The negative experiences with Posies springs reported on Ryan's latest thread have me concerned and inquisitive. I plan to install reversed-eye springs on the front of my F-1, along with a 3-inch axle, and was offered a set of near-new Posies by a fellow F-1 builder on another forum. He has a driveway problem, and the Posies and dropped axle under his truck parked the front bumper too close to the pavement to get him comfortably into his driveway. So, he changed out the springs for a new set of stockers and now everything is right in his world. I accepted the springs (free) offering to at least pay the shipping. I have a full set (both ends) of Helwig springs with reversed eyes, flatter spring pack, plus a full set of reversed-eye main leaves, in adddition to a vintage 3-inch drop Mor-Drop axle. I intend to do a lot of playing with the stance and at***ude of my F-1 and am looking forward to the Posies that were just added to the mix. I'm having some concerns, however, based on the comments about Posies springs in Ryan's thread. I'd like to give the Posies springs a fair trial, but I don't have the time to do a magazine-type evaluation, in which the work is done by someone else and I simply report on the findings. I'll be doing the work myself, with considerable help from my pal Fuller, but it will be on my daily driver which I can't lay up for days at a time. So, how about some first-hand experience with Posies and other aftermarket leaf springs? There might actually be a magazine story resulting from this and I will be pleased to cite anyone who wished to be credited, should it come to that. TIA Mike
<font color="green">As I stated earlier, they measured up the same but seemed to have different load rates, leaving the frame sitting eneven. If these have already been installed and the dude didn't notice anything odd, then you should be awe-ite. I know another guy with a set in a 48 Aerosedan and he *****es about the ride. But he *****es about EVERYthing. RASHY </font>
Nice truck. I put a Posie reversed eye spring in my 40 Ford. No problems. Reversed eye drops it one inch.
Hey Mike Those reverse eye springs I got from you a couple of years ago I think were Jamco's. They rode pretty nice and a 3" Mor-Drop gave me about 5 to 6 inches of drop from stock. Shock mounting does prove interesting with the Mor-Drop I think the way to go is to use F100 lower shock mounts the type that bolt through the shackles. Maybe will be helpful maybe not Tiny
Mike, although my case isn't quite like yours; I did something to my 2000 Dakota Sport that allowed some degree of adjustment. I lowered the the truck 4" using dropped spring hangers. (hangers on the rear, modified coils on the front) Trouble was some of our roads are either too rough or our alley entrances have too sharp an incline so I was having clearance problems. I don't know if my solution would work in your case; but I now have mini air bags that "***ist" the leaf spings. They are mounted on the axle and connect to the frame. When ever I need to change the ride height (a load in the back for example) I have two air fittings that I can easily add or remove some pressure to get the ride back to an acceptable height. Now I realize your problem is at the front, but when getting the bags installed they offered me a set for the front. The info showed setups for beam front axles and leaf springs. Another trick I used on the '41 truck was to use Monroes "air over" shock absorbers, I still have them. Just a couple of thoughts.
I ran a reversed eye Posies Super Slide on the front of my 32 roadster for about 5 years. Swapped it for a Durant Mono-Leaf in an effort to gain more spring travel. Part of it's my fault as I should have notched the frame up front, but didn't. Spring travel gained - which more than likely is not a problem for your F1 - was about 1". The Posie's spring pack - as would any other similar spring pack - bottomed out that much sooner than did the Durant. The Durant - also a reversed eye spring - has worked well, but it has sagged. It's not loaded that badly, the 455 Buicks weigh about 15# more than an SBC and the only real added weight would be the heavier T-400. The Posie's spring is in the 31 and the frame rail is notched - which gained about 1" extra clearance. I tend to not go too deep with frame notches and "C's." I'm looking forward to the Posie's working well in the 31. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a small aside and this is more for the other guys reading than for Mike. Couple of years back we were discussing C's & notching and Mike (AV8) recommended I construct the front notch a little deeper on the inside half of the frame rail than it was on the outside. The thinking behind it was that the spring leaf would hit the upper part of the notch flatly and the resulting load would be spread out and not concentrated in a small area. A good idea I felt and the notch was constructed that way. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like one of those deals where it doesn't hurt and really could help. Help in the vein of getting away from loading the spring in a concentrated area which could lead to an early failure. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Getting back to Posie's I've found them a good outfit to deal with. Only problem I had was the Teflon ****ons were missing on a spring order and they sent a set out posthaste. Initial service was good as well.
I would think that if one had parallel leafs that were settling different amounts or were apearing to first swap the other axles springs right to left to see if the problem isn't at the front instead of the back and if that doesn't change it then take the two spring packs apart and swap every other leave with each other to even them out. Of course the fine tune would be to check weight at each corner with scales like track racers use to set up their cars. It could be a twisted frame as easily as a bad spring ya know?
I have the Posies "Super Slide' springs on the back of my shoebox. I got my Posies springs as part of the deal when I got the car. By the time I got to the point where I could install them in the 2+ year build, there was no way that I could return them, and I never had the receipt anyway. Problem #1: The springs had noticeably different arches from the moment I put them on, but being so close to getting the car on the road, I decided to put a short lowering block on one side to even it out. What I didn't realize was that this was going to create a "wiggle" going down the road. If I would have had them re-arched (matched) to start with...or if I could have returned them to Posies to be repaired, I could have avoided this problem. Problem #2: After repeated hard shifting, the springs started to get pretty weak pretty quick. They were wrapping up so much that the pinion nose would rise to the point that the driveshaft would rub the floor. I raised the tunnel twice to try to give the driveshaft some room, not realizing that the springs were actually my problem....and it still rubbed. Mounting up the old "******* bar" style traction bars was not an option, because I didn't want them hanging down under the car. I finally discovered the 'Traction Master' style traction bars, and decided that they would be an acceptably trad and cool looking alternative. I just finished putting them on and I'm really happy with them so far. I wouldn't be aprehensive running the Posies springs again, but I would make sure that both the arch and the spring rates were the same before I tossed the receipt. You'll be able to tell if they are different fairly easily, because one side of the car/truck will sag. Here's a picture of my springs taken this past week before I took them to the spring shop.
The spring shop charged me $70.00 to dis***emble the springs and match the arches. The springs had about 35,000 miles (and a little Bonneville salt residue ) on them when I pulled them out. Now that I've gotten it all straightened out, I'm pretty happy with the way they ride.
Somewhat OT response but not really. When I worked at the salvage yard...we always sold springs in PAIRS....never just 1 side because they always came back to haunt you. They can look the same, even sitting next to each other on the floor. Installed is a whole new story. The springs that were installed in the other F1 should be OK if he had no level problems...... .
<font color="green">I should have mentioned. When we contacted Posie, they sent out a new set as well as a call tag for the others. Second set sat well but it's been 6 years and the car has yet to see the asphalt so, no reports on the ride quality. RASHY </font>
I've got the Posies Super Slide lowered leafs under the rear of my 54 Chevy. I bought them new about 5 years ago. They delivered them right on time to my door. I put them on the car and have been completely happy with them. The car sits even, no ride problems, nothing. I will definitely go Posies if I ever need another set of springs for a project.
I mentioned in my reply on the other thread that I thought mine were just a bad set. I have heard many say that they have been happy with Posies springs. I had a bad experience, with both the product and the "customer [dis]service" rep there, but I have dealt with them before and since, and they were cool. I helped someone put one of their parallel leaf kits on a 40 Tudor, and was pretty impressed with the quality.
I've had a Posie's Super Slide, low arch, reverse eye spring in the front of my '32 for the last 4 years (approx. 20,000 miles). Car still sits at the same height, rides the same. I've bought a Durant mono leaf for the '32 ch***is I'm putting together for either the Brookville roadster or 5w (haven't decided which yet) just to make a comparison. I also wanted to play around with ride height, by moving the spacers around. I'm satisfied with Posie's products. We've used about 5 or 6 of his springs in the front of cars we have built here and no major complaints. Frank
I've used Posie's parallel rear leaf springs on 46 to 48 Fords, and liked them. IMHO they ride better than any of the others I have used, Progressive, CE, and Weedeater.
The Jalopy Journal
