Anyone ever swap sportwagon springs in a 70 SKylark? I just ordered a set from Advanced Auto. I want to raise the rear of the car a few inches because I'm having a slight problem with the tremec 5 speed I just swapped into the car. It leaks fluid out the speedo gear adapter. The angle of the trans is too far tilted back so I need to raise the car because I can't raise the trans any more then it already is. Its just about level at rest, but once in motion and I get into it hard, it does get a little squatty. So, I'm going to go with a slightly taller rear tire and some taller spring. The springs I ordered are for a sportwagon and they have a free height of 15.46 inches and the spring rate is 181 lbs./in. Made by TRW. ANyone have any experience with similiar springs in a skylark body? I don't want the rear of the car jacked way way up and they don't come in for another 4 days, so the anticipation is killing me. Thanks Bob
I did it, and found that the height was too tall. David Gramlow also tried it, too harsh of a ride for him. Baby bear's oatmeal was just right. Goldilocks ate all of it. -Bob Cunningham
Bob, I tried out what I believe were used S/W rear springs last spring, on my 68. They added no less than 3 inches to the rear end height, maybe 3 1/2. I didn't want quite that much, maybe about 2", so it was too much for me. They were also way too stiff for my liking, on our crappy Fargo pot-holed roads. Sent my head into the roof on most bumps, and it wasn't the shocks, as I had new kyb's on the car.
I had the same problem with my 69 Skylark David. I just wanted an inch or two. I tried the bigger springs but it made the car look stupid. lol!! So I tried a pair over coilover shocks. About $100 a pair. Gave me a good two inchs and a great ride. Load levelers.
I have a set of Station Wagon springs in my 70 Skylark conv. Ride height is bit higher than stock but overall ride is harsher than I desire for this car. Don't ask for part numbers though, they were new in a package of parts I got. Overall it is a good setup for performance. I am considering installing new rear springs. Anyone want to give me a few bucks for these so that I can go back to stock. Drop me a PM and we can talk.
SW Springs Back in '87, I put a set under my '71 GS and thought they looked real good due to the old springs saging a bit. Got down to BG for the Nationals and attempted to put a pass on the old daily driver and could not get traction on a 13 second car. Same tires as I ran the year before. Everone said the car was not hooking due to too stiff a spring. Called my son and had him bring down the old springs. Changed them back at the track and the old girl started hooking back up again and ran the same times that we ran the previous year. They may look good, but your GS will slow down due to no weight transfer. Marv.
