How to correctly clamp leaf springs to hookup!

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LovetheA's

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Hello everyone. I was hoping that I could benefit from the expertease on the site. I want to make suspension changes to my 67 gts to prevent bad wheel hop. Could people please post some pics of how and where to clamp the leaf springs to limit wheel hop on launch. Would it be best to also change out the pinion snubber from stock to an adjustable one? Any help greatly appreciated.

Carl
 
Clamp each leaf on the front segments of the spring. I have not experienced wheel hop with any of my Mopars. Are all of you bushings good? Good shocks? Sounds like it may not be just your springs.
 
Install the clamps as Commando66 described and if you employ an adjustable pinion snubber on the street, remember to allow enough room for your suspension to work. If you don't, the snubber bumper will pound against the floorpan. When you're ready for drag racing, set the snubber back up close to the floorpan.
 
I agree. Mopes don't hop!
Look closely for other problems that you'll just be putting a band aid on by using clamps.
 
If mopars don't wheel hop what should I exactly be looking at. The angle of the drivetrain, set up of leafs? Im not so sure what to be looking at?
Thanks everypone for the heads up.

Carl
 
Buy the Mopar Suspension book. Everything you need is right in there.
 
Oh, damn near forgot. ESPECIALLY with stickshift, and even with TF, CHECK MOTOR MOUNTS and other loose K member/ frame parts.
 
Is it wheel hop or spring wrap?

I've had a problem with what seemed to be clutch chatter for the life of the car no matter what I did with clutch parts, motor mounts, fly wheel, bell housing alinment, trans mount or SS springs. I now believe it to be the springs wrapping up and snapping back. Only did it when letting out the clutch and increasing power. Balls out no hop or easy low power no chatter.

One shop years ago when checking it out was watching someone let the clutch out in the parking lot and during a bad chatter the rear wheels were actually bouncing up and down. Tried taction bars, as an experiment, and they seemed to control it. I dismissed it at the time as treating the symptom not the cause. Now believe I just need to have the snubber properly set to stop the rotation of the differential. When I reinstall the rear end I'm going to check out this theory. May also need to try clamping front part of springs.
 
buck351 said:
Is it wheel hop or spring wrap?

I've had a problem with what seemed to be clutch chatter for the life of the car no matter what I did with clutch parts, motor mounts, fly wheel, bell housing alinment, trans mount or SS springs. I now believe it to be the springs wrapping up and snapping back. Only did it when letting out the clutch and increasing power. Balls out no hop or easy low power no chatter.

One shop years ago when checking it out was watching someone let the clutch out in the parking lot and during a bad chatter the rear wheels were actually bouncing up and down. Tried taction bars, as an experiment, and they seemed to control it. I dismissed it at the time as treating the symptom not the cause. Now believe I just need to have the snubber properly set to stop the rotation of the differential. When I reinstall the rear end I'm going to check out this theory. May also need to try clamping front part of springs.
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Have you ever checked your pinion angel?
 
Burntorange70 said:
That is a good book to have around.
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A good 3/4 of the questions here would disappear if people would simply buy the engine and chassis manuals. They're that good.....even 40 years after the first editions.
 
Burntorange70 said:
Have you ever checked your pinion angel?
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No I haven't. But that angle would go too far if the snubber wasn't doing it's job and the diff was rotating too far. Wouldn't hurt to check it.

I was reading elsewhere where a guy with a rear wheel drive car had the exact symptoms as I had. He found his snubber was detrioated and after replacing it the problem went away.

Now I had this with the stock setup and the stock snubber. At one point I had the pig swapped out. That pig ended up without a snubber and I found the bolts for the snubber were broken off in the holes. Reason the rearend is currently out of the car. Broken bolts are removed now so when I get it back in I can put the snubber back and get it setup. I have a stock snubber and the Mopar adjustable one.

Currently the car is also sitting about 2" high in back because of the SS springs. If I flip the front brackets on the springs it should put the height pretty much back to stock. I checked the dimensions on the front bracket and flipping it makes a 2" difference. From what I read the SS springs can lift the back end 2".

So basically I need to make sure, as an old plumber told me many times, "first we check to see if everything how it's suppose to be? Then we look for the problem". :)
 
buck351 said:
Are you referring to the "Mike Martins Mopar Suspension book"?
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No. The Mopar Performance Chassis Secrets Manual Ninth Edition. Mancini sells them. Engine Secrets Manuals too. Did you not know about them? I don't see how anybody could be into Mopars and not have them. No other auto maker backed up their race program with information that comprehensive.
 
buck351 said:
No I haven't. But that angle would go too far if the snubber wasn't doing it's job and the diff was rotating too far. Wouldn't hurt to check it.
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Ummmm....what? The snubber's "job" is to plant the tires on the track. Period. It has no other function whatsoever. Pinion angle is a static measurement that should be 5-7* nose down in relation to drive shaft. Per the Mopar Performance Chassis Manual.

buck351 said:
I was reading elsewhere where a guy with a rear wheel drive car had the exact symptoms as I had. He found his snubber was detrioated and after replacing it the problem went away.
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That's entirely possible but would have absolutely nothing to do with pinion angle. If the snubber was deteriorated, then it was not working to its full capacity to plant the tires and that was causing the problem.

buck351 said:
Now I had this with the stock setup and the stock snubber. At one point I had the pig swapped out. That pig ended up without a snubber and I found the bolts for the snubber were broken off in the holes. Reason the rearend is currently out of the car. Broken bolts are removed now so when I get it back in I can put the snubber back and get it setup. I have a stock snubber and the Mopar adjustable one.

Currently the car is also sitting about 2" high in back because of the SS springs. If I flip the front brackets on the springs it should put the height pretty much back to stock. I checked the dimensions on the front bracket and flipping it makes a 2" difference. From what I read the SS springs can lift the back end 2".
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Mopar Performance actually does not recommend a snubber with SS springs on an automatic car. Although many people run them with success, they are not necessary. I did not see you specify auto or manual. Maybe I missed it. If you have the SS springs already, they come clamped correctly unless they have been modified. Those SS springs are designed to be used with the stock spring hangers in the stock location. Flipping them might open another can of worms. Instead of guessing, you need to iron it out like it is supposed to be, then make mods from there or you may never find the problem.

buck351 said:
So basically I need to make sure, as an old plumber told me many times, "first we check to see if everything how it's suppose to be? Then we look for the problem". :)
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Sounds like a plan.
 
StrokerScamp said:
Ummmm....what? The snubber's "job" is to plant the tires on the track. Period. It has no other function whatsoever. Pinion angle is a static measurement that should be 5-7* nose down in relation to drive shaft. Per the Mopar Performance Chassis Manual.



That's entirely possible but would have absolutely nothing to do with pinion angle. If the snubber was deteriorated, then it was not working to its full capacity to plant the tires and that was causing the problem.



Mopar Performance actually does not recommend a snubber with SS springs on an automatic car. Although many people run them with success, they are not necessary. I did not see you specify auto or manual. Maybe I missed it. If you have the SS springs already, they come clamped correctly unless they have been modified. Those SS springs are designed to be used with the stock spring hangers in the stock location. Flipping them might open another can of worms. Instead of guessing, you need to iron it out like it is supposed to be, then make mods from there or you may never find the problem.




Sounds like a plan.
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4 speed. Stock setup had the problem of chatter too. Only did it when you did the inbetween power slipping clutch and increasing power. If you slipped it with higher rpms or let it out easy with low rpms it didn't do it. I also didn't do it if you put the wheels against a tire stop. Only thing that did anything to control it was when I put some cheap traction bars on the stock springs. I took them off because they hung low and didn't fit very well.

The listing I saw lately for the SS springs recommend a snubber be used with them. Ah thanks for the info on the clamps aready being there. One has two straps in front and one in back. The other has one in front and one in back. There are less of these straps on the stock springs. So these are suppose to do the same function as the spring clamps you would purchase? Doesn't look like they would clamp as tight. I saw the spring clamps on sale in a package of four. Hadn't heard of clamping springs before but I understand the function from what I have about it read.

The springs did raise the rearend about 2". Doesn't that shift the CG forward?
 
StrokerScamp said:
No. The Mopar Performance Chassis Secrets Manual Ninth Edition. Mancini sells them. Engine Secrets Manuals too. Did you not know about them? I don't see how anybody could be into Mopars and not have them. No other auto maker backed up their race program with information that comprehensive.
Click to expand...

No I didn't know about them.
 
buck351 said:
No I didn't know about them.
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Make sure you get the engine book, too. It is about twice as thick as the chassis manual. There's some duplicate information between them and in the different sections, but you'll quickly see they are the absolute best when it comes to Mopar.
 
One thing I didn't see brought up is shock length. If you're using stock shocks, you'll probably want to pick up something longer. The stock length shocks may bottom out at full extension and cause the kind of behavior you're seeing.

I've been using these shocks from Competition Engineering. They extend about 2" past full suspension droop on my Scamp.
 
73Scamp318 said:
One thing I didn't see brought up is shock length. If you're using stock shocks, you'll probably want to pick up something longer. The stock length shocks may bottom out at full extension and cause the kind of behavior you're seeing.

I've been using these shocks from Competition Engineering. They extend about 2" past full suspension droop on my Scamp.
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I found a place that had the Mopar shocks that were suppose to be made to use with the SS springs. I will install them when the rearend goes back in. I took out the Konis that were in there. They were pretty old but still worked and didn't have any serious oil leaks. I was amazed how long they lasted.
 
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