My 1964 imperial had been used for towing........something....... heavy!! It has electrical trailer brakes and the works It sits up high in the back and rides like a log wagon The service manual says imperial has 6 leafs, mine has 8, so someone has put extra leafs in for towing Can someone post a pic of their 64 imperial leaf springs so i can tell which leafs to remove so I'm sure I take out the right ones and get back the ride it should have Thanks in advance
Do you have a FSM? There should be a picture in the suspension section. Good Luck FSM = Factory Service Manual
This is what I've got, it just has some generic drawings,torque specs, and how many leafs are on each chrysler model, is there a different book that would explain more? I know I used to have one for an old cadillac that was about 3x that thick
He did mention the manual Stubbs and it does indeed say 6 leaves but my convertible has 7 on both sides.
Interesting Manual doesn't distinguish between HT and convertible, however convertible weighs about 250 lbs more than a HT, maybe an extra leaf to compensate for the extra weight? Pretty sure that extra weight would be towards the rear because of the hardware associated with the convertible top, especially when the top is down Edit: manual does distinguish between HT and convt, but says both have 6
As you can see it sits way too high I'm thinking the last 2 short ones are probably the ones that need to go Another dead giveaway is the new looking U bolts, probably longer to compensate for the extra leafs
That extra weight is more than likely the big chunks of cast iron in each corner of the convertible to dampen vibration. Are you sure you have 8?
The 4 smaller bottom ones are normal. It likely would be something in between #4and 8 spring. The smaller ones distribute the weight from the small axle cradle and work their way longer to the full length ones. This helps prevent the springs from point loading and bending.
good thing I asked, should every leaf have an interliner(except for the 2 short ones)? #6 and 7 do not they're rubbing metal to metal
I only have my ‘68 Polara to go off of, but yes there were zinc interliners ( probably about 8” -10” long) seemed to be between each one besides the smallest. If you are talking the plastic pads it seems like the last two do not have them. I probably need to go out and check for sure.
Unless you can get 2 good profile shots of some IMP springs and then compare what should be there and what shouldn't be, I don't think you'll ever figure out what's been added. That's my best advice, I don't have a Imp, and I don't have a Vert either, just spitballin to help. I will add, do 2 springs look newer/cleaner than the others, those may be the 2? Good Luck
If someone replaced with a Chrysler spring, you are correct, it would be difficult to tell unless 2 were the exact same size (not normal) or a little thicker, narrower, or just looks different than the others. I have a “helper” spring spring in mine from a late ‘60 Ford 250 4x4. It is just a little narrower and thicker than the others.
I'm thinking these 2 are the ones, no interliner, they look a little thicker, and judging by the photos detmatt posted, it doesn't look like those 2 are there, and being that long it would definitely stiffen up the ride considerably, unfortunately whoever did it sprayed them black when they did it so hard to tell if any look newer than the others Thanks for all the help, hopefully spring gets here soon so I can wrench on it and get back that smoooooth Imperial ride
The long ones close to the shackle will not have the plastic slip pad. Here is my opinion. If it was my car and I thought it was too high or stiff I would remove the second from the top and try it see how it acts. Removing both would likely be too much sag or too light. It doesn’t take much. Good luck.
probably good advice, to make matters worse I'm pretty sure whoever cranked down the torsion bars so it sets lower in the front, I've got the specs for setting the ride height of the front, so probably best to set the front right, then see how out of whack it looks from there Its been driving me crazy, I got the car right before the cold snap first hit, and I don't have a garage it will fit in, I've been dying to work on it but 60 is too old to be laying in the snow wrenching on a car
I see the Polara in your profile pic I had a 68 Monaco more door 383 2bbl, man that thing rode like a dream, so i think to myself " how smooth must an Imperial ride?"........ Well right now it rides like my Duster w/ 150lbs in the air shocks........needless to say I'm very disappointed But ill get it right eventually.......... Come on spring!!!!
IMHO, Once you get into springs that have been "rebuilt" with leaves added, it's just better off to start over again with new springs. You'll get the ride height and spring rate correct right without the guess work and trail and error. Do it once, do it right. My suggestion is buy new from these guys. Buy Quality Automotive Leaf Springs, Coil Springs and Suspension Parts for your Classic or Antique Auto
I agree, get the front set correctly and then see how parallel the rocker panel is to the flat pavement under the car. Wondering if the arc of the orig leaves are still as it should be? Not sagged? Which might mean a trip to the spring shop anyway. Just some thoughts, CBODY67
