Front Axle / Front Suspension: Front springs of 54 Champion - any good?

[austrian]

On my way of restoring a 54 Champion K Body that is in almost original state (actually IS) I have to deal with the front springs some time.

The original ones are superficially rusted but look good to me otherwise.

Questions: do These springs Age or get useless after a certain amount of years / milage?

Is there a way (or necessity) to have them tested.

Should I get new ones anyway? In this case: which ones? Well known Dealers only offer "heavy duty" ones that seem to be fitted for Commander / V8 models!

Thanks for any help!!

[doofus]

Hi Austrian, how does the car sit now? if its nose down the springs are weak, level you should be ok to re-use your springs. most replacements are for V8 . do some research, measuring and such and consult a replacement spring catalog. the CC655 spring might work but dont know for sure. they have survived my 400 lb son in law in a 63 lark for 4 years in a daily driver in Oklahoma so they seem to work well there. a Moog catalog of replacement springs would be helpful again, i borrowed one from a local FLAPS who felt sorry for the nut with the cool old cars. i returned the favor by bringing 3 studes to a show they were putting on nearby, wifes 57 Hawk, my 62 Lark Daytona Turbo and grandsons orange 63 Lark 2dr.Good Luck, Doofus

[Mike Van Veghten]

What he said.
Do spring wear out, yes. Do they become totally useless, not normally, unless they break, which is also unlikely. Leaf springs are more likely to break than coil springs.
As has been said, if the front end sits too low for you, buy new. Otherwise, just install good shock absorbers and drive it.

Mike

[austrian]

OK Doofus and Mike, thanks a lot!

The car is totally disassembled already and I already have new shock absorbers. From what I remember (before taking everything apart) the car was pretty level .... I think I will give it a try.

[altair]

I have a 54 sedan that I installed a 259 in it and there in no visible difference in the height. Some models of cars had a stiffer spring on the drivers side that was a different color. On those models if you put a drivers side spring on the passengers side that would stiffen the passenger's side. I did this on an older Dodge that I did an engine swap in, worked good.