Changing front coil springs

[RICH MUISE]

Ouch! Don't ya hate giving someone a good referal and then shortly after finding out someone else is having major problems with them? Aside from the height problem,did the new springs give you back the ride you wanted?

[JimNolan]

Rich,
   Yes I do hate that. They made my rear springs and I really liked them. The ride with the new springs will be good I'm sure, I bounced the front end up and down and it seemed normal to soft. With the big torsion bar I have I expect a good ride. I haven't had it out on the road yet. It's been raining here and I don't want to wipe off the car yet. I'm still feeling pain in my legs.
   Back to Eaton. After 30 years of working on CNC electronics I've got a suspicious nature when it comes to getting what you pay for. When I talked to Mike he informed me the original spring had a free height of 16 1/8". I took his word for it but this morning I looked the spring specs up in my Ford manual. The biggest spring they list for a 57 with air conditioning is @ 15 1/2" free height with a load weight of @ 2300 lbs. The shocker was the second set of springs he sent me hadn't been ground level at the top, meaning the spring didn't contact the top mount all the way around. I questioned him about this and he said the first set of springs he sent me was specially made and the second set was the way all springs are made now. The second set of springs he sent me were 14 3/4" free height but said the extra stiffness made up for the height. I really believe the first set of springs were made wrong with an attemp to have it correct. I believe the second set was sent to me with no regard to it being a replacement or having the correct height. I've decided to keep the first set of springs that are too long, I'll cut some of the coil off with a grinding blade and try on my own to get the ride height I wanted. But, it's going to have to wait until my legs don't hurt. I figure for $200.00 I'll keep the springs. I'd rather try myself to make it right as ask them to do it again. Jim
P. S. The height of the car is approximately 1" too low in front. I can live with that for awhile since the old set was at least 2" or more too low. I had three spring spacers in each side just to get the height I have now with the new springs.

[Lou]

I would think that the rear springs will settle a inch or so after you start driving your car. My 57 rear springs settled about 3/4 of an inch after about 6 months.

[JimNolan]

Lou,
   The rear springs were put on a couple years ago. They have settled as much as they're going too. I've got to say these new front springs are 30% nicer riding. I changed all the ball joints and put new shocks on it and the front end is tight and rides really great. I like the springs, I just wish the the front end was about an 1 1/2" higher. Jim

[ranchero57]

Hi Jim
Its campy with a query,the y block is only 25 lbs.lighter than the 390.Why did you need a different spring?If yours was bad why not just get a 57 replacement spring?  Campy

[JimNolan]

Campy,
   Nice to hear from you, Happy Birthday and hope the weather in Ms is good for you. Campy, when it comes to those springs I must admit I didn't do my research before I started. I just figured I'd let Eaton help guide me. I told them I wanted springs to hold up the 390 with AC. They just over compensated. The second set of springs they sent me has really worked out well though. Once I put my tool box in the trunk and filled it with gas it came out OK.
   Jim