'71 Dart rear leaf springs ?s

[DartGTDan]

One of the previous owners of my '71 Dart GT installed (or had someone install) new rear leaf springs.

I'm sure there is a "front" and "rear" eyelet on each spring. Is it possible a spring was installed in the wrong orientation (front to rear & rear to front)? How would I check this? Is the perch pin equal distance between the front and rear eyelets? Or, is the distance from the perch pin different between the front and rear eyelets?

I ask these questions, because the rear axle does not "appear" to be straight in the car. On the driver side there is a larger gap between the tire and the front of the quarter panel, whereas the gap between the tire and the front of the quarter panel is much smaller on the passenger side.

What else should I consider?

 

[Mr. Sinister]

If installed backward the axle would be so far out of location you wouldnt even get it back in car, the center would be almost to the center of the gas tank.Mopars do not locate their axles on the center of the leaf springs.
Measure from the front spindle to the center line of the rear axle and compare the dimensions.
Also older cars were built with larger tolerances, meaning that the stackup of plus or minus tolerances will create differences similar to what you have. Has the car been restored?
Nice looking car.

 

[DartGTDan]

If installed backward the axle would be so far out of location you wouldnt even get it back in car, the center would be almost to the center of the gas tank.Mopars do not locate their axles on the center of the leaf springs.
Measure from the front spindle to the center line of the rear axle and compare the dimensions.
Also older cars were built with larger tolerances, meaning that the stackup of plus or minus tolerances will create differences similar to what you have. Has the car been restored?
Nice looking car.

Thanks, Mr. Sinister. Not restored, basically a survivor (119,000 miles so far). When I saw the different gap sizes I thought maybe a spring was out of orientation. When I had the front end rebuilt the shop made all kinds of measurements and didn't recommend any other work, but I always wondered about that gap difference.

 

[72Dart6pack]

20 inch on the front to center pin. 35 inch to rear eyelet.

 

[72Dart6pack]

PM me. I'm doing leaf springs this week.

 

[72Dart6pack]

20 inch is a straight line between the eyelet to the center pin. Not the distance of the actual leaf spring.

 

[MoparMike1974]

There can be a big difference side to side on these cars. The reason is the factory tolerances were very loose. When running factory tires its no big deal and usually is not noticable. Larger tires can be a problem as they fill the wheel well and everything is closer to the body. On my car I had to roll the fender well on the driver side. The passenger side was fine. It was nearly a half inch difference.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Here is what I have found on mopars. Look under the car at the hole in the bottom of the frame rail just in front of the bracket that the spring bolts to. You will see a difference from side to side. Usually one mount is welded in place forward than the other. This is common and why many mopars when doing a line lock tend to turn the rear of the car.

Did you ever watch a burnout contest and they need to hold the car straight. this is why. 340 4spd car bodies usually don't have this problem when they have factory torque boxes. What you will need to do is take a piece of aluminum or steel plate the thickness needed drill the 4 holes and shim the one front leaf spring hanger back.

We do this on many cars to get them to launch straight before moving the leafs in on cars. Once you weld the the new leaf boxes in they have to be straight.

It is very hard to find bodies that are built correctly where the leafs are fastened. You may have to install longer studs on the front hanger . We have seen them off at least 1/2 inch at times

Measure between the arrows on each side as pictured below. See if they are the same. This will give you an idea which side is back