An English leaf spring giving up is sort of expected. Their coil springs
are often not that far behind either. If you have ever taken an English
leaf spring to a spring shop and asked to have it re arched you know what
its liked to be laughed out the door. Unfortunate as it seems, the
English are not known for their spring steel.
When there is a recommendation to de arch a spring to lower your car, I'm
thinking 'find a spring that has flattened to the specs you need and hope
it still has enough life to last a while'. They simply de arch
themselves.
Though I've never checked in detail, all of the pieces you might need to
modify a leaf spring should be found in a Moog catalog of suspension
parts. That way you could build a custom spring from materials that have
better durability.
Bill 70 GT-6+
On Wed, 30 May 2001 12:40:54 EDT BRITPAC@aol.com writes:
> Scrappy's new British Spring leafs dropped on me in last year's Great
> Race.
> The replacement set also headed south. British Spring is a quality
> supplier,
> and I couldn't figure out what the problem was.
>
> I think I know now. The leaf ends appear to be cut with something
> like a
> brake or shear. They are cut 'up'. This leaves a sharp edge rubbing
> against
> the leaf above it. After only a few thousand miles the lower leaf
> ends had
> all cut into the leafs above them, as deep as .003-.005! The
> friction surely
> generates localized heat, and over the course of 12 hour driving
> days, the
> main leaf began to sag right where the #2 leaf was hitting it.
>
> The fix was simple enough. The old hot rodders used to take their
> Ford
> springs and radius and chamfer the edges that rubbed. I did that,
> and added
> Teflon rubbing strips, again designed for Model A Fords (same leaf
> width).
> This allows the springs to slide easily, reducing friction and heat,
> plus
> giving a more supple ride.
>
> I also made a full span #2 leaf, by taking an old main leaf and
> cutting off
> the eyelets. This gives better support to the main leaf, and with
> the Teflon
> strip the ride is not stiffer, but capable of supporting a full load
> (gas,
> trunk 'o spares and tools, and two up). Smoother spring action is
> better for
> sucking up rough roads, but I'll settle for them holding their arch!
>
> The springs come apart easily enough: remove (always the trick,
> except mine
> have been out so often lately...), take out the center bolt, bend
> the clamps
> back, and separate the leaves. Simply grinding down the tips and
> reassembly
> should help. The Teflon strips are available at hot rod shops, or
> Ford
> specialists like Bob Drake. It's under $20/roll, enough for both
> rear leaf
> springs, and you really only need to add them to the top 3 leafs.
>
> I also use motorcycle chain lube to keep the metal on metal leaves
> rust free
> and supple.
>
> Steve & Janet Hedke
> 1957 TR3 "Team Scrappy"
> Great Race #45
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