Advice on lifting rear end on a 66 Newport?

[Gerald Morris]

That's good to know! It looked pretty easy, just from looking under the car and all. I like how Eaton offers more options than most of the vendors I've seen thus far.

 

[Zymurgy]

The hardest part might be taking off the old, I soaked everything with PB blaster. I was lucky everything came right apart and never had to add any heat. There is one nut that is inside the unibody that you can't get an impact wrench on. Mine wasn't even tight, but you might not be that lucky.

 

[Gerald Morris]

The hardest part might be taking off the old, I soaked everything with PB blaster. I was lucky everything came right apart and never had to add any heat. There is one nut that is inside the unibody that you can't get an impact wrench on. Mine wasn't even tight, but you might not be that lucky.

PB blaster or WD-40's special rust buster formula, or something similar will be used copiously, to be sure. I'm still pretty agile, (Deo gratias!) so can get at hard to reach nuts and bolt heads usually. This job will be some months in the future. I need to attend to cooling, ignition and carburetor first.

 

[cantflip]

Did you install your own springs? Your comment reads as if you might have. I prefer to do all the wrenching I can with Mathilda, both as an economic measure and for insuring job quality. Again, many thanks.

I did install it myself, it was probably the easiest thing I have done on my 66 300. One thing I can say for Eaton, the price when I bought it including all the shackles and bolts. Everything was the same or beefed from the factory parts I took off.

As much as I would normally advocate DIY... IF you are having custom springs made locally, you may find the installation labor isn't too bad and offers the benefit of you and the shop using a floor jack to determine the desired height and then allows them to take over the responsibility of delivering suitable springs.

I am so far out of date, I really couldn't predict what costs might be. There was a time 30ish years ago that I had a truck spring shop make me new U and center bolts while doing a mix and match used stack... I talked with those folks about cost of a new set and immediately regretted my decision to go the way I had... their price knocked me out of my socks and was nothing compared to the prices I had assumed looking at premade stacks.

In short, since the shop is close, it would be in your best interest to stop by and talk to them before making a decision.

 

[mr. fix it]

I had springs rearched once, I'll never do it again. Buy new springs.

My rebuilt/re-arched springs are doing pretty good... I have about 10,000+miles on the Polara since the rebuild in May 2016..
(Uploading pics isn't working right now for me but if you look around at my previous posts you will see...)

 

[Gerald Morris]

As much as I would normally advocate DIY... IF you are having custom springs made locally, you may find the installation labor isn't too bad and offers the benefit of you and the shop using a floor jack to determine the desired height and then allows them to take over the responsibility of delivering suitable springs.

I am so far out of date, I really couldn't predict what costs might be. There was a time 30ish years ago that I had a truck spring shop make me new U and center bolts while doing a mix and match used stack... I talked with those folks about cost of a new set and immediately regretted my decision to go the way I had... their price knocked me out of my socks and was nothing compared to the prices I had assumed looking at premade stacks.

In short, since the shop is close, it would be in your best interest to stop by and talk to them before making a decision.

Economics dictate my course all the time when working on Mathilda of course. IFF shop time isn't too high, and they can turn a job around for me quick enough to warrant the expense, then I'm HAPPY to spare myself the torture. Given that I don't need MUCH improvement from my rear springs, its conceivable a re-arch and reinforcement job will suit us well here. I had PLENTY of time this past January, so patiently chiseling hard stuck bushings and such and learning how to align the new assembly after getting it together wasn't too bad then. Easy stuff like the cooling system, ignition and such are just cakewalks for me, but I place a premium on that vehicle's suspension and brakes. I would like to replace wheel cylinders and hoses this summer. Will write that up when I do.....