Front Spring Installation [Archive] - Chevelle Tech

: Front Spring Installation


eli65
Nov 12th, 04, 7:32 PM
I started putting my front suspension back together on my 65 last weekend, but ran into a problem with the front springs. I hope I can explain this well without pictures. The original springs have 9 complete turns, and the two blunt-cut spring ends fit into pockets on the lower control arm and the frame. The Global West springs I'm going back with have about 9.25 turns, and one end is machined (meaning it will stand up straight on the floor instead of toppling over) rather than having a blunt cut. When I place the blunt end into one pocket, the other (machined) end is too long and doesn't fit into the other pocket. I called GW and was told that the machined end goes up. This means that the top of the spring is only making contact with the frame on a very small spot and doesn't 'feel' very stable; something is telling me that I should trim the machined end so that I have 9 complete turns and a spring that fits into both pockets. Any thoughts? Anyone else running GW springs (S-4)? Thanks.