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Replacing my original coil springs on my 68' Shelby

Discussion in '1965-1970 Shelby Mustang GT350 & GT500' started by Oregon Shelby, Apr 26, 2010.

  1. Oregon Shelby

    Oregon Shelby Well-Known Member

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    I have my engine out and think it's a good time to change and replace my coil springs. My springs are original to my car and my car tends to bottom out and hit the fenders while going around normal corners at normal speed which is obviously normal after 40 years.

    It was suggested that I go through Eatonsprings regarding the correct coil springs for our cars.

    I have searched questions regarding replacing coils on this forum and didn't see any and thought I would simply ask.

    I have never taken a coil spring out of a car and looks pretty self explanatory with a spring compressor. I have read the Ford 68 manual and seems manageable. By chance are there any pointers that I should be aware of before doing this on my own. I should note that I did replace my shocks about a year ago which did help a bit.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

    thanks,
    brian-
     
  2. rsimkins

    rsimkins Well-Known Member

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    Brian,

    Treat a compressed spring with a geat deal of respect. There is a lot of energy tied up in a compressed spring and if the compressor slips off the spring there could be quite a bit of damage to both car and person. I have found that the best kind to use are the ones that go inside the spring rather than the ones that grab the individual coils on the outside. Follow the manufacture's recomended procedures and use eye protection. Heavy duty work gloves might not be a bad ideas as well. =Tony Branda (www.cobranda.com) has instruction on how to make your own spring compressor. I made a similar one and it works well.
     
  3. Oregon Shelby

    Oregon Shelby Well-Known Member

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    Roy,
    Great suggestions. I will buy a compressor that works from the inside. I was originally going to buy one that compresses the spring from the outside, but sounds like the inner compressor might be a bit better from your experience.

    I also printed the Shadetree tip-1 from Branda. Great suggestion too.

    brian-
     
  4. Coralsnake

    Coralsnake Well-Known Member

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    The more weight you can off the front suspension, the less you will have to compress the spring. If you can get the suspension to fully relax, thats best
     
  5. Oregon Shelby

    Oregon Shelby Well-Known Member

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    Great point Coralsnake.
    Looks like I will order the springs tomorrow. Don't laugh, but my neighbor changed his on his boss 302 and he said he wore a helmet while excuting this exchange! Probably overkill, but his point was well made. I still feel confident though especially with the weight out of the engine. If I am going to do it, now really is the best time.

    Thanks again for the feedback,

    brian-
     

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