Caltracs with stock leafs

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mshred

mshred

The Green Manalishi
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Hey guys,
Im working on the suspension of my 71 scamp as some of you guys on here already know...Ive had a few leads of what direction to go in, and have been offerred a set of SS springs, but not sure how long its going to be before i see them, and id like to fix the suspension and get the car out again this year for a few passes to see if it will hook.
That being said, I called calvert awhile back and talked with them about their bars. I know they flat out work for 95% of the guys out there, so im thinking of picking up a set with the rancho shocks and their 90/10's. However, i know that the monoleafs arent exactly the most street friendly and my car is 90% street car (contradictory to the tech guy at calvert who said the monos should last at the very least a couple years on the street). Id like a decent ride, and from what i hear the monos dont have that (could be that guys are running them on the street the way they have em adjusted for the track, not sure though)
Im wondering how well the caltracs work with factory leaf springs. I have 6cyl leafs with a leaf added to each to stiffen them up and bring up the height some. When calvert first came out with the caltracs as far as i know they had no monoleafs and their stuff stil worked...or did it not? im looking for your guys opinions on running them with the stock leafs on my car...how well would they work? would i have to remove that extra leaf i added for stiffness as it may work against the caltracs? ive never really seen this question asked before, so i figure it would be good to see whos running them like this
any input is appreciated!
thanks guys!
Matthew
 
I would remove the 1 leaf and make them softer.
The CalTracs don't work with stiff springs. They need to give so that the axle tube will twist, causing them to push down on the front of the spring, and lift.
I ended up making a set of springs from old leafs that I had. Car has very stiff set on them and the CalTracs didn't feel like they were doing anything.
 
i put a set on my 70 dart the full calvert package. i went with 0's instead of -1's.
sits great . hooks beautiful. you can NOT leave them preloaded if your driving on the street. you must back them off. another thing is use a black bungee on each side from the front hanger at the pivot to the u bolt mount, this will keep the preloader from clanging around making a racket when your going down those bumpy roads usa. need pics i'll get ya some
 
Mopower71 said:
I would remove the 1 leaf and make them softer.
The CalTracs don't work with stiff springs. They need to give so that the axle tube will twist, causing them to push down on the front of the spring, and lift.
I ended up making a set of springs from old leafs that I had. Car has very stiff set on them and the CalTracs didn't feel like they were doing anything.
Click to expand...

thats what i was planning on doing, is to remove the leaf that i added for extra stiffness...if need be i can always raise the car up too since i have holes in my spring boxes for ride height...have you since tried your caltracs with the softer springs? how do you like them?
 
drive48 said:
i put a set on my 70 dart the full calvert package. i went with 0's instead of -1's.
sits great . hooks beautiful. you can NOT leave them preloaded if your driving on the street. you must back them off. another thing is use a black bungee on each side from the front hanger at the pivot to the u bolt mount, this will keep the preloader from clanging around making a racket when your going down those bumpy roads usa. need pics i'll get ya some
Click to expand...

Thats what i had thought about preload...maybe some guys leave them preloaded driving on the street and thats why they complain about ride quality? Also, how long have you had the monos on your car, and how do they feel riding down the road, say compared to SS springs or whatever your previous setup was...another thing i was thinking is if the preload is off while street driving, does the car stil have the ability to hook for the odd stoplight blast?

pics would be great btw! even one of how the car sits
8)
 
I have Caltracs and rancho 9000 shocks on the rear with -1 SS Springs. 410 Stroker 4spd with 3.55 Gears. 90/10 Caltrac shocks upfront. Indy SS 265/60/14 Tires on the rears with 22lbs in them on the street. It will hook pretty good at a roll on the street in in first gear at around 20 MPH and when banging the gears I can feel the car float all the way through peak power in every gear. Funny thing is those Indy SS Tires make ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE WHEN THEY BREAK LOOSE, or maybe its just the Fire Breathing 410 that is louder...........haaaaaa I don't even try to do a hole shot, NO WAY it will hook on the street at all. If someone wants a crack at it on the street, it is always at a roll...............haven't lost one as of yet!! The car goes absolutely in a PERFECT straight line and tops the shocks off instantly! It does have a little bit of float that steering the car takes care of and YES it has Subframe connectors. The ones from Mopar Perf that are welded in.

Mine are Preloaded just a hair, just touching the springs. It only rides rough to me when an unsuspected bump is in the road, which is nothing compared to running 110 mph down a Sand Hwy in a Sand Car, so it doesn't bother me a bit.
 
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