And now the bad news that may await. Out of the ten leaves in the two rear springs of 9129, FIVE were broken. My shop, somehow, got replacements from Tom S. I am dreading those axle-busting chuck holes.
BTW 9129 is done, running and driving. (Yippee) Film at 11
Tom
Tom
Were they broken dead center, and could you see anything before removing them?
Mine are covered in road grime and what appears to be a thick, black tar-like substance (no it's not undercoating). So I really can't see anything unless I clean off the mess.
If you are to lazy to make a fixture, below method also worked well. (Second C-clamp only for safety, rags to protect the fresh paint) Be aware of the right orientation of the leaf spring as they are not symetrical.
Rear leaf spring assembly.png (211.27 KiB) Viewed 10929 times
Dieter If i need shake hands with you I would be very happy when my handbones aren't broken !
man you must have power.
i cannot see with you construction how to place the RA back,
but if it works for you than ok but dangerous.
not advisable for the normal amateur here, I think.
The leaf rubbermaterial " profilo per balestre" is 52 mm wide for 250
can be bought in meters in italy. dont know how much you need in length.
15 meter should be enough.
I know this is not the high end solution. I would never do such things at front coil springs. But for the rear springs the preload to assemble is much less when the shackeles are horizontal. So the spring force is much much less compared to the position with assembled axle. After assembling the spring and the rear axle I still had to use a jack to give the full load to the leaf springs for assembling the retainer cable for the lower end position. Also I was aware not to use any hammer during assembling as this is might cause the clamps to blow off. So I was aware what I am doing.
Here is a picture of my broken spring leaves. It seems it was only THREE out of the ten, and all on one side. The breaks seem at random locations (not at the mounting points). Given the rust on these leaves, the culprit might have been corrosion. 9129 was located in the Boston area for many years, so this is a definite possibility.
9129 Spring Leaves, Rear, Broken, 9-27-14.jpg (178.03 KiB) Viewed 10894 times
Thanks for the pictures, Treue.
I had the car on the lift this weekend and made a close inspection of the leaf springs. While I could not see any broken springs, my bushings were in really bad shape. This car has always been "twitchy" at speed, and with the entire front suspension rebuilt the culprit would appear to be the rear suspension.
Question - did your 330 hop around at highway speeds, and how did it handle through curves before you redid your springs etc?
Thanks
I never drove my car before the restoration process (broken valve, disassembly and all). From the beginning of the car's NEW status, it has been a bit jumpy at speed, which seems to me to be oversteer. A few days ago, I tried the old racer's trick of asymmetrically setting the tire pressure: 30psi front and 33psi rear to take some of the oversteer out of it, which has made the car much more stable. I don't think bad bushings are helping you any (duh), at least with the listing issue.
My car does not feel stable at anything over 60 MPH. It over steers, which I believe to be common, but it just doesn't feel right. I have 16 year old tires (new ones on the way) which could contribute but I don't think the tires are the issue. It just shifts around while driving, particularly on a curvy road.
BTW - my 365 GTC/4 always suffered from over steer. This after rebuilding the entire front and rear suspension, new tires on cromadora wheels, and (2) different alignments done by 2 different shops. The car was, however, rock solid up to 150 MPH... which is as fast as I ever ran it..
My 330 America understeers, and in order to get it to oversteer, you have to flick it into a turn and pour on the gas! It's pretty settled at speed, and I've driven a bunch of GTEs and 330 2+2s, and they're not as bad as you described. I suspect something is worn in the suspension for it to steer so poorly. The rear shackle bushings are a common problem with these cars, and will definitely cause the rear to sway. With worn rear bushings, you'll take a turn, and as the rear shifts weight, it'll wiggle a little until the slack in the bushing is taken up. Not a lot of confidence in the turns.
Thanks, Tom. Just what I was thinking. I have been unable to source new springs and am thinking of adding one extra spring when the assembly comes off for a rebuild. Any thoughts? Measuring from ground level through the center of the spinner to the bottom of the fender arch is exactly 26-1/2" on both sides. Would you measure your America and let me know what you get? My bet is the rear needs to come up 1-1/2".
tyang wrote:I Get 26-3/4 rear, and 26-1/4 front. These may vary depending on tire pressures and sidewall profiles.
Tom
Well something's not right. I get 28" in the front..... a full 1-1/2" higher than the back. Tires are XWX Michelins and Borrani rims are 3690's. Is the front adjustable in terms of height?
