I never feel body flex on my two convertibles. Especially not like some suggest.
Springs on the car photo above
Springs on the car photo above
questions about rear springs on '70 Fury convertible
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Espo....Springs and Things in Danville Pa
68plymouth383
Senior Member
On my 68 fury that's a factory big block car I didn't have the marshmallow ride that others say is c body prone. And that's with the old worn out leaf springs. Once I went to the new ones I have even better handling, and responce. I went from 4 leafs on passenger, and 5 on drivers. To 7 leafs on each side.
How many leaves did the originals have? I assume you have a big block, so probably more spring than I have on this 318. It's hard to see from the pic exactly how many leaves you have now, but...did you notice a great deal of difference in ride quality and body roll when you changed them? My '69 handles well, but it definitely rides a little rougher than I'm thinking I want for the '70 for long distance trips.
I remember pretty vividly back in the era when these cars were new....my dad would get a new Chrysler company car...usually every year. His first one was a '67 Plymouth wagon with a 383-4. That one was a great driving and handling car. His next one was a 4 dr. 318 Fury III, and that thing felt squirrelly with lots more body roll than the '67. I have always assumed the base suspension upgrade you got with a big block was the difference. Every time he got a 383, the cars handled immensely better.
68plymouth383
Senior Member
All my 318 fury parts cars had the same leaf springs count, and setup as my 383 fury. Both the 67-68 ones. The main difference I've seen is the factory big block c bodys have a front sway bar.
I knew that was true with B bodies, but wasn't sure if it always was the case with Cs. It's interesting that your 383 rear springs are the same as you've found on 318s. I guess a trip to the parts book is in order. I would have thought there would be some spring option somewhere in between the ones on my 318 and the big boys on the 440...but...maybe that was the only choice.
Have you found the 383s have stiffer torsion bars also...than the 318s?
My 383 2 car had 6 leaves. It also has a towing package but I went to 7 leaves.
My 383 4 car had five leaves, now 7
My 440 car had 7 leaves.
Every C body I've owned small and big blocks had a front sway bar, 11 cars total
My 383 4 car had five leaves, now 7
My 440 car had 7 leaves.
Every C body I've owned small and big blocks had a front sway bar, 11 cars total
I am late to the discussion here, but most of my cars are big blocks with the 7 leafs and all have sway bars up front, and their stability is pretty good. But as the cars age, the rear leafs take a setting that is too low in the back for me. Until I restore the cars and add new leafs, I have put in load assist shocks from Monroe (Gabriels do not have sufficient boost, and even the Monroes are not what they used to be, but they are a little better than nothing). I agree with Dave that these cars look best with a little rake to the body and the added stiffness is always welcome to me. I will also be specifying a 1" height increase when I order new springs, and leave out the load assist shocks. But in your case, some load assist shocks may help a little. I also always specify the biggest whitewall tire I can get on a C body (except blackwalls on some cars such as the Sport Fury GT or Hurst), as the load ratings are better and help stability too. So I always get the 235-75-15s when I order tires (and would also consider the 70 series if they were available anymore), to make the handling as good as possible. In my opinion, I would never get tires as small as the 215 series on any C body, way too small in my opinion for good stability. But radials have squishy sidewalls too, that will worsen stability in handling maneuvers compared to bias plies on the older cars, so direct comparisons are difficult when recalling long past memories of the handling of these big cars. I find it interesting that the convertible comments here suggest the bodies are acceptably stiff, as I find they are wiggly and less than stiff such that I am wondering if I even want to do a convertible, as the lack of a good structure turns me off. Plus I don't like being on display with the top down in the Los Angeles area - maybe out in the country I would feel less vulnerable given all the whack jobs in the world these days. I also like tight steering boxes from Steer & gear that have nice precision. Interesting thread.
Steve
Steve
I glossed over the tire issue... good points
I was trying to get as close to the physical size of the OE tires, and the 215s were the closest. The correct rims are also only 5.5" wide, so I figured a wider radial tire on that width rim, would probably not help matters.
It has radials on it now, although quite old ones....and that radial squishiness could be part of what I feel with it....especially compared to the stiff sidewall bias ply repros on the 69.
That's a 235 75 15... a little more wide than stock but it looks real good and is excellent on the road
Is that a currently available tire you are showing, as I am unable to find one that wide anymore and a whitewall?
What is the width of those wheels? Looks like those tires fit well on them.
I don't think so..... had them for almost 11 years.
I get a lot of compliments on them.....it's just a tire but guys really like the look
15 x 6 "
CanCritter
Senior Member
235/75 r15 is a pretty common tire found on alota vehicles...should be able to find a whitewall somewhere
The 215 whitewalls I bought are Hankook H724s. I did a lot of online research, and they get pretty good reviews. I ordered mine at Walmart, but I see that Amazon carries the 235 version of this tire, also whitewall, online for 82 bucks.
When you want whitewall "modern" tires, the universe is pretty limited out there. I think these Hankooks will be fine for my purpose.
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