1955 Ford Fairlane rear leaf springs

[David31dlxslant]

My leaf springs are original and I’m squatting in the rear and the left rear is lower than the right, I need to change them, I see Macs has new springs for $179 a piece, are they good springs? Has anyone ever used them? Are there better options? What’s everyone’s input? Someone have them cheaper?Thanks

[dmsfrr]

Look for a spring & suspension shop in your area.
Unless the springs are too far gone they can be re-arched. Usually for noticeably less than replacements, and they should fit back in easier as well. The rubber bushings & any spring pads likely need replacing as well. A 're-arch' often includes those pieces.

[paul2748]

If you have a spring shop where you live, they may have the specs for new ones. Never had the experience with re-arched springs, but I have concern about how long they will last as far as the arch..

[51504bat]

Personally I'd use Eaton Spring before I'd use Mac's but that's just me. Eaton is probably more $$ but they are US made. Not sure about what Mac's is selling. Kanter also has them but after the problem I had with placing a phone order with them I wouldn't recommend them but again that's JMO.

[Daves55Sedan]

When I got my '55 Courier, it was barely a shell on a bare frame and had no leaf springs, so I went to a spring shop and they made me a new set. The leaf's are thicker material than the original and they don't use the stainless paralleling brackets. Instead, they drill holes in the main leaf and rivet heavy metal brackets bent around the group of leafs. They use nylon anti-squeak pads instead of wax-cloth inserts between the leafs.
Can't complain at all about the arch. They're arched a little too much, as the back of the wagon sits up a little higher than the front (which is not the wagon originally rolled out of the factory). Bear in mind, the wagon models had heavier front coil springs than the car models, and my wagon only has a 223 I-block 6-cyl, so that front is pretty high up off the ground.
As far as price, I saw Mac's selling leaf springs for $129 each not too many months ago, so prices are only going up and everything is going up quickly. So, if you are going to buy, buy now or pay a lot more later.
Are you absolutely sure you even have a matching set of leaf springs? Sometimes, people will replace one bad one with whatever they can get that fits, but isn't specifically made for that car, so arch may be different as well as overall length.

[KULTULZ]

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Originally Posted by 51504bat

Personally I'd use Eaton Spring.

EATON was the supplier to FOMOCO so they will have all the specs. They will also be able to help you with spring rates and trim levels if you want a certain stance/ride quality

[Jwawhite]

I ordered Eaton Springs for my 56 Wagon. By the time it was all added up, my cost, shipping, closer to a Grand! They fit perfectly and raised the rear beautifully, I haven't checked to determine if they've settled yet.
HOWEVER, they creak a bit?, not near as bad as the old ones, and the Company uses spacers made up of a plastic type substance, Lexan?, cone shaped. If you raise your car with a hydraulic jack on the differential, these pads may pop out. "Easy" fix is the answer from them--pry the leafs open a bit and push back in. My response was how about spending a few pennies to stop this?

[David31dlxslant]

Hello all, Thanks for everyone’s input, I’m kinda on a budget right now, I need to do this as economically as possible, there’s no way I could afford $1,000 for springs from EATON right now, there’s another company online I found called General Spring and they show them on their website for $129.95 each, anyone ever used these before?

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by David31dlxslant

Hello all, Thanks for everyone’s input, I’m kinda on a budget right now, I need to do this as economically as possible, there’s no way I could afford $1,000 for springs from EATON right now, ...

Have you seen these? Made in the USA by Dayton, about $330 with shipping.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-REAR-LE...IAAMXQ0v1RZu8y

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by Jwawhite

I ordered Eaton Springs for my 56 Wagon. By the time it was all added up, my cost, shipping, closer to a Grand! They fit perfectly and raised the rear beautifully, I haven't checked to determine if they've settled yet.


HOWEVER, they creak a bit?, not near as bad as the old ones, and the Company uses spacers made up of a plastic type substance, Lexan?, cone shaped. If you raise your car with a hydraulic jack on the differential, these pads may pop out. "Easy" fix is the answer from them--pry the leafs open a bit and push back in. My response was how about spending a few pennies to stop this?

... hmmph ...


Do the spring assemblies have clamps as shown on the below ILL?

[BruceMc]

I replaced the leaf springs on my '55 earlier this year with a set from General Spring -

https://www.generalspringkc.com/Default.asp

New springs, shackles, and u-bolt kit was just under $300 total. I'm quite happy with them.The old springs had the shackles flipped. I installed the new springs with the shackles back to stock and the car sits about the same.

[svmsr1044]

Does the 56 convertible require a heavier rear leaf spring???

[BW]

Eaton springs are about 300.00 a spring. That would be a job I would not want to do twice

[51504bat]

Just delivered yesterday by FedEx. Eaton springs front and rear for my '54 Ranch Wagon. $931.31 after a 10% HAMB discount. Shipping wasn't cheap, $230.25 but they are heavy and came all the way from MI to CA.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by svmsr1044

Does the 56 convertible require a heavier rear leaf spring???

See Below-

[bobss396]

I got mine from McVeigh's Truck Springs. He sells on eBay as "springking". Very easy to deal with, call him before you order. Prices were excellent and shipping reasonable from what I recall.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by bobss396

I got mine from McVeigh's Truck Springs. He sells on eBay as "springking". Very easy to deal with, call him before you order. Prices were excellent and shipping reasonable from what I recall.

That's the same vendor and maybe even the same springs as the link back in reply # 9.