I need to replace my front springs so I can gain clearance. I have a 1966 Chevelle SS 396. The front suspension is stock. The front coil springs that are in there now are #6314.

Can someone tell me what spring I need to replace that will give me an extra inch of clearance. I want to stay with the same oveall length of spring, just need a different spring rate.

any suggestions would be appreciated.


Side note, I tried springs shims, they don't work.

Thanks,
chevy66ss

My understanding is that front springs in an Air Conditioning car are rated a bit higher, thus higher ride height. You may want to verify this but it is what I have been told in the past.

Try #5246, or if you can find them #5236

Thomas

The '64 - '67 front springs are tangental at both ends, the '68 - '72 front springs are tangental on one end and square on the other.

Here is the '64-'67 front spring chart:
http://www.hal-pc.org/~rthlc/64-67_front_springs.html

Here is the '68-'72 front spring chart:
http://www.hal-pc.org/~rthlc/68-72_front_springs.html

Here is a chart with about all the springs for all years of Chevelles front and rear:
http://www.classiccarsprings.com/springrates.html

Happy hunting. Be aware that the load rate (third column from the right for the two front spring charts, and the fourth column from the right on the big spring chart) is the "sprung" weight on the front. So if you know the total front end weight of your car you will need to deduct the weight of the front wheels, brakes, spindles, lower control arms, and coil springs to select a spring off these charts. Selecting a load rate higher than needed will raise your ride height, and conversely when selecting a lower load rate it will lower your car. As a super rough estimate for Chevelle front end springs, every 200 lb load rate change from what you have now change the ride height ~ 1".

Oh yeah, safety tip: do not buy the Harbor Freight coil spring compressor:
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95011
Damn thing could have killed me!

Thomas

Thomas,

Thank you very much for your reply(s). I've been reading and posting on this site for many years and I can always count on you guys to help me out.

Thanks,
Steve

well in case you are still thinking about it

just replacing the original springs with new ones should raise the ride height - might give you what you want

springs tend to sag over time and your car may be riding an inch or more lower than when it left the factory