I want to put on new shocks that don't give a stiff ride, but also don't let it yaw over in the corners. The springs look good, (the front have a couple of rubber spacers in them) but I don't know what would help me decide to replace the springs. They are not an expensive item, but to just put another set of stock springs in might not make sense other than they would be new also.
Lib, if you don't already own a factory shop manual for your '63, you need to get one.
Why would you keep rubber spacers in your springs?
The decision on replacing springs is made by checking ride height (sans rubber spacers); that is covered in the shop manual.
Commonly-used shocks on C2's are Delco air shocks, KYB air shocks, Koni's (adjustable), Bilstien's, and Spax. All are considered good choices.
Koni's would allow you to "choose" the level of stiffness you desire through trial & error.
As Wayne said, you need to remove any spacers and measure the ride height on a level surface. You may find the spacers un-needed. If the rear sits too low, the spring leaves can be re-arched in lieu of replaced. I've had this done on two of the mid-years I've owned and it worked very well.
You also need to decide how you're going to use the car. If it's for toolin' 'round and just fun driving, then I'd replace the worn parts with direct replacements and not go fancy. If you are going to get into more performance driving then looking into aftermarket upgrades may pay off.
I've autocrossed both my '67 and '72 on a few occassions. Both cars are set up just as they were from Chevy and I thought they performed very well. As a matter of fact, I got first place for each car...
but I'm not going to mention that my cars were the only ones in their classes for the races! :)
Here's waving to ya - \||||
Owen ___
'67BB & '72BB
-- not affiliated with JLA forum in any way -- alt.autos.corvette is original posting -- ___
"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring." -- Ann Hayman Zwinger
Thanx for the feedback: (1) Sunday I ordered another manual to replace the one that the owner gave to me back in 1975 when I bought the car. I understand the concept of measuring the heighth after the drivetrain is re-installed and working from that point. I have no idea at this moment why the spacers are in there now, but will investigate that later. (2) How do I "re-arch" my rear spring? I'm buying a differential re-build kit as well as a rear suspension kit, so it will be accessible. (3) My goal is to turn it back into the reliable, fun, week-end driver it was when I put it away in
1982. I use rental cars for long trips. I'm fairly certain my butt and back isn't up to too many miles per day in this roadster. That's why I want to make it a comfortable ride. I can certainly go with a set of AC gas shocks for $100 and probably stay pretty soft. A friend of mine is a GoodYear dealer and will buy a new set tires of soft tires from him and mount them on my old ET-4 dished mags. It had a set of Pirelli steel-belted radials on when I drove it. They were noisy and when changing lanes about shook your teeth loose if you ran over the small lane bubbles.- Lib
Re-arching is done by shops that specialize in springs; check your yellow pages.
Haven't tried them on a Vette, but after some research I recently put a set of Goodyear Comfortred radials on a 93 Camry and was quite satisfied with them... nice smooth quiet ride. They are, however, only S-rated tires, and quite expensive, even at WalMart (ordered online and shipped free to a nearby WalMart) where I got them for about $75-$100/set less than the local discount tire store and Tire Rack; some of that difference was in the cost of mounting & balancing and/or shipping. Finding near-correctly-sized tires for a midyear is getting difficult, as fewer and fewer are available, especially in a performance rated tire.
the fiberglass spring seems to have a better ride, FWIW Like I said earlier VB&P seem to have very good products Since you have a 63 and more than likely want to keep it more original than I do for my 79 your choices may be different than mine. Good luck Kickstart
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