i want to cut the front springs on my 81 malibu. it is all stock v8 with air conditioning. it has moog replacement 5608 springs which are a dirrect replacement. how much will need to be cut off roughly for a 1" and a 2" drop. this will be temporary till i can afford 300 bucks for blazer drop spindles.
cutting factory springs
- Thread starter 81msw79
- Start date
- Status
I don't know how much to cut. Yrs ago we did that a few times and we would start with half a coil and keep cutting till it was were we wanted it. Never did that again though because with cut springs the bounces a lot. Doesn't ride right. To me anyways
There is no such formula for " cut this much to get that much drop". Every car is different. Dinosport did it the right way. Measure height. Cut 1/4 coil, re-measure. Keep doing this until you get what you want. There is no other way because you can always take more off, but you can't put it back on. By cutting the spring you are shortening the total length, so the spring gets stiffer. What I do is use half of a coil spring compressor tool. The threaded rod I put up through the enlarged top shock mount hole and secure with the nut and several well greased washers. I then take one set of the fingers and engage the coil spring near the bottom and lift it up away from the lower control arm until I have room to cut a 1/4 coil with a cut-off tool. .
Wow! that's a great idea! So you cut it in place without having to remove anything but the tire and the shock? If I read that correctly..
Wow!! Is right....what a great method. Thanks for that information, Mark.
I am considering cutting my front springs for at least a 1-1.5" drop.
I am considering cutting my front springs for at least a 1-1.5" drop.
Yes, it works quite well. No need to remove the spring completely. Just be sure you can get a small cutting tool in the small space without hitting anything else . Then there is the problem of rotating the spring so the cut end winds up in the little gutter that has the drain holes. I use a LARGE crowbar to get between the spring and the control arm and wiggle/bash it over to where it needs to be. Of course you have safety chained the spring in with something, right? To be honest, if you are experimenting and going to be cutting each spring a few times, just remove the lower ball joint nut and lower the control arm. Then you can get at the spring from the bottom with a 3" whiz wheel. It cuts super fast and doesn't overheat the spring. I prepare for that by getting the ball joint nut loose and whacking the steering knuckle with a small sledge hammer. That deforms the knuckle enough to let the ball joint pop loose from spring pressure, but the nut keeps it from getting away from you. Then proceed as before, getting the spring up into the spring tower. Lower the control arm and cut. As you relax the spring to check the height you can just snug the ball joint nut loosely so it comes right off again. When you have it where you want it, do exactly the same to the other side. You can do one at a time by squeezing the other side's spring with the spring compressor tool so the car sits lever while you asses it. Another thing. You must open the top shock mount hole to 3/4" I think, so the spring tool shaft fits through.When you are done and ready to reinstall the shock, guess what? The hole is too big now! The shock comes with rubber biscuits for the top. They have two sides with lips that fit in the hole. One side is the stock size, the other side is 3/4". Check it and see! Here is an example of how crazy this job can be. I had a Pontiac 400 in my '81 Malibu wagon. I used '77 Trans Am 400 springs. The car was pointing at the trees! 3 cuts for a total of 3/4 of a coil put the car where I wanted it, about 2 to 3 inches above stock. Each 1/4 coil dropped the car a LOT!
- Status
