Re: DSE lowering springs - Thoughts?

by carcass Wed May 01, 2013 1:49 am

I deffinately like the look with the Moog springs way better. The DSE was just to low I think.

by driveit Wed May 01, 2013 8:07 am

You could do yours like mine.
74 Buick Electra Springs in the rear and stock 74 Chevelle springs in the front, but the front ones are for the straight six and not the current SB. It like riding waves man....
DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 04180211

DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 04180211

BK-75, I think our cars are the same color, or maybe were once!

by thatfnthing Wed May 01, 2013 10:39 am

I just finished put in my DSE springs this weekend. I must have gotten the wrong springs 15 years ago when I had "professionals" do it, because it was riding so high the front upper arm bump stops were mashed beyond recognition. After the DSE springs and Belltech 2" drop shocks, she dropped easily 3 inches in the rear and 4 1/2" in the front. Comparison photos soon.

by BK-75 Wed May 01, 2013 11:24 am

driveit, done messing with the springs for now.. I may reinstall the DSE's again sometime later in the future, with airbags to help with load.

Paint code is 64 (Persimmon), found on the trim tag. They do look alike!

thatfnthing - Cant wait to see pics and please post a review on how the car rides!

by thatfnthing Wed May 01, 2013 11:29 am

Just as soon as I can find my coolant leak, put the pass seat back in, and fix my clockspring. Hopefully another week. Smile

by dynchel Wed May 01, 2013 11:32 am

driveit wrote: You could do yours like mine.
74 Buick Electra Springs in the rear and stock 74 Chevelle springs in the front, but the front ones are for the straight six and not the current SB. It like riding waves man....

BK-75, I think our cars are the same color, or maybe were once!

I have 74 chevelle 454 springs on the front with one coil cut off, and 74 olds 98 springs on the rear. The front rides very nice, the back not so much, I have new stock replacements for the rear, as soon as I get off my lazy a$$ and install them. I am kind of tired of the "jacked up" look its had since the '90's.

by LSANTI76 Wed May 01, 2013 3:19 pm

BK-75...I like either one of your '75's stances. If you ever revisit your rear spring choices....you may want to reconsider a Moog 6381 wagon spring. On my '76 I changed out my cc507's for 6381's...it lowered the rear with a full tank of fuel about 3/8 on an inch & has a spring rate of 198 lbs. Ride quality is firm but not harsh. CC507'S beginning spring rate is 158 lbs but strengthens when compressed 2.5 - 3 or more inches.

by Hawk03 Wed May 01, 2013 4:06 pm

Thanks for posting the pics. I was thinking about the DSE but they look a little too low for me. When it comes time for me to buy springs and shocks, I might try the Belltechs, which says they drop it about an inch.

by BK-75 Thu May 02, 2013 12:10 am

LSANTI76, Any additional pics of your car?

by JiMi_DRiX Thu May 02, 2013 1:12 am

I'm still looking at options to lower just the front of my Monte about an inch or two. Anyone else have any experience with theirs?

by driveit Thu May 02, 2013 9:27 am

Does anyone have any pics of how a factory setup 74 with a 350 looks like from the side?

by LSANTI76 Thu May 02, 2013 3:21 pm

BK-75, I don't have any recent pictures with the 6381 springs in the rear. I just installed them within the past two weeks. Next time I get it out I will snap a side shot to show ride height. As far as measurements with 6381 coils in my Malibu, with a 295/50r15 & full tank of fuel & large spare tire...it measures 26.75 from the center of the wheel lip to the ground. The same tire size is on the front which measures in at 26.0 with a weight of an iron head big block & MOOG 590 coil springs. It weighed in @ 4150lbs at a local truck stop. Just an opinion here... not good or bad but it seems that 73-77 Chevelles , Malibus & Lagunas appear to set low in the rear even when they have a level front to rear stance. I believe the body lines of these cars contribute to this visual effect. So with a 3/4 of an inch higher differnce between the rear & front of my '76...it appears to sit level. Which is what I wanted.
What does your '75 measure out with your current setup?

by BK-75 Thu May 02, 2013 9:12 pm

Front 26 in. / Rear 27.25 (Stock front springs / Moog CC507rear) This measuring from ground to fender/ quarter panel. Tire is 235/60/15, about 26.1 overall diameter on a 15x7 wheel.

I would like to tuck a larger tire on a 15x8 wheel, but 1st I've been saving up for a Lee 12:7:1 steering box. It will be nice to get some steering feel back.

Looking forward to some pics, your set up looks right!

by thatfnthing Sun May 05, 2013 6:26 pm

Okay, got the chance to take a few photos now that she's back on the ground. The rear DSE springs were the exact same height as the rears I had on there, but there was almost 4" difference between the fronts just lying side by side (DSE on the left):
DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring10

DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring10

A few factoids: Rear tires are 275/50/17, and stand 27" tall. Fronts are 275/40/17 and stand 25" tall.

So here's the before:
DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring11

DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring11

And here's the after:
DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring12

So we now go from the gasser look to something lower and meaner:
DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring13

Interested to see the ride difference and if anything rubs, but I have to fix the damned clockspring first.

Meanwhile, my wife immediately nabbed the old springs and put them to good use. Very Happy

DSE lowering springs - Thoughts? - Page 2 Spring14

by dynchel Sun May 05, 2013 6:33 pm

I love it. I just removed my oversize rear springs and put in stock replacements. Lowered the car 2" to stock height. It looks like a low rider to me now, but a nice change.

by Hawk03 Sun May 05, 2013 7:36 pm

I really like the new stance and your wheels look good with the drop too.

I ordered the Belltech springs, I'm hoping for a drop similar to yours.

by ant7377 Sun May 05, 2013 7:52 pm

thatfnthing wrote:Okay, got the chance to take a few photos now that she's back on the ground. The rear DSE springs were the exact same height as the rears I had on there, but there was almost 4" difference between the fronts just lying side by side (DSE on the left):

A few factoids: Rear tires are 275/50/17, and stand 27" tall. Fronts are 275/40/17 and stand 25" tall.

So here's the before:

And here's the after:

So we now go from the gasser look to something lower and meaner:

Interested to see the ride difference and if anything rubs, but I have to fix the damned clockspring first.

Meanwhile, my wife immediately nabbed the old springs and put them to good use.

So what is shown here is DSE springs all around on your Monte,right? I like it. I might do the same. Let us know if any thing rubs.

by thatfnthing Sun May 05, 2013 8:07 pm

ant7377 wrote:So what is shown here is DSE springs all around on your Monte,right? I like it. I might do the same. Let us know if any thing rubs.

Yup. DSE at all four corners, and Belltech 2" drop shocks. If the suspension doesn't travel much I should be good on the rubbing, but only one way to find out for sure!

by BK-75 Mon May 06, 2013 12:21 am

That looks real good!

Have any measurements front/rear, ground to fender?

by thatfnthing Wed May 08, 2013 12:11 pm

BK-75 wrote:That looks real good!

Have any measurements front/rear, ground to fender?

Thanks, guys! Here's a couple measurements:

Front:
o 25" tall tire
o 23.5" ground to center of wheel well lip
o ~34" ground to top of fender
o 7" ground clearance to frame (behind wheel)
o ~4" drop from old springs

Rear:
o 27" tall tire
o 26.5" ground to center of wheel well lip
o ~38" ground to top of quarterpanel
o 8.5" ground clearance to frame (in front of wheel)
o ~3.5" drop from old springs

Wood holder:
o 9" ground to basket Smile

by thatfnthing Mon May 13, 2013 7:39 pm

Okay, so I rolled her out of the garage over the weekend (couldn't really do any serious driving as she's not inspected yet), and I noticed I now have serious negative camber on the front wheels -- plainly visible to the naked eye. Anyone done camber adjustments on theirs that can recommend a good gauge to use? There seems to be a bunch of them out there, and I'm willing to plunk down a couple bucks for a decent one -- I just want to get a good one without a lot of trial and error.

And while we're at it, I have the factory specs for camber, but has anyone found an angle that works better for handling with a wide tire?

Thanks!

by dynchel Mon May 13, 2013 8:19 pm

I guess I'm spoiled as I work at a auto shop that has a alignment machine. I just set mine to factory specs so sorry I can't give any insight there. Mad

by 1973 454 MONTE Mon May 13, 2013 8:45 pm

dynchel wrote:I guess I'm spoiled as I work at a auto shop that has a alignment machine. I just set mine to factory specs so sorry I can't give any insight there.

a couple years ago,it was hard to find shops that did "old" cars.

by dynchel Mon May 13, 2013 8:51 pm

At my shop there are really only two of us that will do old cars. Even within my company there are stores I would not send a old car to.

by thatfnthing Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:57 am

Okay, so we're finally inspected, so I got to do some serious driving, and I thought I'd report the results.

I still have a couple alignment adjustments to perform, but I can say the handling is much better. The new Belltech shocks (in conjunction with the new PST bushings) have also made a significant difference in ride quality -- we didn't bottom out at all at any time, potholes no longer sound like someone hitting the frame with a hammer, and there also doesn't appear to be any rubbing issues with the tires, even though they're stuffed in there pretty good. I still plan to verify that last for absolute certain with some tape in the wheel wells.

Next up will be bigger sway bars.

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