Cutting rear coil springs on a Buick?

I've put new 2" lower than stock rear coils in my Buick and they only lowered the rear of the car approx. 1/4". Original springs were a little weaker than I had thought. My question is if I cut the new coils to drop the rear of the car more, what holds the spring in place after you cut out the coil that is used to hold the Buick springs in place? If I cut the top of the spring the mounting bracket and the weight of the car should hold the spring in place I'm thinking. How have some of you guys re-mounted the top of the springs to the car or is this one of those things I should not worry about and just cut the springs?

 

well I havent dome it, but my buddy has been doing it since the 60's, hes always told me that the weight of the car is fine to keep it there, and the shocks help a bit too, BUT I guess if a shock mount breaks, and/or the rear of the car gets to bouncing bad, you can lose a spring.... Or something like that.... Dont quote me, as thats the best I can remember of what Ive been told... If you do it, let me know, cuz My wagon needs an altitude adjustment.... -J

 

Cut off the top of the spring, then heat the top loop to make it flat.Then it will sit in its pocket just fine.

 

.....and why not borrow a trick from 60's through 90's ford pickups? They use a simple strap that loops around the top loop of the front coil spring and has a hole drilled through the other end. They run a 5/16ths bolt through the hole and bolt the top of the strap to the surrounding metal adjacent to the coil. It simply clamps the top of the coil to the car so it can't fall out when unloaded.

 

Thats a good tip Rocky.
If the coil is bolted to the axle and to the frame you shuold still be able to bolt it to the axle. I dont think you will have a problem. The coils in my 66 skylark are bolted to the axle and not to the frame and I have never had any problems. I have put 20,000 miles on it since it has been lowered. Dont forget to trim the bump stops a little. Makes for a nicer ride. I also suggest cutting one coil then reinstalling the spring to check height. It may take a few times but the rear springs are soo easy to remove You will be able to dial the height in pretty quickly
SLAMIT

 

<font color="green">I would drive that thing around a bit before you cut it, those springs may settle abit.

DO NOT heat a spring, the springs are tempered, that's what makes them spring.

The best thing to do if you need to cut them is to do it with a cut off wheel on a die grinder. Don't let them get too hot. You may also want to grind the end of the spring flat where you cut it so that the new end doesn't start to wear a hole in the spring pocket.

As said before, cut the top of the spring.

I cut a few rounds off the new springs I put in MAMA's 59 and set them back in there. They do have to be "guided" back into the spring pocket on top when I jack it up/down.

RASHY </font>

 

i cut 2 loops from my 62olds a few years back, and used the same method rocky metioned. just used a piece of flat stock with a hole drilled in the middle and clamped it in the pocket. worked like a charm.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Since they are new springs I think I will just add a little bit of weight in the trunk for awhile and see if I can help them settle a little bit. See how that looks and if the rear still needs to be lower I'll cut the springs a little bit. I was thinking about doing the flat stock with the hole drilled in the middle also, that would work pretty slick I would think.

 

I made some cups out of 6" pipe and steel plate for the lower end of my springs to nest in, then clamped them down inside the cups... this is on the rear of my '62 Invicta. Been in place for a year-1/2 with no problems.

Here's the poop...