Mortimer452 Posted May 23, 2017 Report Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) My car P15 rides like a haywagon, mostly the rear end is just REALLY bouncy. Lifted it up today to take a look and see if maybe the shocks are stiff/frozen and found this. Rear end has the factory leaf springs, and it looks like some add-on coils on top of the axle? Couldn't find any reference to this on the forums or elsewhere. The coils are definitely stiff. With this 200lb gorilla swinging on the rear bumper, I can't even compress them an inch. There is what looks like a piece of garden hose slipped over the top coil as cushion against the frame so it doesn't rattle. I thought maybe it's some dealer add-on for towing, but the car doesn't have a trailer hitch. Maybe it was a mob car and the boss had these added to support the extra weight of a couple bodies in the trunk. I may just pull these off and see how it rides. Edited May 23, 2017 by Mortimer452 Quote
BobK Posted May 24, 2017 Report Posted May 24, 2017 (edited) I bought a set of those coil "helper" springs back in 1968 for my then new 340 Dart GTS from a store that Manny, Moe and Jack owned. They came with a bracket that fit on top of the axle tube and with a piece of "garden hose" also. They were to fit between the axle and the frame rails just as in your picture. I guess I thought I needed them for traction control, but they wouldn't stay in place after a couple of dump the clutch and squeal the tire sessions. So I shortened one of the coils a bit, and modified the factory pinion snubber so that the coil spring fit snuggly between the pinion snubber and floor board, thus preloading the rear a bit and helping to maintain traction. We were not allowed traction bars in factory stock drag racing.......but nothing was said about coil spring pinion snubbers. Opps, a little off topic, but that's how I used one of those coil helper springs. Mortimer452, by chance does your 71 dart have a 452 stroker motor in it? Edited May 24, 2017 by BobK Quote
Mortimer452 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Report Posted May 24, 2017 38 minutes ago, BobK said: I bought a set of those coil "helper" springs back in 1968 for my then new 340 Dart GTS from a store that Manny, Moe and Jack owned. They came with a bracket that fit on top of the axle tube and with a piece of "garden hose" also. They were to fit between the axle and the frame rails just as in your picture. I guess I thought I needed them for traction control, but they wouldn't stay in place after a couple of dump the clutch and squeal the tire sessions. So I shortened one of the coils a bit, and modified the factory pinion snubber so that the coil spring fit snuggly between the pinion snubber and floor board, thus preloading the rear a bit and helping to maintain traction. We were not allowed traction bars in factory stock drag racing.......but nothing was said about coil spring pinion snubbers. Opps, a little off topic, but that's how I used one of those coil helper springs. Mortimer452, by chance does your 71 dart have a 452 stroker motor in it? Heh I wish, the Dart is a 318 car, originally a 2bbl, I rebuilt it back in high school, bored and built it to 340-4bbl specs. Quote
Niel Hoback Posted May 24, 2017 Report Posted May 24, 2017 I have a pair of those in the garage. I used them while pulling a trailer, but I took them off after that because they are too stiff for normal use. Quote
Flatie46 Posted May 25, 2017 Report Posted May 25, 2017 Dig around in the trunk and see it there's any pieces of broken mason jars or lids. Quote
greg g Posted May 25, 2017 Report Posted May 25, 2017 Put about a dozen cases of 4 x 1 gallon antifreeze in there, see if it rides any better! 2 Quote
Mortimer452 Posted May 25, 2017 Author Report Posted May 25, 2017 Pulled the coil helper springs off, definitely a noticeable improvement in ride quality. Sorry no signs of bootleg whiskey being carried in the trunk, but I agree that's a definite possibility! Quote
DJ194950 Posted May 26, 2017 Report Posted May 26, 2017 Does you car have a rear seat? Maybe Bertha Butt ( distant cousins of the Kardashians) and her sister regularly rode in it?? DJ Quote
Niel Hoback Posted May 26, 2017 Report Posted May 26, 2017 Are there signs of the car having had a trailer hitch ? Quote
classiccarjack Posted May 29, 2017 Report Posted May 29, 2017 My 1938 Plymouth Truck has those on the front! Ahhh... At least I am not the only one. Quote
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