Hi all,

My question is a three - parter:

I am re-using my stock front springs on my 69. They are small block springs, and they are 18" uninstalled. I want to cut them down a little, to lower the front just slightly. My question:
1. Will cutting them down to 17.5" (3/4 of a coil) have any effect, or should I do more?
2. One side is 18", and the other is 17 3/4", leading me to believe one has worn more than the other. If I cut them both to 17.5" (meaning LESS than 3/4 coil on the one that is worn) so that they are even in uninstalled length, will that restore them to being even once they are back on the car?
3. I've heard this increases spring rate. Does that mean that they will get a little stiffer by cutting them down? This SEEMS like a good thing, if it's in moderation for bringing life back to old springs?
Sorry if these questions are elementary....I just don't want to ruin my springs!

Thanks,
Gambi69

the '69 malibu in my sig has the 1-1/2 coils cut. I have never had any rubbing problem or bottoming out at all with 235/60s on 15x7 3-3/4" B.S. (as shown in pic, it had 15x8 with 3-3/4" B.S. and 235/60s, and I had a very minor rub on very big bumps.

I have put about 20,000 miles on it like this on pothole'd MN roads.

Hi all,

My question is a three - parter:

I am re-using my stock front springs on my 69. They are small block springs, and they are 18" uninstalled. I want to cut them down a little, to lower the front just slightly. My question:
1. Will cutting them down to 17.5" (3/4 of a coil) have any effect, or should I do more?
It is a bit complicated... if you cut off .5" you could see 1" at the wheel based on the location of the spring on the arm. But this is .5" of free length and what matters is the installed length so the drop would likely be less. This is further complicated by the change in spring rate.
2. One side is 18", and the other is 17 3/4", leading me to believe one has worn more than the other. If I cut them both to 17.5" (meaning LESS than 3/4 coil on the one that is worn) so that they are even in uninstalled length, will that restore them to being even once they are back on the car?
Again the important parameter is installed length. You would have to install and load the springs to tell if you really have a problem or not.
3. I've heard this increases spring rate. Does that mean that they will get a little stiffer by cutting them down? This SEEMS like a good thing, if it's in moderation for bringing life back to old springs?
By shortening the length of wire you do increase the rate by some amount. It would seem to be minimal at this amount of length change though.

Perhaps the bigger question is if this setup would work. When you lower the suspension if has less travel before it hits the bump stop. In well designed setups this is compensated for by an increased spring rate. You want to just hit the bump stop sometimes, not too hard and not never. So there is a balance point. By cutting the springs you do not increase the spring rate sufficiently so you start hitting the bump stops more and harder when you do. This is detrimental to ride quality and life span of suspension parts.

Cutting one coil does not make much of a difference. If your springs have a free height of 18 inches, you could probably cut 2 coils out of them. I have pulled springs out of cars with A/C and one spring is slighty taller than the other one. It's trial and error anyway how much you need to cut. It won't hurt if you scrap a set of used springs.

http://www.pontiaczone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9048

I have used cut big block springs in the past with a smallblock. Small block springs are much lower rating to start with.

Cutting 1 round out of the spring will drop your car about 1.5 to 2". I would just purchase new lowering springs IMO.