comfort and handling. Do a search here on the subject for more info. I think you're getting too technically wrapped-up in the spring specs. This ain't no Formula 1 car!! You'll be very lucky to hit the right combination the first time.
Steve I had some rear springs re-tempered many years ago on an old 57 Pontiac I had. Within a few years some of the leaves had broken. If it was me I wouldn't go down that route.
Cheers gentlemen! Modifirddriver, what's the difference between re-tempered and re-arched then? Fair call on getting too technical but I suppose I'm after specs for getting it re-arched, having another look there appears to be grease marks that show here was atleast on more leaf on the orignal pack, making it 7 leafs. So if my packs lost strength and height can I simply ask the shop to re-arch them and give an inch or so more height? Gotzy
The Jalopy Journal
