Author Topic: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?  (Read 6162 times)

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wayne

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2018, 05:20:56 PM »
I think i would put one more leaf then stock they were weak when new.I have several 66-69 fairlanes they all were bumper draggers with two in the back i have 69 now just a small block car.

machoneman

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #16 on: June 12, 2018, 05:45:02 PM »
Jay may be better off, considering his powerful FE stable of engines, switching now to the Calvert style of springs and traction bars. The 7 leafs and old school t-bars would still work well for traction but suffer from ride quality in comparison.
Bob Maag

Blueoval77

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #17 on: June 12, 2018, 05:49:33 PM »
Jay was there any bias to the springs to one side or the other ? Any signs of the regular stiffening upgrades up front ? Ive seen springs added for circle track and ive seen springs added when the originals needed replacing .
Pretty sure we still have an all original Cobra in town here . I can look the guy up if the mystery persists.

jayb

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #18 on: June 12, 2018, 06:45:24 PM »
I think i would put one more leaf then stock they were weak when new.I have several 66-69 fairlanes they all were bumper draggers with two in the back i have 69 now just a small block car.

That's an interesting idea, I have ordered new leaf springs for the car but I think I'll keep some of the old leaves around in case I want to add one...
Jay Brown
- 1969 Mach 1, Drag Week 2005 Winner NA/BB, 511" FE (10.60s @ 129); Drag Week 2007 Runner-Up PA/BB, 490" Supercharged FE (9.35 @ 151)
- 1964 Ford Galaxie, Drag Week 2009 Winner Modified NA (9.50s @ 143), 585" SOHC
- 1969 Shelby Clone, Drag Week 2015 Winner Modified NA (Average 8.98 @ 149), 585" SOHC

   

jayb

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #19 on: June 12, 2018, 06:49:35 PM »
Jay was there any bias to the springs to one side or the other ? Any signs of the regular stiffening upgrades up front ? Ive seen springs added for circle track and ive seen springs added when the originals needed replacing .
Pretty sure we still have an all original Cobra in town here . I can look the guy up if the mystery persists.

I think its pretty clear now that four leaves were what came on the car.  No bias from side to side in the rear, and no stiffening upgrades that I can see in the front.  At this point I'm going to get the work done over the next week or so, then drop the car back down off the jackstands and see how it sits and drives.
Jay Brown
- 1969 Mach 1, Drag Week 2005 Winner NA/BB, 511" FE (10.60s @ 129); Drag Week 2007 Runner-Up PA/BB, 490" Supercharged FE (9.35 @ 151)
- 1964 Ford Galaxie, Drag Week 2009 Winner Modified NA (9.50s @ 143), 585" SOHC
- 1969 Shelby Clone, Drag Week 2015 Winner Modified NA (Average 8.98 @ 149), 585" SOHC

   

Blueoval77

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #20 on: June 12, 2018, 06:54:21 PM »
For what its worth I have known the one here in my town since I was a teen (Actually one of the sets of headers I have came off it) and it was always sitting pretty perky in the ass end.
The thing went through the regular phase of mods and racing after it was new and then the guy put it back all stock . I am betting its spent the majority of its life sitting in the garage now.

Dumpling

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #21 on: June 12, 2018, 08:26:20 PM »
I had new leaf springs installed, at an actual spring shop.
The older guy seemed really knowledgeable about springs.
The originals were kinda sagging.  I told him I wanted the rear to be higher and firmer, and he came through.

Is every spring leaf the same across suppliers?
Or are some stiffer than other brands?

jayb

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2018, 08:42:30 PM »
I think the spring steel and temper are the same, but the amount of arch that is put into the springs can vary.  Back in the 80s I had a local spring shop de-arch the back springs of my 68 Shelby, in order to get it lower without using those lowering blocks.  When I ordered springs for this car, they mentioned the arch was 8", which I assume is the height of the spring above the floor when it is placed on the floor upside down.  If I went with a custom spring I could probably get that arch changed, but I'm going to go with stock first and see how it looks...
Jay Brown
- 1969 Mach 1, Drag Week 2005 Winner NA/BB, 511" FE (10.60s @ 129); Drag Week 2007 Runner-Up PA/BB, 490" Supercharged FE (9.35 @ 151)
- 1964 Ford Galaxie, Drag Week 2009 Winner Modified NA (9.50s @ 143), 585" SOHC
- 1969 Shelby Clone, Drag Week 2015 Winner Modified NA (Average 8.98 @ 149), 585" SOHC

   

wayne

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #23 on: June 13, 2018, 10:17:18 AM »
.0












































One of the old ford books says to put one more leaf on the right side and clamps on the springs to go drag racing.









O

machoneman

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #24 on: June 13, 2018, 07:40:47 PM »
Jay, you may know this already but the better Mustang shops offer std., reverse & mid-eye springs (front pivot). I don't know if they would work though on your ride (length?).

I think the spring steel and temper are the same, but the amount of arch that is put into the springs can vary.  Back in the 80s I had a local spring shop de-arch the back springs of my 68 Shelby, in order to get it lower without using those lowering blocks.  When I ordered springs for this car, they mentioned the arch was 8", which I assume is the height of the spring above the floor when it is placed on the floor upside down.  If I went with a custom spring I could probably get that arch changed, but I'm going to go with stock first and see how it looks...
Bob Maag

TripleJ

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #25 on: June 13, 2018, 08:22:03 PM »
FElony, if ya don’t mind me asking, what is the “ Mopar solution”?  Thanks


Joe Menard   

FElony

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #26 on: June 13, 2018, 09:00:47 PM »
FElony, if ya don’t mind me asking, what is the “ Mopar solution”?  Thanks


Joe Menard   

In the early 60's, the Chrysler products relied heavily on pinion snubber "science" to force the axle down under spring wrapup. This worked well on the track, but narrow snubber gaps caused a lot of undesirable bounce in street driving. Nevertheless, relatively soft production spring rates made the snubber work the best.

In the later 60's, Chrysler's approach changed to eliminate the snubber bounce with the HD suspension production option. In the B-bodies, this entailed a 6-leaf spring pack on the right and a 4-leaf on the left that offset torque application. To stop axle tramping, the front of the springs, as measured from the axle mounts, were shorter than the rears. Fords are much longer, allowing more twist.

For added power handling, Direct Connection (now Mopar Performance) offered the Super Stock spring package over the counter. This included 7 springs on the right and 5 on the left. Pushing down on the back of a car with these results in very little movement.

The added right springs are half-leaf to the front, effectively making them clamp-on traction bars. Neither the HD or SS springs made the car tilt when viewed from the rear. I recall the DC also sold an adjustable pinion snubber kit for those who wanted to go that route. I have the SS springs on my Road Runner and factory HD's on my Satellite.

So, Jay's stock replacement springs, as wayne mentioned, will be low and weak. However, he can now use the leftover springs to tailor to the application, if he goes that way. His traction bars are meant to prevent axle hop on rapid deceleration, especially with stick cars. I have seen them before, but knocking my head against the wall several times did not result in a brand name. I have some dry wall to fix, though. If he goes Day Two, I think standard snubber bars or Lakewood J-bolts would be better.


TripleJ

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Re: 69 Torino Cobra - How many leaves in the rear springs?
« Reply #27 on: June 14, 2018, 09:33:43 PM »
FElony, thanks for the detailed explanation. Always learning something new here!