I have a question regarding rear springs on my 66 coupe. The driver side spring is sagging due to the bottom leaf being broken. Whoever had the car before me simply slid one of the halves back in between the spring and axle. I have bought new springs but I don’t want to replace them until I can get the rusted rear frame rails replaced. My question is, can I remove the bottom leaf out of another spring and slide it in place temporarily or will I have to deal with a leaning car until I replace the rear frame rails?

 

Sure you can. Jack the car up so that the rear is relaxed. Take the shock off and the four nuts that hold the U bolts on, then slide another leaf in there and button it back up. It may squeak on you, so you may want to add some grease between the old and donor leaf.

 

Thank you for the reply, I'm going to find a used spring somewhere and give it a shot. I'll let you know if it levels the car out.

 

if your frame rails are that rusty, you should consider if you should even be driving the car on the road. if they are ok, you might as well go ahead and fit the new springs. the hardest part is getting the rusty 40 year old stuff apart. Once you have the new ones in place, they will come off easy over a period of a year or 2 when you want to get the frame rails repaired anyway