<VV> Front spring swap/question on cut springs

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/18/2011 11:34:57 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
bryan at skiblack.com writes:

I have  another set I picked up at last year's Homecoming to put on the car 
with a cut  coil.  In the past I've put the cut end up, I thought I'd check 
and see  if that's what everyone does, or if it's better to put them in 
with the cut  end down?

One hint on the swap, I had heard this a couple places - it's  much easier 
to remove the spring if you pull the camber adjusting bolt, rather  than 
splitting the ball joint.  Leverage over the spring is much  better.  The only 
catch is the bolts can't be rusted in  place.

--Bryan



I remove it at the adjuster as well. But mark it first, unless you  are 
going to take it for a complete alignment. 
I cut the spring with a cut-off saw, then I put the coil end -about  the 
last half coil in a vise, heat through the point 180 degrees from the tip,  
and twist the turn in toward the coil. This pretty much re-terminates the end 
so  it will fit in the pocket. It means the car is lowered a little-bit more 
that  just the one-coil removal, because the half-coil beyond the heated 
point won't  be doing much work. But it quiets down the spring because it is 
now in it's  proper seating. And I don't mind the extra little bit of 
lowering. A bonus, a  cut spring is easier to clamp up into place with the lower 
control arm. I still  try to put a shock absorber up into the original area 
before the final  lift, since it retains the spring from "popping" out, should 
anything go  wrong.
 
Seth Emerson

C's the Day! - Corvair, Camaro,  Corvette
San Jose, CA