Mock up A-body rear springs

[patmckinneyracing]

This has been discussed before on here before about how the A-body rear springs supposedly drop the rear end of our cars by as much as 2 inches. So I decided to find out for myself.

The same guy that sold me the 700r4, ss spoiler, and all the other parts gave me these springs to try out and let him and others know what the results are of this mod. So what I did was I put the A-body springs alongside the standard replacement G-body rear springs. Mine are only a year or two old on the right, A-body springs on the left.

In all honest, I so absolutey NO drop in the rear end whatsoever. I shoved down on the *ss end to get rid of any un-sprung tension after dropping the car off the jackstands. There was no difference after that either. The car has replacement shocks, new body mount bushings, rebuilt front end, and new bushings all around. All in all, there are no stock or saggy parts on the car that would mess with what you and I are seeing. So the first pic is an older pic but is a pic of the rear end tire with the stock replacement springs. The second pic is after swapping to the A-body rear springs.

Now yes most of the interior is out, so I had my two younger sisters sit on the bumper to give a little more weight to the back end. No point to that as it seems that both sets of springs are almost identical in spec. The only thing I can tell is that the A-body springs are a little softer. Please post your results if you've had something different with A-body springs.

 

[oldtinsmith]

patmckinneyracing,
Thanks for taking the time to do that test! The springs on the right look just like the cargo coils I put on my El Camino years ago.
Doug

 

[Bonnewagon]

I allways thought A and G bodies were the same, give or take. I have swapped springs back and forth a few times and the car sat the same. Those on the right are definitely Cargo Coils and should not change the ride height at all. They get progressively stiffer as they load, and are meant for towing and hauling beer.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

The cargo coils are replacements for my car. That's why I put them side by side cause they appear to be the same free height.

IMO the cargo coils are better for racing and handling purposes. They're soft when just cruising, but when you take off straight or do sharp turns, they will allow the car to "squat" about 1/2 to 1 inch. And as light as our cars are in the back, and the turns I've put this car through, the cargo coils seem to be a perfect fit. Only way it will give anymore than 1 inch is if you've got Rosey O'donnel and Oprah wrestling in the back seat

Now the other option I need to try is the F-body rear springs. Supposedly the F-body springs don't have the closed pigtails like ours and you can actually cut coils like the front springs. I already have S10 5660 moogs springs in the front with one coil out and this thing handles great.

At this point, I'm experimenting with the malibu/el camino's aerodynamics. I want to see how well the car handles on the track and at top speed when lowered 2 inches in all 4 corners and with the addition of the ss spoiler in the front. This should definately reduce the amount of lift and drag created by air passing under the car. At the same time, trying to do it on a budget for the average joe as I can't afford top of the line suspension like Hotchkis.

 

[oldtinsmith]

I agree with all you said ( even the wrestling part! ), especially your reasoning for the cargo springs. When I'd hauled my big roll-a-round tool box in the back, it would really lean in curves in the road. A friend at work told me to try cargo coils to reduce the lean and they worked quite well! IMO, the springs help the rear sway bar ( the springs make the bar feel bigger )!
Looking forward to your results on the front air dam.
Doug

 

[FE3X CLONE]

You can use F-body cargo coils or a pair of Monza/Starfire, etc. springs. They can be trimmed and supposedly the Monza/Starfire springs have a higher spring rate than the F-body coils.

Something else you may consider is coil over springs. I've seen guys use these in the rear and you can typically get them in just about any free length and spring rate you'd could ever want.

 

[SafariWagon]

I have A body springs in the rear of my wagon. It dropped every bit of 2" for me. Pic in my avatar is with no doors or glass in it. It's slightly lower now that they are installed. Even though mine's a wagon It appears yours are a used version. Maybe they are not really A body springs or maybe someone swapped them out at some point while in the A body. I believe you can still buy high lift springs and at on time they were quite popular. It could be possible that's what you have, or even something else. I don't remember the number, but mine were listed as a 70-72 Cutlass application and bought new for like $60 from Autozone.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

My only thing is the cargo coils are still practically new so I'm not gonna spend any extra coin for another set of coil springs or coil overs just yet.

 

[Longroof79]

Lindsay,
How does the car sit loaded with the A-body springs? With either cargo in the rear, or rear passengers. I wouldn't mind dropping mine a few inches. But yet I still would like the car to not droop under a load.

I have cargo coils in the rear, and like the way the car rides, handles, and tows. It has settled over the years, But still wouldn't mind a slight drop.

 

[SafariWagon]

It actually looks pretty close to the avatar pic with all the stuff on. I have not driven car yet. Well not very far. Too high compression and it pings. I will have to lower compression. Car sat up to 3/4 of an inch different at each wheel. Ended up making a 1/2" spacer to put in the left rear between the spring and the axle tube and it now sits pretty level. I do have a set of new Moog 5668 front springs that should lower a SBC powered car a decent amount if interested. It was too much for me with the heavier Pontiac 400. Went to Moog 5662 with 2/3 of a coil trimmed off of it. I have no loaded down driving experience yet.