'56 Special Spring Replacement...

Ok, so I can no longer take the bumps,jolts and crashing sounds my car makes every time I encounter a bump. (I'm not talking Yugo sized potholes here, just small surface imperfections).
The time has come to restore the ride that Buick engineers originally intended, and to give my kidneys some relief.
The shocks are new (and the only thing suporting the wieght of the car) and the bushings etc arn't in too bad shape, so I'm thinking that some new springs would be just the ticket. I've looked into a few vendors and am going to go with Detroit-Eaton Spring. Now for the fun bit- Eaton offers modified height springs designed for resto-mod and street rod types, but how much lower than stock should I be ordering? What I mean is, the current ride height of the car is much lower than stock thanks to 50 years of sagging which makes it hard to judge what stock minus 2" would result in. Second question is how far down can I go before causing interference with other components (pinion angle, front end geometry etc). I'm not looking to put the car totally in the weeds, I'd just like the tires to fill the wheelwels, and not bite my tounge every time I hit a small bump.
Any thoughts??

 

Hey Phil!

Hey Phil, do you have a shop manual for the '56? Pages 7-17 and 7-18 have the dimensions and how to check them, to give you a starting point. If you don't have a manual, you should get one!

 

Roberta, yes I have a service manual and yes I know the OE ride height specs. What I am curious about is how coil height relates to ride height ie- a 2" cut coil would result in what ammount of ride height drop?

 

Phil, what I was thinking is if you can measure the existing spring per where the book says they are supposed to be you could use this comparison to talk with Eaton about where to go with new lowered springs compared to stock and they might be able to help you figure out what you need to get the look you want. I don't think, but I haven't lookedto see if there is bumper height measurements available for the '56. I can measure mine when I get it off the jackstand, while waiting for a motor mount. Hope that helps you understand what I was thinking about. I know that playing with springs is a science, load rate, spring rate, more rates, than you know what to do with! RV

 

I spoke with the chaps at Eaton, and they cleared everything up. Selected 2.5" drop front and 2" drop for the rear. Both pairs are progressive rate.

 

That should be really cool. Post a picture when you get it done!

 

Phil

Haw is the spring replacement comming? As a 56 owner I am interested in your results.
Judd