Tech Question - F-Body Leaf Springs

Good Morning,
I have a 1967 Firebird that presently has a mono leaf spring and air shocks. I would like to get rid of the air shocks.

The majority of the time the car is used for cruising with one or two people. However, sometimes my daughters ride with us to cruises.

We also use the car to go camping and pull a light tent trailer with about a 50 pound tongue weight plus luggage in the trunk.

Some people suggest that mono leaf springs were used to give a better ride than multileaf springs, True or False?

In the future I may replace my rear axle with one from a newer Camaro because of the greater availability of gears.

My question is what springs should I buy? Will the springs for this axle also work with axles from newer Camaros?

Lastly, can I pick up these springs from you?

Thanks for your help
Steve

Steve,

Mono leaf springs, being just one leaf, do not have interleaf friction like multi leaf springs do.

The lack of this interleaf friction would make one think that they ride better. However, this is not the case.

The mono leaf spring has a spring rate of 126 Lbs.

Spring rate is the amount of weight it takes to deflect the spring one Inch. Spring rates for multi-leaf springs range from 84 Lbs.up to 126 Lbs. The higher rates are used on bigger engine cars.

Some Interleaf friction is a good thing. Without it the vehicle has to have either a larger sway bar, heavier shocks or a higher rate spring. All these make for a stiffer ride.

The spring rate on the mono leaf has to be higher to make up for the lack of interleaf friction. The make up of a mono leaf is different than a multi-leaf spring in that the leaves of a multi-leaf spring are held together by a centerbolt. The head of the centerbolt fits into a hole in the spring seat on the axle.

The spring seat of cars built with mono leaf springs do not have the hole for the centerbolt. I tell you this because when you replace the axle make sure it from a later car, one with the hole in the spring seat.

When you are ready to change the axle is the time to change the springs.

As for what spring to go with will depend on the ride quality you would like and how often you have to cart the young ones with you and how often you take the trailer.

If this is something you do a far amount of time, then stick with the heavier springs.

And yes, we carry a full line of F-Body springs, we can get you whatever ones you need.

I hope this helps you.

Mike