Opinion about the condition of my rear springs.

[roger55]

I pulled the rear springs out of my '57 3200 today (doing restomod).

I need opinions on whether the front eyes of the springs are OK or not.

The eyes are a little egg shaped. Were they always that way or were they perfectly round when they were new?

Here's close up photos of both sides of both spring eyes. On one end of one of them the bushing looks gone.

Would you put new bushings in these and use them or buy new springs?

[Midgets50]

just my 2 cents but i would probably go ahead and upgrade the springs. that way there is less chance of breaking and new springs would offer a softer ride

[mknittle]

If you don't plan on hauling anything heavy. I would replace them with some that will ride better. Stock springs ride pretty rough.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by mknittle

If you don't plan on hauling anything heavy. I would replace them with some that will ride better. Stock springs ride pretty rough.

We will want the ability to haul heavy things in the truck. I wouldn't mind a better ride though. It does have the helper springs. They don't have any affect under normal conditions.

[_Ogre]

i'd re-use those.
new pins and bushings and you're good to go
pull them apart to make sure there are no broken leaves in there
clean them up and paint them

those are some serious helper springs

[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

i'd re-use those.
new pins and bushings and you're good to go
pull them apart to make sure there are no broken leaves in there
clean them up and paint them. those are some serious helper springs

Thanks, that was my inclination. I just wanted a little reassurance that the eyes were OK.

I'd like a better ride but I don't think I can do that and maintain it's height and weight carrying ability.

I do intend to disassemble, clean and paint them with epoxy primer. Yes the helpers do look pretty stout. I wonder if they were stock or maybe a dealer add-on? Since we will use the truck I see no need to eliminate them. They just don't hurt anything being there when they are not used other than extra weight. Could come in handy when my wife gets a bunch of bags of mulch for her landscaping.

[roger55]

Looks like these are shot and I'll have to buy new springs. Way, way worse than the rear springs.

Side 1:



Side 2:



I did some searching and found a pretty good price here:
http://www.truckspring.com/products/...b-8dc0d8597d46

Do you think this would be as good of place as any to buy stock replacements?

One note though. Every place I could find for stock replacement front leaf springs for a '57 3200 says they are 6 leaf. The springs I have are 7 leaf. I wonder what the deal is there?

[roger55]

Another question:
Do you think it would be worthwhile for me to look for a good used set of front springs? Or, would they be too hard to find?
Is this a place where getting new parts is the best thing to do?

[_Ogre]

unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, imo... i'd still use them
replace many worse than those with good results

[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, imo... i'd still use them
replace many worse than those with good results

Thanks Ogre. I appreciate your advice.

I also posted those photos over in my build thread on trifive.com and those guys told me the same as you.

I was thinking that the new bushings might fail on the bottom side since they will have a little open pocket under them. The bushings are brass aren't they?

Not burning a hole in my pocket but I don't want to cut corners to save money either.

[OrrieG]

The new bushing will be brass, that is the sacreficial part. Install them. If there is a gap at the bottom fill it up with a metallic filler. Drive it another 200,000 miles and do it again.

You can only do so much with a leaf spring suspension to get a better ride. If you reduce the number or get softer ones, get a good sway bar to compensate for the softer rate that will cause leaning in the corners or bump steer in the front. Trucks ride like trucks, if you want it to ride like at car, upgrade with a clip or aftermarket ifs and 4 link.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

The new bushing will be brass, that is the sacreficial part. Install them. If there is a gap at the bottom fill it up with a metallic filler. Drive it another 200,000 miles and do it again.

You can only do so much with a leaf spring suspension to get a better ride. If you reduce the number or get softer ones, get a good sway bar to compensate for the softer rate that will cause leaning in the corners or bump steer in the front. Trucks ride like trucks, if you want it to ride like at car, upgrade with a clip or aftermarket ifs and 4 link.

Orrie, you must be looking at my build thread on the other forum or just reading my mind!

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. Since I'm going for a vintage look, I guess I'll say with the vintage ride. I don't think I want to go to the trouble of a sway bar.

I was thinking about leaf liners or tip inserts though. My front springs have some sort of tip insert on them. I wonder if they are stock? Maybe these springs have been changed. Would explain the 7 leafs instead of 6.

You also must have been reading my mind about filling the gap under the new bushing. I was thinking about JB Weld but thought maybe I was being too anal. Maybe not.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by roger55

I also posted those photos over in my build thread on trifive.com and ...

trifive? ya...

[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

trifive? ya...

Not understanding that question.

[_Ogre]

a group omits the best cars and truck from the 50s
58 impala, 59 elco and 58 truck

[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

a group omits the best cars and truck from the 50s
58 impala, 59 elco and 58 truck

I agree that those cars and trucks are among the best.

However, I don't think it's bad for trifive.com to have narrowed their selection for a forum. It's got 25,000 members.

There are other other places to go for the others. chevytalk.org is a good one and of course here. Plus, trifive.com wouldn't kick you out if you had any TF truck.

Since I bought and restored my Bel Air before starting on my '57 truck, I had found a home on trifive.com. That was the main reason for me doing my truck project thread there instead of here. Another reason too. Trifive.com has no restrictions on editing posts and here you only have a short time to do it. In a project thread, it is very handy to be able to go back and make edits if needed.

No offense intended. This is a great site with really knowledgeable and helpful members. I've appreciated the help here and have provided some as well.

I do think though that there should be separate forums here for AF and TF trucks. I have made that suggestion in the Site Feedback forum but nobody gave me any support on that at all.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=577634

[tttuba]

just my two cents...my 47 gmc has seven leafs below and two on top on the rear end and it is pretty much stock.

[roger55]

How about some opinions on this:

I just finished blasting my frame today. I noticed the wear on the spring brackets and took photos of all 4 that hold the end of the springs without the shackles.

Front Right:



Front Left:



Rear Right:



Rear Left:



Is this a concern? If so, what should be done?

[_Ogre]

wow. those went years without any grease.
short of replacing them all, you could try the new pins and see how much slop there is.
knowing how much you will drive your 55 vs a daily driver, i might keep them as is.
depending on the slop or play

[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

wow. those went years without any grease.
short of replacing them all, you could try the new pins and see how much slop there is.
knowing how much you will drive your 55 vs a daily driver, i might keep them as is.
depending on the slop or play

These are steel and not cast iron right?
Maybe I could use a mig and then dress them back into shape? What do you think?