Ok so I'm trying to lower this car that I'm flipping and te front is down but the back has stock springs, so I'm going to heat them to lower them, the only problem is that I don't know how to get them even on each side when I'm heating them. Does anyone know any old timer tricks or methods? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
set blocks under the body/frame where you want it to sit. heat the springs until the body rests on the blocks then let them cool. make sure the blocks are the same height side to side and front to back.
What makes you think the potential buyer wants heated springs? You said you are "flipping" the car. Flip it don't butcher it.
__To begin with i would never heat springs again. I did it to the front of a 56 fairlane in 1958 , I was a stupid kid back then. But it's your vehical so the way i did it was to put a two bumper jacks in front and drop it until the car was resting on them, then let it cool down.
Agreed - Cut them, DON'T heat them. Beside, the "resting on blocks" method won't work well...! When the car/chassis is "resting" on the blocks, it's almost impossible to know exactly where the car will end up...! You have to heat till the chassis is "just" above the blocks so you can actually measure where the chassis will sit..! Heating and "not" damage the ride quality is all but impossible... Mike
We dont even know what type car or springs the OP is talking about, He might be doing this for leaf springs.
I have seen the rear leaf springs on a 46 chevy heated on both ends of both springs until they looked like a W from the side. One broke with a car load of teenagers in it traveling at the speed limit , wrecked and hurt a few of them. So don't heat , cut coils and remove a few leafs if you can't afford to have it done right .As teenagers in the 1950s and 60s we did a lot of things on the cheap that i would never recommend doing.
I can't cut them because they are small on each end and get bigger in the middle, and I don't have the money to buy new springs so I'm going to have to heat them Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Don't heat your springs. You will ruin the temper and end up with cracks and spring failure. Cut them instead.
It's your car so don't listen to the voices of reason,,you will end up spending money you don't have to replace the springs after you heat them. They will lose the temper and keep compressing,,but do it your way and then come back and tell us how great it worked! HRP
Why not save all the drama and speculation and tell us what kind, year stc. the car is and you will get an intelligent good answer here there are literally millions of years of experience here and when given all the information that brain trust will give a good answer.
What kind of car is it there's lots of cars that use the springs that get smaller on each end go to the junkyard and find some shorter ones from a similar weight car soon jeeps chevelles ect use springs like that and some imports also
Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat. Don't Heat.
GO to your local auto parts store. ASK the counterman to see their Moog Coil Spring Catalog. SIT on the stool at the uncrowded end of the counter. LOOK up your car's application. WRITE down the part number and the specifications. GO to the index and find the location of the specifications list in the back of the book. FIND your car's part number under the appropriate spring style. Look up and down the list to find a spring with the same or close spring rate, wire size, but a shorter overall length. ORDER the springs from the counterman. They are not as expensive as you might think, probably $65-125 per pair. Don't heat springs, use your head.
You do know that insurance companies have accident investigators, and that you'd could be sitting in front of a dude with a wooden hammer, facing a bodily injury or wrongful death lawsuit, right?
the dude only has 3 posts and they are all in this thread. seems like he may have created an account just to start stuff. and he still could be talking about coils. some coils are smaller on each end. but incase this is real. i agree with everyone else. dont cut them and risk someone elses life since you are flipping the car.
It's a 69 Chevelle, and I don't have the $$$ for new ones, and I'm not talking about leaf springs because chevelles don't have leaf springs Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
How is lowering the car going to enhance the value? Heating springs, while common, is the wrong way to do it, from an engineering, safety and longevity standpoint. Knowing that, why would someone want to buy a car this way? I am going to go ahead and assume that you do not have a wholesalers license, dealer license, B.A.R. license, are not an LLP (or LLP), and are not carrying an insurance policy for this business. No offense, but as a business owner who has to obtain and maintain all of the above, plus a lawyer on retainer, to protect my interests, I have to say that this is a bit worrisome. If you understood the proper method of doing this, and the ramifications of doing it wrong, you would not be here asking these questions. You seem intent on going forward anyway. Just remember, the liability for any mistakes that you make, and the outcome, rests solely on you. Luck is not a business model, and failing to fail is not the same as success.
As almost everyone else here has mentioned, don't heat the springs. Something you could do is go to the building supply, get several bags of sand and just set them in the trunk. That way you can get the ride height that you want and keep the car safe. Then if the new owner don't like it he can take them back out. Nothing will be hurt. I went to high school with a kid that did that to his car and it worked fine.
The Jalopy Journal
