1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

[John G.]

At first all I was going to do was remove the shocks, clean, paint gloss black and reinstall. In checking rebound to ensure they were still good noticed squeaking which we concluded is likely bad bushings. OK - so replace the bushings. In referencing the judging guide found that I have the wrong bands on the springs and of course the rebound straps have bolts.

I'm not taking my '61 to Nationals but I'm working towards Top Flight in FL either at a chapter meet or the Winter Regional.

Are these likely the correct leaf springs as I'm assuming someone worked on the rear suspension since the straps have bolts?

I need to remove the leaf spring fasteners to change the bushings. Without going "crazy" what would be the reasonable things to do?

[Mike M.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

from what i can see in your photo, the rear springs appear to be replacements. i can't make out the grooves that should be present if original leaves and the "knob" attached to the rear of the third leaf also non-typical. mike

[John G.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

Attached are more detailed pictures of the RH spring. If they aren't correct that might change my decision making/spending.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

John,
As Mike hinted at, those are replacement incorrect springs.

[John G.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

With this information I'm thinking rather than trying to fix the bands, etc. that I will just clean them up.

My focus will be to find correct springs - any thoughts on where to find them?

[Richard M.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

John, Your 2 lower leaves are grooved, but the longer leaves are not. It appears yours are a made-up set from various pieces.

There are probably some originals around due to the restomod activity. Just make sure they are restoreable, ie no cracks, etc.

Later I'll get some potential contacts for you that are local Florida guys that may have some.

Rich

[John G.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

Thanks Rich. There is someone doing restomods up in the Tampa area but I don't have any contact information.

What years have the correct springs for a '61?

[Richard M.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

I think that's Jim Ranahan and Gary James, both top restorers of stock and modified Corvettes.

Jim's # is 813-679-8559 jranahan@tampabay.rr.com

So any C1 4 leaf stock spring will fit, however they are date coded on the short leaf. If you want correctly dated parts it may be a little more time consuming to find them.

These are some originals I restored. They came from a '62. I know you're a handy guy so I bet you could do a set yourself.

Rich

[Eric E.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

Rich is correct on identifying good candidates for restoration. I have a few in the shop that once they were apart showed rust and pitting that made them useless. If you see spring assemblies that look tough and rusty when they are assembled, they are probably ones to pass on.

[John G.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

After two sets I think I got a good pair to use - see pics - code are 361 E 4 and 361 F 7 (my car is late March '61). Since the installed clips are wrong and two are missing I'm thinking the best thing to do is to buy a repro clip set and get them installed along with some cleaning and paint. I'd like to do my own banding and I've seen inexpensive tools - is there an inexpensive one that can be modified to work well?

[Richard M.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

John, I suggest you use a C-Clamp at center, loosen/break the bolts(discard), then take them completely apart for full visual inspection.

Then if they're okay, restore them and call me and you can borrow my Signode Single Cinch Clamping tool for the cost of 2x Shipping.

Rich

[Eric E.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

Hi John, congrats on scoring a set for your 61. I am still looking for some good project springs for my 62 and have been skeptical of what I have seen on the internet. PM me if you have some info or experiences to share. Thanks, Eric

[Frank D.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

This person has two sets of C1 springs available....one restored, one a project set. He says the free arch is correct on both:
edlepelis@verizon.net

[Eric E.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

And the search continues.... thanks Frank.

[Richard M.]

Re: 1961 rear suspension fixup advice needed

John and I have been conversing. He got himself the Northern Tool Band Clamp tool. He asked me how to modify it for the single Signode cinching.

Here are the pictures of what I did to modify mine to work years ago. I had to remove teeth, insert spacer washers, then grind and file the teeth to emulate the correct crimp. Here are the pics for reference. It's just trial and error to get it right. I used the repro clamps for test pieces.

This was the tool before the modification. It did 4 crimps, 2 per side. I needed one per side. Follow on pics show the mods to the tool.