spring chart needed

[phat rat]

Does anyone have or know where to find a chart that will give me the various lengths and weight capacities for 74 Nova frt springs?

[purplepickup]

Jack, If nobody here has one you can check the Nova forum on ChevyTalk or the Steve's Nova forum here: http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/index.php

[phat rat]

Thanks George, I did find these over there. Anyone have any experience with them?

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/148_0208_coilover_front_shock_conversion/index.html

[wayne petty]

Does anyone have or know where to find a chart that will give me the various lengths and weight capacities for 74 Nova frt springs?

if you cannot find it... i have a printed spring catalog somewere close by... might take 20 minutes to find...

be sure before you start ordering springs.. that you measure the spring wire diameter...  that way you know where you are at... so you can go up or down in size...  there are dozens of options in most cases in chevys.. since that front end was used with many differnt motors...

74 should still be a rear steer...like a 67 to 69 camaro...  and was used on 66 to 74 nova, omega's, ventura's, apollo's...  so you have a lot of options...

including all new subframes... about a dozen or more for 67 -69 camaros that will fit with a few mods as the frame horns are differnt where the bumpers bolt on and the core support mounting hole...

but then you knew all of this...


wayne...

[Charlie Chops 1940]

Jack,

I've got a Moog catalog dated 2/80. There are 6 springs listed for '68 - 74, all used in different years for a/c, no a/c, 2 doors, 4 doors. Your'e welcome to take a look at it.

However, after 34 to 40 years I suspect some of those p/n's are no longer available.

What's the problem....got the sags? Lower a-arms going uphill again?

Charlie

[phat rat]

Remember I told you I was taking it to Tim for a-arm bushing replacement? Well when I got it back I found that apparently the springs hadn't been seated quite right in the pockets. The car is now sitting so low that a pop can will not roll under the nose chin and the tires are rubbing on turns. Talk about having to avoid even a dead snake in the road. So new springs are in order. Although I'm also thinking about the coil overs.

[1FATGMC]

Remember I told you I was taking it to Tim for a-arm bushing replacement? Well when I got it back I found that apparently the springs hadn't been seated quite right in the pockets. The car is now sitting so low that a pop can will not roll under the nose chin and the tires are rubbing on turns. Talk about having to avoid even a dead snake in the road. So new springs are in order. Although I'm also thinking about the coil overs.

If the old springs were actually working ok you might want to look at spacers under them.  When I build my truck the fronts settled more than I like, was hitting stuff, and I put in I think a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch spacers and that cured that.  They are still there.  I think you can get them in different thicknesses.

c ya,

Sum

[phat rat]

Yea Sum I've seen those spacers. The springs have 65,000 mi on them and already did their setteling. It dropped at least a full inch after he put the bushings in, that's why we figure the springs must not have been seated quite right before. It was already plenty low and didn't need to drop an additional inch

[UGLY OLDS]

Yea Sum I've seen those spacers. The springs have 65,000 mi on them and already did their setteling. It dropped at least a full inch after he put the bushings in, that's why we figure the springs must not have been seated quite right before. It was already plenty low and didn't need to drop an additional inch

Jack....Try lookin' around in here:

http://bbb-carb.com/moog_Coil_Springs.htm

It may take some bouncin' around to find what you're after ....

Bob.....

[1FATGMC]

Does anyone have or know where to find a chart that will give me the various lengths and weight capacities for 74 Nova frt springs?

When I built my truck I used the camaro front clip and the camaro springs in the back.  I bought new springs for the front for a camaro with a 350, air, etc. and like I said after they settled they were too low.  Mainly because of the 60 series 14 inch tires that are probably 4 inches or so smaller in dia. than the original camaro and also where I set the body on the frame/sub-frame.

Anyway I put the leaf springs under the truck from the donor camaro that had a lot of miles on them.  A number of years later I realized that I had a couple broken leafs in them.  The truck had set low, but I run air shocks in the back to level it if it is empty vs. running with the teardrop that has 200 lbs. of tongue weight.  So on ordering new springs for the back I ordered stock camaro, but their springs for their heavy duty, maybe police package ones form J.C. Whitney (you had choices).  I got them and they didn't have near the arch in them as the ones coming out.  I thought now I'm really in trouble and the truck is going to be way too low in the back.  I decided to install them and see.  I was really wrong.  They didn't start with the arch of the old ones, but they were so much stiffer they didn't compress as much and raised the truck about 2 inches in the back.  Higher than I like without the teardrop, but real good with it and I don't have to run much air in the air shocks now.  You really shouldn't put the car at height with air shocks anyway, they should be there to maintain it.

OK the moral of the story is that coils are so cheap from someone like J.C. Whitney or someone else what I would do is order a set for the heaviest '74 Nova they could have made, engine wise, ac, and anything else that would have added weight to the car especially the front.  Maybe move up a year or two later if the front is the same and they came with more options.   Isn't '73 back the same as 1st gen. camaros??

c ya,

Sum

[GPster]

It's a "Crap Shoot". I'd borrow Charlie's book or see if your friendly parts house has an old book to give you. You can find your old spring and all the other springs for that application and find the specs for that spring in the back. It will tell you the wire diameter,  spring diameter, loaded height, unloaded height,  number of coils, the weight loading and the configuration (bend) of the ends. Then you can look in the book and find springs that are the diameter but longer and you could install them and cut them off to the height you need. The flood of '04 caught the one I had but you'd be surprised of the possibilities that are hidden behind Make/Model. GPster

[phat rat]

Well I've been looking over Moogs online site. It also led me to a page on their site which has a complete listing for all cars with options also listed. Thanks Ugly Olds. Have a question in order that I understand for sure. Spring rate is understood but the load rate isn't for sure. From the numbers I'm seeing is this for a pair?  Example
              Load rate---2022#
             
            Spring rate---357#  

Trying to sort this out but still thinking about coilovers also. No big hassel with getting the height I want that way. Any thoughts out there on that. Charlie Chops has run the coilovers for over 20 yrs on his vert

[1FATGMC]

From the numbers I'm seeing is this for a pair?  Example
              Load rate---2022#
             
            Spring rate---357#  

Well from what I know just worry about the spring rate and the length of the spring.  Those springs are going to compress 1 inch for each 357 lbs.  

So lets say the front of the car is 2000 lbs.  1/2 of that is 1000 lbs. and the spring is going to compress 2.8 inches (1000/357).  So if the spring is 10 inches long compressed it will be 7.2 inches.

See what the compressed height of your current spring is and if you had the frontend weight and took the spring out and measured how long it was you could work backwards and see what it's spring rate is.  Or go by it's current compressed height and using the frontend rate and what I said above you could look for a new spring based on it's length and spring rate.

I'm sure you are remembering that 1/2 inch more at the spring will most likely be more at the tire due to the travel at the spring vs. the tire.  1/2 at the spring might actually raise the car an inch.  Just guessing.

c ya,

Sum

[Bugpac]

I would think you would want to measure the spring length, "Or the height were it is going to fit" with the car resting at ride height, then do the calculations to figure sag etc, and buy the appropriate length spring from there...If you really want to get technical, measure the unsprung weight up front, then the sprung weight to fit the proper springs...

[Bugpac]

Im sure there is a more "rod oriented" site, but this has excellent worksheets and calculators for spring weight, unsprung, sprung motion ratio etc etc...

http://swayaway.com/TechRoom.php