leaf springs or coil springs?

[ryans69chevy]

I have a 49 chevy 3100 that needs a new rear end. I plan on getting one from a 63-70 chevy. Not sure what I should go with leaf springs or coil springs? Right now it has a 3/4 ton leaf spring rear end in it. But since I want to get it back to a 1/2 ton I could change it if I wanted. What's the benefits of either? What would be better to do? What's the easiest? Cheapest?

The truck is going to be kinda a weekend driver or whenever the weather is nice and for car shows.

Thanks!

[mr48chev]

The primary reason that guys go with the 4 link or truck bar (coil spring) rear ends in these trucks is to be able to run bags easily. That doesn't mean you can't run coils though as a lot of guys do that too.

The easy way is to put 1/2 ton leaf springs under it and then install the axle of your choice. You do have a 1/2 ton frame rather than a 3/4 ton frame?
Or you might remove some of the leaves from the 3/4 ton springs including the overload spring if you aren't going to haul loads with it.

[lakeroadster]

I have a '65 and IMO it's really hard to beat the truck arm coil sprung set-up that was used from 63-72. Heck, NASCAR uses a similar set-up in their cup cars.

If you could get the complete set-up out of a donor truck then all you would need are new bushings and a new set of coil springs.

Basically you would use the stock crossmember that the truck arms mount too and then use the panhard bar mount.

[ryans69chevy]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=422245


The above link shows pics of my rear end that I have. It's a 1/2 ton frame, but it got converter to a 3/4 ton rear end for hauling stuff around the farm.

We will not be hauling anything in the truck when it gets done. We just want it back to original and so it has a smooth ride. We are not going to bag it.

So a leaf spring rear end would be the easier of the two to install? Does one have a better ride quality?

Thanks!