1969 Special Deluxe Lifting Up The Rear. Please Help!

Discussion in 'The whoa and the sway.' started by Spitfire7, Oct 10, 2016.

  1. wkillgs

    wkillgs Gold Level Contributor

    Your Special can use the same coil spring spacers as any 67-72 A-body Skylark, Chevelle, etc.
    The 64-66 A-body has different spring seats in the frame and on the rear, so springs and spacers are different.

    The Cargo Coil springs are variable rate.... designed to have a near stock ride without a load, but will be stiffer when there's a lot of additional weight from a loaded station wagon or towing a trailer, etc.

    In an earlier post, I had mentioned the 5411 and 5415 springs. They have a near stock rate for a decent ride and will raise it higher.
    Other springs with the same wire size (0.610") and similar rate (166) would be:

    5415, length = 14.6"
    5411, length= 15.1"
    5387, length= 15.4"
    5397, length= 15.5"
    5395, length= 15.7"

    They seem to be pretty much the same spring, just different lengths/more coils).

    Since you want maximum height, the 5395 might be a good choice.

    You have to realize raising the rear too high will have several undesirable effects:
    - You are putting a lot more load on the front brakes since the rear brakes are now less effective. You still have drums?
    - The suspension and steering geometries get screwed up. Proper front end alignment will be difficult and steering and handling gets worse. Not to mention tire wear.
    - U-joint angles change for the worse, might cause vibration and earlier failure.
    My point- don't overdue it!

    I also mentioned (earlier) the 'big-car' shocks use the same mounting ends and are a little longer. Would be a low cost solution if you don't overdue it on the lift.

    Do you have 255/60-15's front and rear?
    You can achieve a nice rake just by using 275's in the rear and 235's up front. (not cheap tho!)
     
  2. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Okay all good info. I already bought the cc505s so we shall see. Thank you for all your insight. I think and hope these will work out just fine.

    I don't know why these questions seem to be so rare around here. I think everyone is asking how they can lower their car now a days lol. I am still old school stuck in the 70s I guess. I take your knowledge serious and appreciate it. I will keep those things in mind during installation. Thanks again.
     
  3. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Hey guys, quick installation question. The CC505 springs should be here tomorrow and I will be installing them then as well. Do these need to go in a specific direction? I would assume the compressed end would be at the top and the wider end would be bottom? Is this correct?

    Moog-Chassis-Parts-Cc505.jpg
    Any other tips I should know before I get started?

    I plan to do one side at a time lifting up the side rear of the car, removing the tire, compressing the axle with my floor jack, unbolt the shock and slowly lower it down until the spring extends and falls out. Then putting the new spring in and compressing with floor jack to put in the shock. Is this all correct so far? Then after jack is install, replace tire and do the other side. Should be that easy right? Let me know. Thanks.
     
  4. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Alrighty, after a long time of research and all of your helpful comments, I have the springs and shocks installed. A few comments first. Guys, these Moog CC505 wagon springs, don't lift the car as much as some of you may have thought. It was only right around 3.2" and looks great. To be honest with you, I kind of wanted a little more height out of them, but this is very cool and I am happy. Its not extreme or overboard at all, just gives it a nice tough muscle car stance. Secondly, matched with the extra tall heavy duty Monroe Sensa-trac 5820ST shocks, this is the smoothest nicest ride I have ever felt in this car. Many of you said, the ride might be rough, but on the contrary it is perfect and better than ever. Cruising, driving over speed bumps, highways, or just normal every day driving is very pleasant and comfortable. So for anyone with a similar Buick to mine and looking to do this, here you go. Thank you all for your help and for your time commenting. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you so much, I really appreciate all of you.

    At just the right angle it looks really good and very noticeable with a nice rake, but most of the time depending on the angle of the street, it just looks nice and not very noticeable.


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    With that said, now I have noticed that I have a leaking fuel vent hose coming out of the front of the gas tank. The vent hose has always had a crack in it I assume, just now that its a little angled forward it now pours out of the hose. Even at stock height I probably would have noticed this, but since it has factory stock 69 springs it was very low in the rear (so low that my axle was hitting the exhaust pipes) and all the gas would lean toward the back of the tank away from the vent hose. Great, now to get that repaired. The cost of having a 69 Buick.
     
  5. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    So guys, if I were to sell this car, what is generally the going price for the Buick Special 350/350, headers, custom exhaust, new paint, new interior, new suspension, just a few tiny none noticeable rust spots near back window, and many other extras done with the engine and entire body to preserve and restore the car.
     
  6. deluxe68

    deluxe68 Well-Known Member

    Glad it worked out for you. Looks like you achieved around the same rear height as when the air shocks were on?
    Now that you have new springs installed, take your measurements and record them for future reference in case you want
    to go a little higher with a custom made spring. I would hope a variable rate spring would have a decent ride quality over a HD spring but at the expense of a little lower ride height.
    again, to me your car looks good at any stance.
     
  7. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member


    Thanks and a good idea. Yeah you are right, it is about the same height now as when I had the air shocks. Its a fun car to have and runs great and after I get the fuel leak fixed which I have in another thread, I might be selling it. What is the going price for my car IF I plan to go that rout? Interior is great, but some mismatching colors. The engine is really good just needs some cleaning and TLC. Paint is good, but there are a few tiny rust spots in the rear window and thats about it. So what do you think my car is worth or at least how much could I ask?
     
  8. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Hey guys, thanks for following my progress and my thread. 2 questions...

    1. Since my Buick has the chrome molding around the back window, was my car originally a vinyl top or did they make a few like mine still with that chrome molding and no vinyl top?

    2. In the cars current condition, what is the value IF I were to sell it? How much could I ask?
    It has 350ci/350auto trans, headers, 2" Flowmaster exhaust and pipes, Crager Rims, semi new tires, new paint, new interior, new rear shocks and springs, new fuel pump, and many more. Body is clean and lines up nicely except the rear bumper seemed to have a slight fender bender and the owner salvaged it out to take the money instead of just fixing it which gave it a salvage title. No rust other than a tiny patch near the rear window. What could I ask getting the most out of it that someone would jump on?


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  9. jalopi42

    jalopi42 Don't Wait

    the tag under the hood by the drivers side wiper will tell you the paint codes and vinyl or painted top code if any ..and interior info ,,post a pic of it
     
  10. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Hey guys, thank you for all your help with my springs. Its been a while now and the car has been amazing. I am now selling it, so please check out the for sale section for details and a cool review video.
     
  11. David G

    David G de-modded....


    Just to give you some comparative info, I sold my 68 GS350 about 2 years ago. Very similar driver condition to your 69 Special, but white ext, black int and top. 455/TH350, TA Perf mandrel dual exhaust, great interior including very nice wood wheel and perfect horn cap, rechromed bumpers, good driver paint from a mid-90's resto, 15" oem chrome wheels, cleaned and repainted engine bay.

    I had initially looked for about $10k. Really had zero interest expressed for many months. Came to the time when I just wanted to move it as I was not going to haul it to AZ, a cross-country move we were planning. I ended up letting it go for $7500. Personally, I think you may need to be much closer to the $10k price level to pique some interest in a driver SD model. But that's just my .02 FWIW.
     
  12. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Yeah, thank you for the input. I am actually getting a lot of inquiries, but we just haven't been able to settle just yet. I am learning most people don't like to negotiate or don't know how, or it scares them. I am very willing to work with them on price and I have a few guys interested coming up here second week of March. If we get closer to the desperation date, then I might need to start coming down, but for right now, I am in no rush to sell it and I am enjoying it every moment I have it.
     
  13. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Well I certainly hope you get as much as you need for it, I think it's a great looking car, love the blue. :TU:
     
  14. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Thank you so much. Talking to several people as we speak. I hope it sells to. Currently at $12500 with this guy. Cross your fingers for me huh lol.
     
  15. David G

    David G de-modded....

    If someone is offering you 12.5k, take it. If you mean that you have come down to 12.5k, I'd be surprised if that will sell. I know you've repeatedly stated in your sale ad, to make you an offer too. I think a problem is if someone feels your price is quite a bit too high, but they are interested in the car, they won't make you an offer if it is a lot less than your posted asking price, regardless of your encouragement for offers. Members here don't want to offend or insult a seller by making an offer way below posted price. However, it sounds like you're getting some good interest privately. My concern with that is that we require interested buyers here to post in your sale thread to establish their place in line. If a member posts an offer of 11k and no one else has posted to get in line, but they PM'd you an offer of say 12k, that's in violation of our sales policies. The place in line is established only by posting in the ad. I've had buyers PM me only, when I was selling a lot of parts off, and first thing I tell them is go post in the ad to get in line, otherwise I'm not listening. Or I've also taken that step myself, posting that member X is in line for the item.
     
  16. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    Thats a good idea. I haven't gotten any offers on here, only on my local craigslist.
     
  17. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Be very wary of responses to Craigslist ads... I was bombarded with CL responses to both my car and boat, not a single one was legit, all were scammers.
     
  18. Spitfire7

    Spitfire7 Well-Known Member

    So, I absolutely must sell it before April. So it was $13000 and now major price drop to $11500. Must go, I need the cash.
     
  19. David G

    David G de-modded....

    I'd recommend not posting sales price updates here, keep that info in the sales ad only. Don't wan't to see interested parties posting in different places trying to get a place in line. 1 car = 1 sale ad to watch.
     

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