I was fortunate enough to have known Ronnie Sox back in the late '60s and into the mid '70s and I got to crew a few times. I was always interested in the rear suspensions. In the early days of the SS/A cars and Pro Stocks, they ran the super stock leaf springs with a special arch and a bias of leaves that made the front half of the spring far stiffer and even more so on the right side. Ronnie always set his snubber up with one inch of gap with him in the car and the tank full of fuel. He was happy with it when he drive out of the water and give it a quick dry hop. If the front wheels lifted about an inch, he'd give a thumbs up. I have run adjustable snubbers on many a street Mopar with the gap and I have also used them on stock springs and touching the pan with me in the car. I didn't see any appreciable difference. I never liked the factory rubber bumper though. The best one to use is one of the rear bumpers from a Ford Aerostar van. They are a tall cone and very tough and they are very forgiving on bumps. No matter if you have gap or not, you can tell if it is working: On an automatic car, simply power brake it and see if the body lifts. On a stick car with a line lock you can do the same thing loading the clutch. Without a line lock, do a quick snatch with a clutch and have an observer check for rise at the rear wheel opening. Have fun!
Pat
