Super Stock Springs and Rear End Questions

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RichardR

RichardR

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Hi everyone,

I would like to put my SS springs on my Scamp in combination with my current 7.25 rear. I have the longer shocks. Should I set up any sort of pinion angle with it for just street use?

Eventually, when the funds are available and parts sourced, I will put in my 8.75 rear end. When I do so, what drive shaft will be needed or will the stock one will work?


Thanks :)

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You might need longer U-bolts . You'll have to bolt those bad-boys in there, and the measure the pinion angle. Chances are it will be fine. But you might have to raise the front up some. And that leads to an alignment. Shims are available to change the angles. If you are running the slanty T-bars, you will need to familiarize yourself with the cars new handling characteristics, before you go balls-out in the corners,lol.
You'll need a shorter driveshaft for the 8.25.
 
And make sure you torque the u-bolts with the weight of the car fully on the springs..........
 
Your are better off measuring your own driveshaft once the 8 3/4 rear is in. That way you get the right measurement. Plus you will probably want to use the 7290 u-joints on the new driveshaft. If you have future plans to race the car, I would up grade to 1350 yokes, but thats what I would do. Now for your shocks it is best to measure the length you need with the s/s springs on when the car is on the ground and when the car is lifted off the ground with the wheels on. That way you get the full reaction of how the S/S springs work.
 
I got the SS springs installed but the shackle bar almost or just barely touching the mount frame. I don't know why, the rear end dropped perfectly in place, and all hardware lined up perfectly. What do you think?
 
No idea why. That's how I acquired it, but I thought it looked high too. What the height "suppose to be" ? Bringing the front down will help that shackle a bit
 
Is the engine in it?
The ride height can be almost anywhere that you want it to be, BUT it is only right in about a 2" window around where the LCA is sorta parallel to the floor. When it's in the window, she will steer the best and not burn the tires off. Too low is better than too high.
There is a factory spec for this, to help the alignment tech get started.
A change in ride height will upset the alignment, so once it's chosen, get it aligned and leave it there. If it wanders or steers funny, it's not in the window, or something else is wrong;often the tires. Changing tires does not affect the alignment; well it might change the caster a hair, but it won't affect tire-life.
If you're swapping engines, it's probably best to leave the alignment for last, after the chassis is at it's final weight and balance.
 
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Yup, the engine is in it. I just looked at the service manual I got online about the height. I'm assuming the "adjusting blade" is the part of the LCA the adjusting bolt goes through? If so, ya you can eye ball it is higher then 2".

This shackle thing is bugging me though. All SS springs are the same size, right?
 
The front end appears to be off to the right somewhere, is that correct?And the tires are on the ground with full chassis weight on them,right?
If yes and yes above, then you have the correct SS springs ,but you will have to re-engineer the location of that rear hanger, and restore the working angle of that shackle.Don't drive it like that.
With the front end adjusted to it's final ride height,or close to it,that strap has to be angled such that the top is closer to the front of the car than the lower. When the rear wheel hits a bump and rises, it will flatten the spring and make it longer,eye to eye. The shackle is there to allow that.
When the rear wheel falls into a hole, weight will momentarily be removed from the rear of the car, allowing the springs to become shorter,from eye to eye. The shackle is there to let it. Same for adding weight, like from empty tank to full, or carrying luggage. Or transporting SantaClauses.
Your job is to position that upper mount to make this all possible.
The first thing to do is get the front end down, level the car side to side, establish the rake,empty the trunk and make sure the gastank is half full or so; in other words ready to roll.
The next thing I would do is A) move the front perches as far back as possible on the factory studs. This should also make it possible to run 28s or 275/60-15s; diameter-wise.
After that you have a choice;B) Re-position the rear mount, or C) fabricate new front perches to move the entire rear end further back,which will require a new-length driveshaft. If you choose C) then don't bother with A). Also you can obtain a B-body extended front mount kit and mod it to whatever extension you need.
Another option is D) a Slide-A-Link rear system. Google it.

But if the front of the car is off to the left, then either the front perch is too long (which you might be able to change), or the spring is too long and you're screwed,lol.
 
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I am going to adjust the front end height tonight. I discussed this with a guy at work and we are going to fabricate shackles that are longer to see what that gives me. Car is empty currently and full weight on the tires. Front perches and spring hangers are all stock from previous set up.
 
@RichardR

The proper angle is for the bottom of the shackle to be rearwards of the top of the shackle. At least a distance of a
1 inch. More the better. But not so much as to contact anything when the suspension is compressed. (Moved downwards)

Below, my chit box Duster w/S/S springs. This is the farthest the shackles can be. This is actually not the best spot to sit at rest with.

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Below, reproduction HD springs on the wife’s ‘67 Cuda. Notice the slight rearward location of the bottom of the shackle. This is correct. More movement backwards wouldn’t be so bad. But just a little is all that is there.
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Below, my other chit box ‘73 Cuda. This car has the OE-XHD 440/HEMI springs. The lower shackle position is ideal. This amount of room is unavailable to the stock A bodies due to there system of mounting parts.

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Below are the same springs in the wrong year car. A ‘79 Dodge Magnum. The springs sat the rear of the car stupidly low. It looked dumb as hell. To adjust the height, I used longer off the shelf shackles. While there just, OK for use, I do not recommend using the lower two holes to lift the car or correct something else wrong or to your dislike of the car.

Extending the shackle length starts to upset handling and adds more sway to the rear of the car under hard conditions. The linger the shackle length, the worse the car will react.

But again, the shackles location is very good. The extra length on the shackle here is OK. The car still handles well.
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S/S springs on a A body often have a bit of adjustment needed for them for best useage. There was a fella here, or company as I sort of remember, that made spacers that went infront of the front ya get to move the axle backwards for tire fitment. This moving of the rear axles centerline (center of the wheel) also moves the shackles location back as well. The same amount as the spacer.
 
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Well.....the adjusters are almost turned all the way in. Passenger side will move....drivers won't, GAH!!!! Going to try giving it the liquid wrench treatment for a couple days first, then if that doesn't work, I'll have to persuade it with heat
 
Thanks for the pics, that helps visualize things. I'm going to lower the front, since it's jacked up, and then maybe try a longer shackle if it doesn't help
 
A longer shackle will not help, the angle is the problem, not the length. And a longer than designed shackle always makes the handling worse, whether you notice it or not.

The springs may not have set up with the shackles in the correct position. When you lower the car down onto the spring the first time the shackles don't always end up in the right place, especially if you did something silly like tighten the U-bolts fully before you put weight on the springs. If you did that you need to loosen the U-bolts, unload the suspension, and try again. I had mine do that when I lowered it down the first time, you can sometimes use a pry bar to readjust the shackle angle, it will pop forward with a little effort and the spring will find it's proper home and arch. Just unweight the suspension first.
 
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